Carbon accounting & measurement

The margin of error inherent to any carbon accounting method, linked to the quality of source data and emission factors used.

Regulation & reporting

California law requiring large companies doing business in the state - including non-US companies - to disclose their scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, on its own implementation timeline.

Carbon accounting & measurement

A quantified snapshot of all greenhouse gas emissions generated by an organization over a given period, usually a year - the starting point for any credible climate strategy, aligned with the GHG Protocol framework.

Decarbonization & pathway

The total quantity of GHGs that can still be emitted collectively while staying below a given warming threshold.

Carbon accounting & measurement

The total GHG emissions associated with an activity, product or organization, expressed in CO2 equivalent. Often used interchangeably with carbon assessment.

Decarbonization & pathway

Funding emission-reduction or carbon-removal projects elsewhere (reforestation, renewable energy) to counterbalance emissions that cannot yet be reduced directly.

Regulation & reporting

EU mechanism that applies a carbon price to imports of certain products, to prevent companies relocating production to less regulated countries.

Life cycle & product

Economic model aimed at limiting resource consumption and waste generation by favoring reuse, repair and recycling.

Climate adaptation

The adjustments an organization, territory or individual puts in place to cope with the effects of climate change that are already present or anticipated, alongside - not instead of - mitigation efforts.

Decarbonization & pathway

An annually published PPN 006 compliant document that outlines a company's current carbon footprint and action plan to reach net zero

Climate adaptation

Potentially damaging climate events - heatwaves, droughts, floods, storms - whose frequency and intensity are changing as the climate warms.

Climate adaptation

The ability of a system - company, territory, infrastructure - to absorb climate shocks and maintain its essential functioning.

Climate adaptation

Possible pathways of future climate evolution used by the IPCC to model different levels of future warming based on societal choices and climate policies.

Climate adaptation

The degree to which a system is likely to be adversely affected by climate change, based on its exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity.

Carbon accounting & measurement

Unit used to compare the climate impact of different greenhouse gases by converting them into an equivalent amount of warming caused by CO2.

Regulation & reporting

EU directive requiring large companies to carry out human-rights and environmental due diligence across their value chain.

ESG & sustainable finance

Approach by which a company integrates social and environmental concerns into its activities and stakeholder relations.

Regulation & reporting

EU directive that broadens and strengthens sustainability reporting requirements for large companies, being phased in progressively since 2024.

Regulation & reporting

Analysis principle requiring companies to assess both their impact on the environment and society, and the impact of sustainability issues on their own financial performance.

Life cycle & product

Approach that integrates environmental criteria from the earliest design stage of a product or service, to reduce its impact across its life cycle.

Regulation & reporting

EU sustainability technical standards that specify the content and format of the disclosures required under CSRD.

Carbon accounting & measurement

The most widely used international framework for measuring and managing GHG emissions, the origin of the scope 1, 2 and 3 structure.

Carbon accounting & measurement

Atmospheric gases that trap solar heat and contribute to global warming: CO2, methane, nitrous oxide and fluorinated gases among others.

Climate ecosystem

Practice of communicating misleadingly about a company's or product's environmental commitment, out of step with the reality of actions taken.

Regulation & reporting

International standards published by the ISSB, intended as a global baseline for sustainability and climate reporting, adopted or being adopted in several jurisdictions outside the EU.

Carbon accounting & measurement

Series of international standards for the quantification, monitoring and verification of GHG emissions, used alongside or as an alternative to the GHG Protocol depending on geography.

Life cycle & product

Method for assessing the environmental impacts of a product or service across its entire life cycle, from raw material extraction to end of life.

Decarbonization & pathway

Emission-reduction plan over time, aligned with science-based targets (often the 1.5°C or 2°C limits of the Paris Agreement).

Decarbonization & pathway

Efforts to reduce or avoid greenhouse gas emissions, as opposed to adaptation, which is about adjusting to the effects of climate change already under way.

Decarbonization & pathway

Principle that emission reduction must always take priority over offsetting and removal, which only come as a complement.

Decarbonization & pathway

Goal of reducing emissions as far as possible (at least 90% under most frameworks) then neutralizing unavoidable residual emissions, typically by 2050.

Decarbonization & pathway

A mandatory action plan for NHS suppliers to ensure they align with the NHS emissions reductions targets.  (Decarbonization & pathway)

Climate ecosystem

International treaty adopted in 2015 to limit global warming to well below 2°C, and ideally to 1.5°C, above pre-industrial levels.

Life cycle & product

Measurement of the carbon footprint of a specific product across its life cycle, typically expressed per unit (e.g. kg CO2e per unit sold) - increasingly requested by B2B customers and environmental labelling regulations.

Life cycle & product

Standardized EU method for calculating the environmental footprint of products, based on a multi-criteria approach.

Climate adaptation

Risk linked to the direct impacts of climate change on assets, supply chains or operations: acute events (floods, heatwaves) or chronic ones (rising average temperatures, water stress).

Decarbonization & pathway

Initiative that validates companies' emission-reduction targets against climate science, in line with the Paris Agreement.

Decarbonization & pathway

Emission-reduction targets whose ambition level is directly derived from scientific climate scenarios, rather than set arbitrarily by the company.

Carbon accounting & measurement

Direct emissions from sources owned or controlled by the company: on-site combustion, owned vehicle fleet, etc.

Carbon accounting & measurement

Indirect emissions from the energy purchased by the company (electricity, heat, steam, cooling).

Carbon accounting & measurement

Indirect emissions generated across the company's entire value chain, upstream and downstream, excluding scope 1 and 2. Usually the largest and most complex category to measure.

Regulation & reporting

US Securities and Exchange Commission rule requiring certain listed US companies to disclose climate-related risks and, under conditions, their emissions. Legal status has shifted repeatedly; verify current status before publishing.

Climate ecosystem

Approach of voluntarily reducing resource consumption (energy, materials) at the source, complementing efficiency gains and technological decarbonization.

Regulation & reporting

International reference framework for disclosing a company's climate-related risks, opportunities and financial impact.

Climate adaptation

Financial or operational risk linked to the shift to a low-carbon economy: regulatory change, shifting customer preferences, technological obsolescence.

Regulation & reporting

UK framework for labelling sustainable financial products and ensuring transparency, introduced post-Brexit, playing a role comparable to the EU's SFDR.

Climate adaptation

Phenomenon whereby an urban area experiences noticeably higher temperatures than surrounding rural areas, due to building density and lack of vegetation.

Regulation & reporting

Voluntary, simplified sustainability reporting framework designed for SMEs and mid-sized companies under 1,000 employees not directly subject to CSRD.

Climate adaptation

Situation where water demand in a territory or activity exceeds available resources - a growing adaptation concern for many sectors.