Glossary on Carbon Footprint and Sustainability
SustainCAP offers you a detailed glossary with definitions, examples, and best practices on the fundamental principles related to sustainability, global warming,
and corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Refers to the carbon captured, stored, and released by coastal and marine ecosystems.
Carbon Capture: This technology allows capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) from emission sources.
Carbon Credits: They are a market mechanism designed to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Carbon Cycle: This cycle is essential for maintaining ecosystem balance and regulating the planet's climate.
Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP): It is a global non-profit organization that provides a system for companies, cities, states, and regions to report and manage their environmental impact.
Carbon Footprint: A calculation that quantifies the total amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions generated directly or indirectly by a person, organization, event, or product.
Carbon Management: Strategies, processes, and implementations to measure, control, reduce, and offset carbon and other greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Carbon Neutrality: Carbon neutrality involves balancing greenhouse gas emissions with their reduction or offsetting, achieving a net-zero balance.
Circular Flow: Circular economy, which promotes the reuse and recycling of materials to minimize waste.
Climate Change: Climate change is the long-term alteration of global climate, primarily caused by human activities such as burning fossil fuels and deforestation, increasing greenhouse gases and leading to extreme weather events.
Climate Change and Energy Transition Law: It is a key legislation that seeks to address the climate crisis by promoting a more sustainable economic and social model.
CO2 Equivalent: Learn what CO2 equivalent is, how it's calculated, and its importance in measuring the carbon footprint.
CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive): European Union regulation designed to improve the transparency and quality of the information companies disclose about sustainability.
Decarbonization: It is the process of reducing and eventually eliminating carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions generated by human activities.
Ecosystem: Functional unit composed of living organisms (biocenosis) and their physical environment (biotope).
EMAS (Eco-Management and Audit Scheme): A tool of the European Union that enables organizations to evaluate, improve, and communicate their environmental performance, contributing to sustainability through responsible and transparent practices.
Emission Factors: These coefficients allow estimating the amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) or pollutant emissions associated with a specific activity.
Emission Reduction Plan: It is a structured strategy aimed at minimizing the amount of greenhouse gases (GHGs) emitted into the atmosphere as a result of human, business, or institutional activities.
Emissions Offsetting: It is used to counteract greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions generated by an activity, product, or organization.
Environmental Licenses: They are administrative permits granted by the competent authorities that regulate and authorize industrial, agricultural, commercial, or infrastructure activities with potential environmental impact.
Environmental Management Systems (EMS): A structured and documented framework that enables an organization to identify, manage, control, and improve its environmental impacts in a systematic, integrated, and sustainable manner.
ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance): It is a framework of criteria used to evaluate an organization’s performance in environmental, social, and governance terms.
European Directive: A directive of the European Union may require member states to progressively reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, promoting the transition to clean and sustainable technologies.
GHG Protocol: El GHG Protocol es un estándar global para medir y reportar emisiones de GEI. Define tres alcances: emisiones directas, indirectas por energía y en la cadena de valor, ayudando a organizaciones a gestionar su huella de carbono y cumplir metas climáticas.
GLEC Framework: The GLEC Framework is a global guide to measure and report carbon emissions in logistics and transport, promoting sustainable practices and helping companies meet climate goals through recognized standards.
Global Action Plan (GAP): It is a strategic framework designed to coordinate international efforts in addressing global challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, public health, and other issues that transcend national borders.
Global Warming Potential (GWP): GWP measures the impact of greenhouse gases on global warming compared to CO2. It considers their heat-trapping capacity and atmospheric lifespan, being key to prioritizing climate actions.
Greenhouse Effect: It is a natural phenomenon that occurs in the Earth’s atmosphere.
Greenhouse Gases (GHG): Compounds present in the atmosphere that absorb and emit infrared radiation, contributing to the warming of the Earth's surface.
ISO 14000: A set of international standards developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) that focus on environmental management.
ISO 14001: A global standard within the ISO 14000 family that establishes requirements to design, implement, and maintain an Environmental Management System (EMS) in an organization.
ISO 14040: International regulation on the principles and general framework for conducting a life cycle assessment (LCA).
ISO 14064-1: An international standard providing guidelines and requirements for quantifying and verifying greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, helping organizations measure, report, and verify their carbon footprint.
ISO 14067: It is an international standard that provides specific guidelines for calculating the carbon footprint of products (CFP) throughout their life cycle.
ISO 20121: This is an international standard that establishes a sustainable management system for events.
Kyoto Protocol: The Kyoto Protocol is an international treaty adopted in 1997 under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and in force since 2005.
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA): This study systematically evaluates the environmental impacts of a product from resource extraction to final disposal.
MITECO: A department of the Government of Spain responsible for developing policies in key areas such as climate change, pollution prevention, and sustainable development.
Paris Agreement: It is the first universal and binding treaty on climate change.
Public Tender: It is a fundamental administrative process in public sector contracting that allows government entities to acquire goods, services, or works transparently and competitively.
Renewable Energy: Energy sources obtained from inexhaustible natural resources or those that regenerate constantly within a human timeframe.
Science Based Targets (SBTi): Global collaboration helping companies and financial institutions set greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets aligned with climate science.
Scopes 1, 2 and 3: The calculation of the carbon footprint of a person, product, organization, or country is done through different measurement levels expressed in kilograms of CO2 equivalent.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): They are a set of 17 goals adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Sustainable Innovation: The process of designing, developing, and implementing products, services, processes, or business models that not only meet traditional functional objectives but also promote environmental, economic, and social sustainability.
Sustainable Mobility: It refers to a transportation approach that seeks to minimize environmental impact and promote environmentally friendly travel practices.
United Nations 2030 Agenda: The 2030 Agenda, with 17 SDGs, guides 193 countries in eradicating poverty and managing resources equitably. It is the roadmap towards sustainable economic, environmental, and social development, promoting responsible use of the planet.
This site was created with the Nicepage