AGRICULTURE
Agriculture is the art and science of cultivating the soil, growing crops, and raising livestock. It includes the preparation of plant and animal products for people to use and their distribution to markets (nationalgeographic.org, 2007).
BIODIVERSITY
Biodiversity is a contraction of biological diversity. Biodiversity reflects the number, variety, and variability of living organisms. It includes diversity within species (genetic diversity), between species (species diversity), and between ecosystems (ecosystem diversity) (Greenfacts.org, 2022)
CARBON DIOXIDE
A colourless, odourless, non-combustible gas, present in low concentrations in the air we breathe. Carbon dioxide is produced when any substance containing carbon is burned. It is also a product of breathing and fermentation (Greenfacts.org, 2022).
CARBON FOOTPRINT
A carbon footprint is a measure of the amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that are released within the boundaries of the study. A carbon footprint is often measured in units of kg or tonnes of CO2e (Circular Ecology, n.d.)
CIRCULAR ECONOMY
A systems solution framework that tackles global challenges like climate change, biodiversity loss, waste, and pollution. It is based on three principles, driven by design: eliminate waste and pollution, circulate products and materials (at their highest value), and regenerate nature (Ellenmacarthurfoundation.org, 2022).
CLIMATE CHANGE
It is defined by the United Nations Convention on Climate Change as a “change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods” (Greenfacts.org, 2022).
CONFLICT MINERALS
It refers to raw materials or minerals that come from a particular part of the world where conflict is occurring and affects the mining and trading of those materials. These conflict minerals are in all consumer electronics products, as well as products from the jewellery, automotive, aerospace, medical equipment, and many other industries. (https://ecovadis.com/, 2022).
DEFORESTATION
The conversion of forested land to non-forested land as a direct result of human activities. Deforestation refers to a non-temporary change of land use from forest to other land use or to the depletion of forest crown cover to less than 10 per cent (Greenfacts.org, 2022).
ECO-FRIENDLY
Eco-friendly means earth-friendly or not harmful to the environment. This term refers to products that contribute to green living or practices that help conserve resources like water and energy (SF Gate, 2018).
ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT
A measure of how much area of biologically productive land and water an individual, population or activity requires to produce all the resources it consumes and to absorb the waste it generates, using prevailing technology and resource management practices. The Ecological Footprint is usually measured in global hectares (Footprintnetwork.org, 2022.).
ECOSYSTEM
The complex system of plant, animal, fungal, and microorganism communities and their associated non-living environment interact as an ecological unit. Depending upon the purpose of analysis, a single lake, a watershed, or an entire region could be considered an ecosystem (Greenfacts.org, 2022).
ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS
Environmental ethics is a branch of ethics that studies the relation of human beings and the environment and how ethics play a role in this. Environmental ethics believe that humans are a part of society as well as other living creatures, which includes plants and animals (Conserve energy future, 2022).
ETHICAL CONSUMPTION
Ethical Consumption is about making the connections between a product, where that product originated and in what context it has been produced. It requires you to think before you shop, to consider just how your lifestyle affects other people and communities, as well as the environment (DevelopmentEducation.ie, 2015).
FAST-FASHION
low-priced clothing that is brought to market quickly and copies fashion trends created by luxury brands or small, independent designers (www.dictionary.com, 2022).
FAIR-TRADE
Fairtrade is an international label that helps producers in growing countries achieve sustainable and equitable trade relationships, and helps consumers to be aware of their daily consumption (www.fairtrade.net, 2022)
FOOTPRINT
The impact of a product or service across its life cycle. One can calculate a product’s carbon, water, energy and material footprints, for example. This is similar to an LCA except that footprints typically only evaluate one environmental issue (Circular Economy Guide, 2018).
FOOD MANAGEMENT
Food management is a broad process that involves the proper oversight of food selection, preparation, presentation, and preservation (Tatum, M., 2022).
FOOD WASTE
The decrease in the quantity or quality of food results from decisions and actions by retailers, food service providers and consumers (Fao.org. 2019.).
FOSSIL FUEL
A general term for buried combustible geologic deposits of 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 (Greenfacts.org, 2022).
GLOBAL WARMING
The observed increase in average temperature near the Earth’s surface and in the lowest layer of the atmosphere. Global warming can also lead to other changes in climate conditions, such as changes in precipitation patterns (GlobalChange.gov. 2022).
GREEN TECHNOLOGY
The field of “green technology” encompasses a continuously evolving group of methods and materials, from techniques for generating energy to non-toxic cleaning products (Green-technology.org, 2022).
GREENHOUSE GAS
Greenhouse gases are gaseous constituents in the atmosphere, both natural and anthropogenic, that absorb and emit radiation at specific wavelengths within the spectrum of infrared radiation emitted by the Earth’s surface, the atmosphere and clouds (Greenfacts.org, 2022).
METHANE
Methane is a colourless, flammable, nontoxic gas with the chemical formula CH4. This gas is formed naturally by the decomposition of organic matter. Wetlands, livestock and energy are the main sources of methane emissions to the atmosphere, where it acts as a greenhouse gas (Greenfacts.org, 2022).
EARTH OVERSHOOT DAY
Earth Overshoot Day marks the date when humanity’s demand for ecological resources and services in a given year exceeds what Earth can regenerate in that year. To determine the date of Earth Overshoot Day for each year, Global Footprint Network calculates the number of days of that year that Earth’s biocapacity suffices to provide for humanity’s Ecological Footprint. (www.overshootday.org, 2022).
REFORESTATION
Planting of forests on lands that have previously contained forest but have since been converted to some other use (Greenfacts.org, 2022).
RENEWABLE ENERGY
Energy is derived from resources that are not depleted on timescales relevant to the economy, i.e. not geological timescales. Examples include wind, solar, hydropower, hydrothermal, ocean (wave and tidal), geothermal, and biogas from anaerobic digestion (Ellenmacarthurfoundation.org, 2022).
SUSTAINABILITY
A characteristic or state whereby the needs of the present and local population can be met without compromising the ability of future generations or populations in other locations to meet their needs (Greenfacts.org, 2022).
SUSTAINABLE TOURISM
Sustainable tourism takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities. Sustainable tourism should make optimal use of environmental resources that constitute a key element in tourism development, maintaining essential ecological processes and helping to conserve natural heritage and biodiversity (Segman, A., 2022).
WATER FOOTPRINT
Water Footprint is a measurement that totals the amount of water that is consumed by a process, individual, community, company, etc. (Buschsystems.com, 2022).
WATER SCARCITY
Water scarcity is the lack of sufficient available water resources to meet the demands of water usage within a region (ScienceDaily. 2022).
ZERO WASTE
Program to divert all (at least 95%) waste from landfill. The scope of zero waste may or may not include incineration depending on the reference (Circular Economy Guide, 2018).
