Sustainability Glossary

1-10

• 4R's: The 4R's in the 4R principle stand for reduce, reuse, recycle and recover

A

• 4R's: The 4R's in the 4R principle stand for reduce, reuse, recycle and recover

B

• Best in Class: An investment approach that aims to identify companies with strong ESG characteristics relative to peers.
• Biodegradable: Ability to break down and blend back in with the earth, given the right conditions and presence of microorganisms, fungi or bacteria.
• Biodiversity: The variety of life in all its forms, levels and combinations; includes ecosystem diversity, species diversity, and genetic diversity.
• Bioenergy: Bioenergy is a synonym for biofuel, fuel derived from biological sources. In its broader sense it encompasses also biomass, the biological material used as a biofuel, as well as the social, economic, scientific and technical fields associated with using biological sources for energy.
• Biofuel: Fuel produced by the chemical and/or biological processing of biomass. Biofuel will either be a solid (e.g. charcoal), liquid (e.g. ethanol) or gas (e.g. methane).
• Biomass: Any plant or animal material used to create energy
• Bioplastics: Compared to conventional plastics made from petroleum, bioplastics are made using organic materials such as cellulose, vegetable oils, or starches.
• Blackwater: Contaminated wastewater that must be drained from a building into separate blackwater pipes for extraction
• Bloomberg: Bloomberg is a financial, software, data, and media company. The Company provides financial software tools such as an analytics and equity trading platform, data services, and news to financial companies and organizations.
• Blue Bond: A form of a thematic bond where the issuer will use the capital raised to support investments in healthy oceans and blue economies aligned with SDG 14.
• Bluewater: Collectible water from rainfall; the water that falls on roofs and hard surfaces usually flowing into rivers and the sea and recharging the ground water.
• Blue Economy: Economic activities that create sustainable wealth from the world’s oceans and coasts.
• Business Model: When discussing the sustainability of a business model, we refer to the way a business makes money. Business models can tie to social causes as well.
• Business Resilience: Business Resilience is the ability of an organisation to adapt in a changing environment to enable it to achieve its objectives and prosper

C

• Carbon Capture: The process of capturing waste CO2 and placing it into a geological storage site in such a way that it will not enter the atmosphere & contribute to further global warming
• Carbon Credit: When companies create carbon offsetting initiatives, they receive a transferable or tradeable carbon credit, or token. A credit represents the right to emit greenhouse gas and make up for it elsewhere. A credit represents one ton of carbon dioxide reduced or removed from the atmosphere.The term also refers to purchased credits that will fund emission-reducing projects.
• Carbon Dioxide (CO2): Carbon Dioxide is a gas with the chemical formula CO2; the most abundant greenhouse gas emitted from fossil fuels
• Carbon Dioxide Equivalent (CO2e): The unit used to measure the impacts of releasing (or avoiding the release of) the seven different greenhouse gases; it is obtained by multiplying the mass of the greenhouse gas by its global warming potential.
• Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP): A not-for-profit charity that runs the global disclosure system for investors, companies, cities, states and regions to manage their environmental impacts. The world’s economy looks to CDP as the gold standard of environmental reporting.
• Carbon Emissions: A term often used in place of greenhouse gas emissions
• Carbon Footprint: Total emissions of greenhouse gases (in carbon equivalent) for an individual, activity or organisation over a given period of time.
• Carbon Neutral: Companies that are ‘carbon neutral’ achieve net-zero carbon emissions. That means the given company offsets the amount of carbon they produce by removing carbon emissions elsewhere or purchasing carbon credits.
• Carbon Offset: Any activity deemed to reduce overall emissions of greenhouse gases by purchasing verified carbon credits (also known as offsets) 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.
• Carbon Sink: Any system that absorbs more carbon than it emits. The main natural carbon sinks are soil, forests and oceans.
• Carbon Taxes: A surcharge on fossil fuels that aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions
• Circular Economy: The circular economy keeps products in circulation to the fullest extent possible by reducing material consumption, streamlining processes and collecting waste for reuse.
• Clean Tech: Technologies and processes that are meant to limit negative environmental impact, such as waste and carbon emissions, especially in comparison to fossil fuels.
• Climate: The general variations of weather in a region over long periods of time
• Climate Adaptation: The act of preparing for and adjusting to climate change's current and projected consequences. For example, cities can build seawalls to protect from rising sea levels.
• Climate Change: A long-term shift in global weather patterns or average temperatures.
• Climate Mitigation: The process of decreasing the flow of heat-trapping pollution. For example, reducing fossil fuel burning by using renewable energy sources may help.
• Climate Resilience: The ability to support a community, company or the natural environment before, during and after a climate event in a timely, efficient manner. Climate resilience differs from climate adaptation, but the two are often used synonymously.
• Climate Risk: The potential for climate change to create negative effects on human or ecological systems. Risks fall into two main categories: risks based on the transition to a greener economy and risks related to the physical effects of climate change.
• Closed-loop: A closed-loop economy is the most sustainable form of production and consumption. As a circular economy, the input used to create a product is the same as the output in a closed-loop.
• Compliance: Conformance to regulations and requirements
• Compost: The aerobically decomposed remnants of organic matter
• Compostable: A material that breaks down completely into non-toxic components that can support plant growth.
• Composting: The biological decomposition of organic materials in the presence of oxygen that yields carbon dioxide, heat, and stabilized organic residues that may be used as a soil additive.
• Comprehensive Roadmap for the Electric Vehicle Industry (CREVI) - CREVI is an essential tool for the Philippine government's high-level action plans in developing the EV industry. The Roadmap provides specific targets and activities to ensure a sustainable and just transition to an electrified transport sector in the country.
• Conference of Parties (COP): COP is the UNFCCC’s highest decision-making body. COP holds annual meetings in the context of climate change and proposes climate-related goals and solutions each year. UNFCCC is the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
• Conscious Capitalism: A socially responsible framework for capitalism in the corporate and political spheres. It emphasizes creating human value alongside profit value.
• Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): A management concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations.

D

• Decarbonization: The process by which CO2 emissions associated with electricity, industry, and transport are reduced or eliminated.
• Decent work: Work that, amongst other things, is productive and delivers a fair income, security in the workplace, and social protection for families.
• Deforestation: Deforestation occurs when a forested area is converted for non-forest reasons.
• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI): In the workplace, DEI refers to a variety of practices or policies designed to enable a supportive and inclusive environment for individuals, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, ability, gender or sexual orientation.
• Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World): The DJSI World represents the top 10% of the biggest 2,500 companies in the S&P Global Broad Market Index based on long-term environmental, social, and governance criteria.
• Downstream Solutions: Downstream solutions are responses to a problem after it has occurred. They focus on treating effects rather than causes. Examples of downstream solutions are recycling, waste management, and reuse of materials.

E

• E-cycling: Recycling of electronic waste.
• E-waste: Discarded electronic appliances such as mobile phones, computers, and televisions.
• Eco-friendly: A broad term used to imply that the product will not harm the environment.
• Ecosystem: Any natural unit or entity including living and non-living parts that interact to produce a stable system through cyclic exchange of materials.
• Ecological Sustainability: The capacity of ecosystems to maintain their essential processes and function and to retain their biological diversity without impoverishment.
• Effluent: A discharge or emission of liquid, gas or other waste product.
• Electric Vehicle: A vehicle that runs on electricity powered by a battery that can be plugged in to recharge. A vehicle that uses a battery and conventional engine is called a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.
• Emissions: Substances such as gases or particles discharged into the atmosphere as a result of natural processes of human activities, including those from chimneys, elevated point sources, and tailpipes of motor vehicles.
• Emissions Intensity: Emissions expressed as quantity per monetary unit.
• Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC): The document issued by the DENR-EMB that allows a proposed project to proceed to the next stage of project planning, which is the acquisition of approvals from other government agencies and LGUs, after which the project can start implementation.
• EE RA11285: The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act (Republic Act No. 11285) is to institutionalize energy efficiency and conservation, enhance the efficient use of energy, and grant incentives to energy efficiency and conservation projects.
• Energy Efficient: This means a product or an activity uses less energy to provide the power it needs to run compared to similar products or services.
• Energy Labels: Energy labels provide a clear and simple indication of the energy efficiency and other key features of products at the point of purchase.
• Energy Management: A program of well-planned actions aimed at reducing energy use, recurrent energy costs, and detrimental greenhouse gas emissions.
• Energy Recovery: The productive extraction of energy, usually electricity or heat, from waste or materials that would otherwise have gone to landfill.
• Environment: The external conditions, resources, stimuli etc. with which an organism interacts.
• Environmental Compliance: The act of conforming to legal or official environmental requirements and policies.
• Environmental Impact: The effect something has on the environment.
• Environmental Management Systems: A set of processes and practices that enable an organization to reduce its environmental impacts. The most commonly used framework is the one developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for the ISO 14001 standard.
• Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG): Sustainable and ethical interests that can be central to an organization's financial and corporate interests.
• Erosion: Displacement of solids (sediment, soil, rock and other particles) usually by the agents of currents such as wind, water, or ice by downward or down-slope movement in response to gravity or by living organisms.
• ESG Analysis: Refers to the process of evaluating a company’s environmental, social and governance policies and practices. This helps identify any potential risks or opportunities associated with those areas, including climate change.
• ESG Framework: A set of objectives that companies can use to report on ESG issues. The process begins when an organization selects an ESG reporting method.
• ESG Rating: These ratings are provided by agencies that collate data based on public information, third party research, company reports and direct engagement.
• Ethical Fashion: Fashion that considers the social and environmental impacts of its production processes, materials, and supply chains.
• Ethical Investment: The avoidance of investment in activities considered unethical and unsustainable, in favor of those that are either considered less harmful, benign or socially and environmentally positive.
• Ethical Living: Adopting lifestyles, consumption and shopping habits that minimize our negative impact, and maximize our positive impact on people, the environment and the economy cf. consumer democracy, sustainable living.
• Extended Producers Responsibility (EPR): A policy approach that holds producers accountable for the environmental impacts of their products throughout their life cycle, including their end-of-life disposal. EPR encourages producers to take responsibility for the collection, recycling, or safe disposal of their products.

F

• Fair Trade: An alternative approach to conventional trade, based on a partnership between producers and consumers, to ensure that producers (ex. farmers) and workers get a fair share of the benefits of trade.
• Fluff Fuel: Fluff Fuel are one of the highest grade of RDF (or Refuse Derived Fuel). Fluff Fuels are produced through shredding, compressing and packaging (Baling) of plastics.
• Fossil Fuel: A general term for organic materials formed from decayed plants and animals that have been converted to crude oil, coal, natural gas, or heavy oils by exposure to heat and pressure in the earth's crust over hundreds of millions of years.

G

• Geothermal Energy: Renewable energy form derived from hot water or steam within the earth. It usually creates electricity.
• Global Reporting Initiative (GRI): A nonprofit and independent standards organization that helps organizations report ESG impacts.
• GRI Standards: Voluntary reporting standards created by the Global Reporting Initiative focused on the
• environmental impacts of a company’s activities.
• Global Warming: Global warming refers to Earth's heating from trapped greenhouses gases resulting from human activities such as transportation, agriculture, overfishing, fossil fuel energy production and overconsumption.
• Global Warming Potential (GWP): A system of multipliers devised to enable warming effects of different gases to be compared
• Governance: Deals with a company's leadership, management style, executive pay, audits, internal controls and shareholder rights.
• Green: In Sustainability, green is frequently used to indicate consideration for the environment
• Green Bonds: A debt security issued by an organization for the purpose of financing or refinancing projects that contribute positively to the environment and/or climate. A green bond is alternatively known as a climate bond.
• Green Building: A building that is built based on ecological principles to maintain a healthy structure that minimizes environmental impacts. Essential features of green building include reducing or eliminating adverse ecological effects while also creating positive developments within the community.
• Green Design: The design of products, services, buildings, or experiences that are sensitive to environmental issues and achieve greater efficiency and effectiveness in terms of energy and materials use.
• Green Finance: Investments used to finance activities with environmental benefits
• Green Hushing: Green hushing involves companies intentionally hiding sustainability goals. Companies may do this for fear of greenwashing accusations or falling short of stated goals.
• Green Power: Electricity generated from clean, renewable energy sources (such as solar, wind, biomass and hydro power) and supplied through the grid.
• Green Products: Products or services that have a lesser or reduced effect on human health and the environment when compared with competing products or services that serve the same purpose. Green products or services may include, but are not limited to, those which contain recycled content, reduce waste, conserve energy or water, use less packaging, and reduce the amount of toxics disposed or consumed.
• Green Star: A voluntary building rating for green design covering 9 impact categories up to 6 stars which equals world leader
• Green Water: Water replenishing soil moisture, evaporating from soil, plant and other surfaces, and transpired by plants.
• Greenwashing: Deceptive, misleading or false claims or actions that an organization, product or service has a positive environmental effect
• Greenhouse Effect: The result of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxides in Earth's atmosphere trapping the sun's heat.
• Greenhouse Gases: Gases that trap heat in the atmosphere including carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and water vapor.
• Greenhouse Gas Inventory: A list of emission sources and the corresponding emissions that have been calculated using standardized techniques.
• Greenhouse Gas Protocol: A globally recognized set of reporting and accounting frameworks for managing greenhouse gas emissions from private and public sector operations, value chains and mitigation actions.
• Greywater: Household waste water that has not come into contact with toilet waste; includes water from baths, showers, bathrooms, washing machines, laundry and kitchen sinks

H

• Hybrid vehicle: A vehicle primarily powered by a conventional internal combustion engine, but supplemented with power from regenerative braking.
• Hydrogen Fuel: Zero-emission fuel when burned with oxygen. This fuel is beginning to be used in passenger cars and buses. It is also being used for the propulsion of spacecraft.

I

• Impact Investing: The conscious act of making investments with the intent of making a good impact on the environment or society while also generating a profit.
• Integrated Reporting: An approach to corporate reporting that integrates financial information and non- financial (e.g. sustainability) information into a single document to show how a company is performing.
• International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC): Organization formed in 2010 with the aim of creating a globally accepted Integrated Reporting Framework.
• International Organization for Standardization (ISO): An independent body that tends to develop standards for ensuring the quality, safety, and efficiency of the products or services provided by your businesses or organizations.
• International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB): A standard-setting board with the goal of delivering a wide-ranging baseline of sustainability-related disclosure standards that advise investors and other capital market players about the sustainability-related risks and opportunities faced by companies and assist them in making educated choices.

J

• Just Transition: Broadly defined as ensuring that no one is left behind or pushed behind in the transition to low-carbon and environmentally sustainable economies and societies

L

• Landfill: Land waste disposal site in which waste is generally spread in thin layers, compacted, and covered with a fresh layer of soil each day.
• Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED): LEED certifications are given to buildings that meet standards that conserve energy, water, waste and other environmental goals
• Life Cycle Assessment (LCA): A systematic analysis of the environmental impacts of a product, process, or service throughout its entire life cycle. It considers resource extraction, production, use, and disposal to identify areas for improvement and inform sustainable decision-making.
• Low Carbon Economy: an economy based on sustainable actions, mainly focused on reducing or even sequestering the greenhouse gases generated in the production chain, resulting in less environmental impact.

M

• Materiality Assessment: A formal way of assessing stakeholders' commitment to specific ESG issues and calculates an organization's ESG score. It works by identifying the impact of a certain issue on a company's performance and competitiveness in the market.
• Materiality Principle: The materiality principle is an accounting practice that encourages you to record only the financial information that significantly impacts your business decisions.
• Methane: A hydrocarbon that is a greenhouse gas with a global warming potential most recently estimated at 25 times that of carbon dioxide (CO2)
• 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.
• Microgrids: Microgrids replace expensive, carbon-intensive electricity purchased from the grid with clean, self-generated and environmentally-friendly power sourced as solar photovoltaics
• Microplastics: Small pieces of plastic, less than 5mm in length, found on land and water as a result of plastic pollution.

N

• Naked Packaging: Products that are sold without packaging.
• Natural Capital: The world’s stock of natural ‘assets’, including geology, soil, air, water and all living
• things.
• Natural Resources: Materials or substances such as minerals, forests, water, and fertile land that occur in nature and can be used for economic gain.
• Nature-based Solutions: Solutions that are inspired and supported by nature and that may also offer environmental, economic and social benefits, while increasing resilience.
• Net Zero: The result of lowering greenhouse gas emissions as close as possible to zero and balancing remaining emissions with removals.
• Net Zero Target: A Net-Zero Target refers to reaching net-zero carbon emissions by a selected date, but differs from zero carbon, which requires no carbon to be emitted as the key criteria.

O

• Ocean Acidification: Increased concentrations of carbon dioxide in sea water causing a measurable increase in acidity (i.e., a reduction in ocean pH). This may lead to reduced calcification rates of calcifying organisms such as corals, mollusks, algae and crustaceans.

P

• Paris Agreement: A legally binding international treaty on climate change adopted by more than 190 countries in 2015. Its goal is to limit global warming to well below 2°, preferably to 1.5° Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels.
• Philanthropy: The act of giving to charitable causes and/or organizations by corporations.
• Pollution: Pollution is defined as the introduction of pollutants into the environment that results in adverse effects. It can be in the form of chemicals or energy, such as noise, heat, or light.

R

• Rainwater Harvesting: Rainwater harvesting refers to stormwater that is collected and then stored for later use such as in irrigation, and indoor non-potable use
• Reforestation: Reforestation is the process of planting trees where a forest was previously held but had been removed for commercial purposes.
• Recycling: Processing materials that would otherwise be thrown away and turning them into reusable material. In closed loop recycling materials from a product are recycled to make the same, or a similar, product without significant degradation or waste.
• Recyclable: A product or material that can be collected, processed and manufactured into a new product.
• Regeneration: Improving ecological health and biodiversity by enabling, supporting and enhancing natural processes.
• Remanufacturing: Rebuilding a product to its original specifications using a combination of reused, repaired and new parts.
• Renewable: Resources that will naturally replenish themselves over time. This can include energy, or such as cotton, soy, and even rainwater. A renewable product can also be recycled, composted, or disposed of depending on its composition.
• Renewable Energy: Energy that comes from natural sources that are constantly replenished like wind, water and sunlight.
• Responsible Sourcing: The practice of selecting suppliers and materials based on their social and environmental performance. Responsible sourcing in the fashion industry aims to ensure that raw materials, components, and finished products are obtained in an ethical and sustainable manner.
• Restoration: Assisting an ecosystem to recover to a previous, more biodiverse condition.
• Reusable: Reusable simply means that an item can be used more than once, ideally multiple times, without being changed into a different product. Examples include keep cups, water bottles, tote bags, and bamboo straws.

S

• 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.
• Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi): A nonprofit partnership that helps private sector organizations set science-based emissions goals meant to uphold climate science and the Paris Agreement. The partnership is between the CDP, World Resources Institute, World Wide Fund for Nature and UN Global Compact.
• Scope 1 Emissions: The direct emissions generated by an organization's operations. Running machinery, manufacturing products, driving vehicles, heating buildings and providing power to devices generate emissions.
• Scope 2 Emissions: The indirect emissions generated by an organization's energy purchase and usage. Investment in renewable energy sources may help lower these emissions.
• Scope 3 Emissions: The indirect emissions generated by an organization's customer and supplier activities.
• Shared value: A management principle that seeks market opportunities for business to solve social problems.
• Social Bonds: Bonds with proceeds exclusively used to finance / refinance social projects
• Social Impact: The effect of an organization’s activities on society. Social impact encompasses both positive and negative outcomes and involves considerations such as community development, poverty alleviation, human rights, and social justice.
• 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.
• Social Responsibility: The ethical duty of individuals, organizations, and businesses to act in ways that benefit society at large. This involves considering the social impacts of decisions, supporting communities, and promoting positive change.
• Solar Energy: Energy derived from the sun. Solar panels are used to absorb the Sun’s radiation. This type
• of energy is captured, stored, and regenerated into the electricity grid.
• Stakeholder Engagement: A process that organizations can follow in order to listen to, collaborate with, or inform (or a combination of all three) their existing stakeholders.
• Supplier Code of Conduct: A set of guidelines or principles that outline the expectations and requirements for suppliers’ social, environmental, and ethical practices. It helps ensure that suppliers align with a company’s sustainability goals and values.
• Supply Chain: A network between a company and its suppliers to produce and distribute a specific product to the final buyer.
• Supply Chain Transparency: The extent to which information about the processes, practices, and impacts within a supply chain is readily available and accessible.
• Sustainability: The ability to meet present needs without compromising the needs of future generations. In practice, sustainability aligns environmental protection, human well-being and economic development.
• Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB): A nonprofit that sets sustainability standards for numerous industries relevant to financial performance.
• Sustainable Business: A business that is economically viable, socially responsible and environmentally conscious.
• Sustainable Consumption: The practice of using goods and services in a way that minimizes negative impacts on the environment, society, and the economy. It involves conscious choices, resource efficiency, and minimizing waste generation.
• Sustainable Design: Designing products, services and the built environment in keeping with principles of sustainability.
• Sustainable Development: Development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It balances social, economic, and environmental considerations to ensure long-term well-being.
• 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. They were adopted by the UN in 2015.
• Sustainable Fashion: The practice of producing, consuming, and disposing of fashion items in an environmentally and socially responsible manner. It involves considering the entire lifecycle of garments, promoting ethical labor practices, and using sustainable materials and manufacturing processes.
• Sustainable Finance: The process of taking environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations into account when making investment decisions in the financial sector, leading to more long-term investments in sustainable economic activities and projects.
• Sustainable Manufacturing: The creation of manufactured products through economically-sound processes that minimize negative environmental impacts while conserving energy and natural resources.
• Sustainable Packaging: Packaging that is designed, sourced, produced, and managed in a way that has reduced environmental impacts. It aims to minimize resource consumption, promote recyclability or compostability, and reduce waste generation.
• Sustainable Procurement: Decisions when buying products and services that include social and environmental factors along with price and quality.
• Sustainalytics: A firm that provides high-quality, analytical environmental, social and governance (ESG) research, ratings and data to institutional investors and companies.
• 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.

T

• 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. The Bill will make climate-related disclosures mandatory for around 200 organizations in the financial and insurance sectors.
• Triple Bottom Line: A phrase first coined by John Elkington in 1994, describing the separate but
• interdependent financial, social and environmental ‘bottom lines’ of companies.

U

• United Nations Global Compact (UNGC): A corporate sustainability initiative that calls on businesses to alight with universal principles on ESG issues and to take action to advance broader societal goals.
• United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP): A set of guidelines for states and companies to prevent, address, remedy human rights abuses committed in business operations.
• United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR): Created in December 1999 to ensure the implementation of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction.
• Upcycling: The creative reuse or transforming discarded items (usually with lesser value) or waste into new items with greater artistic or environmental value.
• Upstream Solutions: Preventative strategies to avoid a problem. For planners, this might include eliminating plastics and managing food supply to avoid the need for extensive waste management at an event.

W

• Waste Stream: The complete flow of a specific type of waste from domestic or industrial areas through to recovery, recycling or disposal.
• Wastewater: Water that has been used and contains dissolved or suspended waste materials.
• Water Scarcity: The point at which all demands on the supply of water or the quality of water cannot be met.
• Water Security: Water security refers to a population’s ability to provide safe access to adequate quantities and qualities of water for sustaining human well-being, protecting ecosystems, and socio- economic development.
• Wind Energy: Type of renewable energy created through wind turbines. This energy is collected through the motion from heavy winds in farm areas with open land.

Z

• Zero Carbon: 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.