Sustainability is balanced between environment, equity, and economy. Sustainable development is development that meets current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
Sustainable processes support the health and vitality of the environment, people, and the economy. Stability assumes that resources are limited, and should be used economically and wisely in the light of long-term priorities and the consequences of resource utilization.
Sustainability Vocabulary Words with Meanings
Following is a list of common eco friendly words related to sustainability that every person concerned about environment should know:
- Active transport
Getting yourself from A to B by walking or cycling. Also includes other physical activities like running, skateboarding and scooting.
- Agriculture
The practice of cultivating the land or raising stock
- Agroforestry
Collective name for land-use systems and technologies
- Attainability
The state of being achievable
- Aquaculture
Rearing aquatic animals or cultivating aquatic plants for food
- Biodegradable
Able to break down and blend back in with the earth, given the right conditions and presence of microorganisms, fungi or bacteria
- Biomimicry
A form of design that seeks sustainable solutions by mimicking nature
- Biomass
Plant materials and animal waste used as fuel
- Biofuel
Any fuel that is derived from biomass
- Biodynamics
Relating to a system of farming that follows a sustainable
- Blue economy
Economic activities that create sustainable wealth from the world’s oceans and coasts
- Business model
The underlying structure of how a company creates, delivers and captures value.
- Business resilience
The ability of an organization to adapt in a changing environment to enable it to achieve its objectives and prosper
- Business transformation
Making bold and fundamental changes to the way business operates, rather than making incremental step changes to the status quo.
- Bio diversity
The diversity of plant and animal life in a particular habitat
- Carbon credit
A generic term for any tradable certificate or permit deemed to allow a company, within an emissions trading scheme, to emit one ton of CO2 equivalent.
- Carbon emissions
A term often used in place of greenhouse gas emissions (see below).
- Carbon footprint
Total emissions of greenhouse gases (in carbon equivalent) for an activity or organization over a given period of time
- Carbon neutral
Balancing greenhouse gas emissions with an equivalent amount of independently verified carbon offsets
- Carbon offsetting
Any activity deemed to reduce overall emissions of greenhouse gases by purchasing verified carbon credits through emissions reduction projects or carbon trading schemes.
- Carbon positive
Any activity deemed to reduce and/or offset more emissions than it produces.
- Carbon sequestration
The capture and storage of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, for example by planting trees
- Circular economy
An economy where waste and pollution are designed out, products and material are kept in use and natural systems are regenerated.
- Climate action
Activities to tackle climate change and its impacts, usually by reducing green-house gas emissions
- Climate change
A long-term shift in global weather patterns or average temperatures
Rising temperatures can lead to extreme weather such as droughts, sea level rises and retreating glaciers.
- Collective Impact
Cross-sector coordination to bring about large-scale change
- Conservation
The preservation and careful management of the environment and of natural resources
- Compostable
Given the right conditions, a material that breaks down completely into non-toxic components that can support plant growth
- Composting
A mixture of decaying vegetation and manure; used as a fertilizer
- Conscious capitalism
A form of capitalism that seeks to benefit people and the environment
- Conservation of mass
A fundamental principle of classical physics that matter cannot be created or destroyed in an isolated system
- Conscious consumerism
Consumers voting with their wallet – purchasing products and services that are produced responsibly
- Continuity
The property of a continuous and connected period of time
- Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
A management concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations
- Crowd funding
The joint effort of individuals who network and pool their money, usually online, to support a wide variety of activities including start-up company funding, disaster relief and campaigns
- Doughnut economics
An economic theory, represented by a doughnut-shaped diagram, for operating within the boundaries of social and environmental sustainability
- Diversity
The condition or result of being
- Ecological or nature restoration
Assisting an ecosystem to recover to a previous, more biodiverse condition
- Ecological or nature regeneration
Improving ecological health and biodiversity by enabling, supporting and enhancing natural processes
- Ecosystem
A system formed by the interaction of a community of organisms with their physical environment
- Eco tourism
Tourism to exotic or threatened ecosystems to observe wildlife or to help preserve nature
- Electric vehicle
A vehicle that runs on electricity powered by a battery that can be plugged in to recharge
- Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS)
A tool that puts a price on emissions of greenhouse gases with the aim of reducing them It is one of the government’s main tools to meet our emissions target under the Paris Agreement.
- Empowerment
The act of conferring legality or sanction or formal warrant
- Environmental
Concerned with the ecological effects of altering the environment
- Environmentalism
The activity of protecting the environment from pollution or destruction
- E-waste
Discarded electronic appliances such as mobile phones, computers, and televisions
- Environmental management systems
A set of processes and practices that enable an organization to reduce its environmental impacts
- Ethical investment
The avoidance of investment in activities considered unethical and un-sustainable, in favor of those that are either considered less harmful, benign or socially and environmentally positive.
- Fair trade
An alternative approach to conventional trade, based on a partnership between producers and consumers, to ensure that farmers and workers get a fair share of the benefits of trade
- Feasibility
The quality of being doable
- Forestry
The science of planting and caring for forests and the management of growing timber
- Global warming
An increase in the world’s average temperature due to human activities, such as burning fossil fuels, that release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
- Greenhouse gases
Gases that trap heat in the atmosphere including carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and water vapor
- Greening
The phenomenon of vitality and freshness being restored
- Greenwashing
Activities, usually marketing, intended to make people believe a company is doing more to protect the environment than it really is.
- Hybrid vehicle
A vehicle primarily powered by a conventional internal combustion engine, but is supplemented with power from regenerative braking.
- Healthfulness
The quality of promoting good health
- Integrated reporting
An approach to corporate reporting that integrates financial information and nonfinancial information into a single document to show how a company is performing.
- Internationalization
The act of bringing something under international control
- Interrelatedness
Mutual or reciprocal relation or relatedness
- Life cycle assessment (LCA)
The process of attempting to measure the environmental impacts of a product or service throughout its existence
- Microfinance
A source of financial services for individuals or small businesses lacking access to traditional banking services, it can be a sustainable means of poverty alleviation by empowering entrepreneurs to build businesses, support their families and transform their communities.
- Micro plastics
Small pieces of plastic, less than 5mm in length, found on land and water as a result of plastic pollution.
- Modern slavery
An umbrella term for extreme forms of exploitation like human trafficking, slavery and slavery-like practices, such as servitude, forced labor, forced marriage, the sale and exploitation of children, and debt bondage.
- Nature-based solutions
Solutions that are inspired and supported by nature and that may also offer environmental, economic and social benefits, while increasing resilience.
- Natural capital
The world’s stock of natural ‘assets’, including geology, soil, air, water and all living things
- Nutrition
A source of materials to nourish the body
- Paris Agreement
A legally binding international treaty on climate change adopted by more than 190 countries in 2015
- Preserving
Saving from harm or loss
- Product stewardship
A concept where businesses take responsibility for the environmental impact of the products they make, sell or buy. This involves all stages of the product’s life cycle, including end-of-life management.
- Protection
The condition of being protected
- Recycling
Processing materials that would otherwise be thrown away and turning them into reusable material.
- Recyclable
A product or material that can be collected, processed and manufactured into a new product
- Reforestation
The restoration (replanting) of a forest that had been reduced by fire or cutting
- Remanufacturing
Rebuilding a product to its original specifications using a combination of reused, repaired and new parts
- Renewable energy
Energy that comes from natural sources that are constantly replenished like wind, water and sunlight
- Revitalization
Bringing again into activity and prominence
- Science-based targets
Targets for reducing emissions are considered ‘science-based’ if they are in line with what the latest climate science deems necessary to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement.
- Shared value
A management principle that seeks market opportunities for business to solve social problems
- Sharing economy
A system whereby consumers share access to products or services, rather than having individual ownership
- Social capital
The collective value of all social networks; the links and shared values in society that enable individuals and groups to work together
- Social enterprise
Businesses that operate to tackle social problems, improve communities or the environment. They reinvest their profits back into the business or community.
- Supply chain
A network between a company and its suppliers to produce and distribute a specific product to the final buyer
- Supportability
Aiding the cause or policy or interests of
- Sustainability
The million-dollar definition! We believe sustainability is a balance of society, economy and environment for long-term resilience.
- Sustainable business
A business that is economically viable, socially responsible and environmentally conscious.
- Sustainable design
Designing products, services and the built environment in keeping with principles of sustainability
- Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
A collection of 17 interlinked global goals designed to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030.
- Sustainable procurement
Decisions when buying products and services that include social and environmental factors along with price and quality
- Systems thinking
An approach to problem-solving that views ‘problems’ as part of a wider, dynamic system, it is the process of understanding how things influence one another as part of a whole.
- Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)
An international organization created in 2015 to develop consistent climate-related financial risk disclosures for use by companies, banks, and investors in providing information to stakeholders.
- Triple bottom line
Describing the separate but interdependent financial, social and environmental ‘bottom lines’ of companies
- Tolerable
Able to be tolerated or endured
- Value chain
A business model that describes the full range of activities needed to create a product or service.
- Viability
Capable of normal growth and development
- Waste stream
The complete flow of a specific type of waste from domestic or industrial areas through to recovery, recycling or disposal
- Watersheds
A ridge of land that separates two adjacent river systems
- Zero carbon
A term sometimes used to describe a product or service that creates no CO2 or greenhouse gas emissions during production and/or operation.
- Zero waste
A target of sending no waste for disposal via landfill or burning
You can use the following image as a quick learning guide and revise the terms.
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