Green Jargon Buster

Greenspeak in plain English – an A to Z of all things green

• Biodiversity

Biodiversity is all the different kinds of life you'll find in one area, i.e., the variety of animals, plants, fungi, and even microorganisms like bacteria that make up our natural world. Each of these species and organisms work together in ecosystems, like an intricate web, to maintain balance and support life.

• Biomass fuels

Biomass is organic, meaning it is made of material that comes from living organisms, such as plants and animals. The most common biomass materials used for energy are plants, wood, and waste. 

• Carbon footprint

Carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gases (including carbon dioxide and methane) that are generated by our actions.

• Carbon management

Carbon management is when the greenhouse gases produced are monitored and an equivalent amount is removed from the atmosphere to offset this.

• Carbon neutral

Being carbon neutral means that the amount of carbon dioxide the operations of your organisation emits into the atmosphere is offset by an equal amount using some other means.

• Carbon offsetting

Offsetting is a way of paying for others to reduce emissions of their carbon dioxide to compensate for your own emissions. This often involves a company funding a project elsewhere such as restoring forests, delivering energy-efficient cooking stoves to communities in developing countries or developing renewable energy.

• Carbon reduction (plan)

A Carbon Reduction Plan is a document that is intended to demonstrate an organisation’s commitment to reducing their carbon emissions.

• Carbon sequestration

Carbon sequestration is the process of capturing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide. It is one method of reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere with the goal of reducing global climate change.

• Climate change

Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. These shifts may be natural, such as through variations in the solar cycle.

Since the 1800s, human activities have been the main driver of climate change, primarily due to burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas.

• Climate emergency

The serious and urgent problems that are being caused, or likely to be caused, by changes in the world's weather, in particular the world getting warmer because of human activity increasing the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

• COP 21

Also known as the Paris Conference which resulted in the Paris Agreement - a legally binding international treaty on climate change.

• COP26

The Conference of the Parties, properly called the 26th UN Climate Change Conference which took place 2021. It brought together world leaders together to agree on what actions need to be taken to achieve the Paris Agreement goals.

• Ecosystem

An ecosystem is a community or group of living organisms that live in and interact with each other in a specific environment. For instance, tropical forests are ecosystems made up of living beings such as trees, plants, animals, insects and micro-organisms.

• Green champion

Green Champions are people who seek to lead change in an organisation or community to transform it into a smarter, more successful, and more sustainable enterprise. They are passionate about climate action and sustainability in their home lives and who see an opportunity to boost action in their work or community.

• Greenhouse gas

Greenhouse gases are gases in the Earth’s atmosphere that trap heat. They let sunlight pass through the atmosphere, but they prevent the heat that the sunlight brings from leaving the atmosphere.

The main greenhouse gases are:

o   Water vapor

o   Carbon dioxide

o   Methane 

o   Ozone

o   Nitrous oxide

o   Chlorofluorocarbons

• Green House Gas Protocol of 2001

The international accounting tool for quantifying and measuring greenhouse gas emissions.

• Green Washing

This is misleading information produced by an organisation to present an environmentally responsible public image.

• Mitigation

This refers to action taken to limit global warming by reducing human emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

• Net Zero

Net zero refers to the balance between the amount of greenhouse gas produced and the amount removed from the atmosphere. We reach net zero emissions when the amount we add is no more than the amount taken away.

• Paris Agreement

The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change. It was adopted by 196 Parties at COP 21 in Paris, in 2015 and came into force in 2016. Its goal is to limit global warming to well below 2, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels.

• Recycling

Recycling is the process of collecting and processing materials that would otherwise be thrown away as rubbish and turning them into new products.

• Renewable energy

Renewable energy, often referred to as clean energy, comes from natural sources or processes that are constantly replenished. For example, sunlight or wind always exists even if their availability depends on time and weather.

• Scope one, two and three emissions

Scope 1, 2 and 3 is a way of categorising the different kinds of carbon emissions an organisation creates in its own operations. The term first appeared in the Green House Gas Protocol of 2001 and today Scopes are the basis for mandatory Green House Gas reporting in the UK.

o   Scope 1 covers the Green House Gas emissions that a company makes directly, for example while running its boilers and vehicles.

o   Scope 2 are the emissions it makes indirectly e.g., when the electricity or energy it buys for heating and cooling buildings, is being produced on its  behalf.

o   Scope 3 are all the emissions associated, not with the company itself, but that the organisation is indirectly responsible for. For example, from buying products from its suppliers, and from its products when customers use them. Scope 3 is usually the most significant.

• Sustainability

Sustainability is achieved when humans interact with the environment in a way that ensures there will be enough resources left for future generations.

If you have more definitions for this page, please let us know by contacting us.

last update May 2022