The Basics

Greenhouse Gases (GHG)

Carbon Footprint

Emissions Factor

Upstream

Downstream

Things that happen after you deliver a product (like customers using or throwing it away).

Value Chain

Scope 1 Emissions

Direct emissions from things your company owns or controls (like boilers or company cars).

Scope 2 Emissions

Indirect emissions from the electricity or heat your company buys.

Scope 3 Emissions

All other indirect emissions in your value chain, like suppliers, business travel, and customer use.

Net Zero

Reducing your emissions as much as possible and offsetting the rest to get to “zero” overall.

Carbon Neutrality

Offsetting all your emissions so your activities add “zero” net CO₂ to the atmosphere.

Climate Positive

Going beyond net zero by removing more CO₂ than you produce.

Residual Emissions

The small amount of emissions left over after you’ve reduced as much as possible.

Decarbonisation

Cutting down carbon emissions as much as possible.

Carbon Intensity

The amount of CO₂ emitted for each unit of output (like per product or per £1 earned).

Tones of CO₂  (tCO₂)

Short for tonnes of CO₂ equivalent. It converts all greenhouse gases (like methane and nitrous oxide) to CO₂ for ease of comparison.

Measurement keywords

These keywords describe how we measure and calculate carbon emissions or a carbon footprint.

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

Adding up the environmental impact of a product from start to finish.

GHG Protocol

The world’s most widely used system for measuring and reporting emissions.

Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP)

A global system where companies report their environmental data to help investors and customers make decisions.

PCAF Standard

Activity-based Approach

Estimating emissions using real-world data like miles driven or litres of fuel.

Spend-based Approach

Estimating emissions based on how much money you spent.

Cradle-to-Gate

Measuring a product’s environmental impact from raw materials to when it leaves the factory.

Cradle-to-Grave

Measuring a product’s environmental impact from raw materials all the way to disposal.

Double Materiality Assessment (DMA)

Looking at sustainability from two angles: how the environment affects your business and how your business affects the environment.

Absolute Target

A goal to cut total emissions by a set amount (e.g., 50% by 2030).

Intensity Target

A goal to cut emissions per unit of output (e.g., per product made or £ earned).

Energy Intensity

The amount of energy used per unit of output (like per m² of building space or per product).

Action Keywords

Offsetting

Paying for projects (like planting trees) that reduce or remove CO₂ to balance out your own emissions.

Insetting (Carbon Insetting)

Investing in carbon reduction projects within your own supply chain (instead of offsetting elsewhere).

Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs)

Certificates proving you’ve bought renewable electricity.

Power Purchase Agreement (PPA)

A long-term deal to buy renewable electricity directly from a producer.

Circular Economy

A way of designing products and systems so materials are reused and waste is avoided.

Carbon Capture & Storage (CCS)

Technology that traps CO₂ and stores it underground so it doesn’t reach the atmosphere.

Energy Efficiency

Using less energy to get the same job done (like LED bulbs or better insulation).

Demand-Side Management

Adjusting when and how energy is used to cut peak demand and emissions.

Nature-based Solutions

Protecting or restoring ecosystems (like forests or wetlands) to absorb CO₂.

Reporting

Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi)

Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)

A global standard for sustainability reporting, covering environmental and social impacts.

IFRS Sustainability Standards (ISSB)

New global rules for sustainability reporting, merging climate and financial information.

Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)

A global standard for reporting climate risks and how a company is managing them.

Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS)

Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR)

Carbon Reduction Plan (CRP)

A document showing how an organisation will cut its carbon emissions (required for some UK public contracts).

Procurement Policy Notice 06/21 (PPN 06/21)

Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)

A new EU law requiring detailed sustainability reporting for large companies.

Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR)

An EU rule requiring financial firms to share how green their investments really are.

EU Taxonomy

A list of activities the EU says count as environmentally sustainable.

Environmental Product Declaration (EPD)

CIBSE Technical Memorandum 65 (TM65)

Voluntary Sustainability Reporting Standard for non‑listed SMEs (VSME)