Glossary of Terms

As you explore the Knowledge Hub, you might encounter new terms and concepts. While these are explained throughout the hub, you can always refer to this glossary for a quick explanation or clarification whenever you need it.

Carbon Accounting: The process of measuring and tracking the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced by an organisation, helping to manage and reduce their carbon footprint.

Carbon Dioxide Equivalent (CO2e): A standard unit for measuring carbon footprints, which expresses the impact of different greenhouse gases in terms of the amount of carbon dioxide that would have the same global warming effect.

Carbon Emissions: The release of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere, primarily from burning fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas, as well as from industrial processes and deforestation.

Carbon Footprint: The total amount of greenhouse gases that are emitted directly or indirectly by an individual, organisation, event, or product.

Carbon Offsetting: The practice of compensating for carbon emissions by funding projects that reduce or remove an equivalent amount of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, such as reforestation or renewable energy projects.

Carbon Removal: The process of capturing and removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, either through natural methods like planting trees or technological solutions like direct air capture.

CDP (formerly Carbon Disclosure Project): A global non-profit organisation that runs a disclosure system for companies, cities, and governments to report their environmental impacts. It focuses on issues like climate change, water security, and deforestation, helping stakeholders make informed decisions based on environmental data.

Circular Economy: An economic system aimed at eliminating waste and making the most of resources by reusing, recycling, and refurbishing products and materials.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): A company’s commitment to manage its social, environmental, and economic impacts responsibly, often through sustainable practices and ethical business decisions.

CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive): A European Union directive that requires large companies to report on their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) impacts. It expands on previous requirements to provide more detailed and standardised sustainability information.

Emission Factor: A number that shows how much greenhouse gas is released for each unit of activity or energy used, helping to estimate total emissions.

Environmental Management System (EMS): A framework that helps organisations systematically manage their environmental impacts. It includes setting environmental goals, monitoring performance, and continuously improving processes to reduce environmental damage and comply with regulations.

FLAG (Forest, Land, and Agriculture): A category within carbon accounting and climate action that focuses on emissions and carbon capture related to forests, land use, and agricultural practices. It addresses the impact of land management, deforestation, and farming on greenhouse gas emissions.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHG): Gases like carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide that trap heat in the Earth’s atmosphere, contributing to global warming and climate change.

Greenhouse Gas Protocol: The global standard for measuring, managing, and reporting greenhouse gas emissions, used by companies, governments, and organisations worldwide.

Greenwashing: The act of misleading consumers by falsely claiming that a product, service, or company is making a positive impact on the environment when it is not.

Life Cycle Analysis (LCA): A method for assessing the environmental impacts of a product or service throughout its entire lifecycle, from raw materials to extraction and disposal.

Location-based method (Scope 2): A way of calculating Scope 2 emissions based on the average emissions from the electricity grid in the area where the energy is consumed.

Market-based method (Scope 2): A method of calculating Scope 2 emissions based on the specific energy a company buys, including any renewable energy contracts or certificates.

Net-Zero: Achieving a balance between the amount of greenhouse gases emitted and the amount removed from the atmosphere, resulting in no net increase in global emissions.

Renewable Energy: Energy generated from natural resources that are replenished naturally, such as solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal power.

Science-Based Targets: Created by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), science-based targets (SBTs) provide companies with a clearly defined pathway to set targets and reduce emissions in line with the global target of limiting warming below 1.5°C. These targets are robust, meaningful, and aligned with climate science.

Science Based Targets initiative: A partnership between CDP, United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), World Resources Institute (WRI), and World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) that helps companies set and achieve science-based targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in line with the latest climate science.

Scope 1 Emissions: Direct greenhouse gas emissions from sources that a company owns or controls, such as fuel combustion in company vehicles.

Scope 2 Emissions: Indirect greenhouse gas emissions from the consumption of purchased electricity, steam, heat, or cooling.

Scope 3 Emissions: All other indirect emissions that occur in a company’s value chain, including those from suppliers, transportation, and the use of sold products.

SECR (Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting): A UK regulation that requires large companies to report their energy use, carbon emissions, and energy efficiency actions in their annual reports, aimed at increasing transparency and encouraging energy efficiency.

TCFD (Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures): A global framework that encourages companies to disclose how climate change impacts their financial performance. It focuses on governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics related to climate risks and opportunities.

Next up: Understand your motivations behind carbon footprinting your organisation in our article What are your motivations?