This Annex presents all the acronyms found in the ESRS (Table 1) as well as all terms defined in the ESRS (Table 2).
Table 1
Acronyms
AMS | Automated Measuring Systems |
AQI | Air Quality Indices |
AR | Application Requirements |
AWS | Alliance for Water Stewardship |
BAT | Best Available Technique |
BAT-AEL | Best Available Technique-Associated Emission Level |
BAT-AEPL | Best Available Technique-Associated Environmental Performance Level |
BREFs | Best Available Techniques Reference Documents |
Btu | British Thermal Units |
CapEx | Capital Expenditure |
CBD | Convention for Biological Diversity |
CDDA | Common Database on Designated Areas |
CEN | European Committee for Standardization |
CENELEC | European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization |
CH4 | Methane |
CICES | Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services |
C02 | Carbon Dioxide |
CRR | ►C1 Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (1) (Capital Requirements Regulation) ◄ |
DEGURBA | Degree of Urbanisation |
DR BP-1 | Disclosure Requirement - General basis for preparation of the sustainability statements |
DR BP-2 | Disclosure Requirement - Disclosures in relation to specific circumstances |
DR GOV-1 | Disclosure Requirement - The role of the administrative, management and supervisory bodies |
DR GOV-2 | Disclosure Requirement - Information provided to and sustainability matters addressed by the undertaking’s administrative, management and supervisory bodies |
DR GOV-3 | Disclosure Requirement - Integration of sustainability- related performance in incentive schemes |
DR GOV-4 | Disclosure Requirement - Statement on sustainability due diligence |
DR GOV-5 | Disclosure Requirement - Risk management and internal controls over sustainability reporting |
DR SBM-1 | Disclosure Requirement - Market position, strategy, business model(s) and value chain |
DR SBM-2 | Disclosure Requirement - Interests and views of stakeholders |
DR SBM-3 | Disclosure Requirement - Material impacts, risks and opportunities and their interaction with strategy and business model(s) |
DR IRO-1 | Disclosure Requirement - Description of the processes to identify and assess material impacts, risks and opportunities |
DR IRO-2 | Disclosure Requirements in ESRS covered by the undertaking’s sustainability statements |
DNSH | Do No Significant Harm |
DR | Disclosure Requirements |
EBA | European Banking Authority |
EC | European Commission |
EEA | European Economic Area |
EFRAG | European Financial Reporting Advisory Group |
EFRAG SRB | European Financial Reporting Advisory Group Sustainability Reporting Board |
EIA | Environmental Impact Assessment |
EMAS | Eco-Management and Audit Scheme |
EPC | Energy Performance Certificate |
E-PRTR | European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register |
ESA | European Supervisory Authorities |
ESMA | European Securities and Markets Authority |
ESRS | European Sustainability Reporting Standards |
ESRS 1 | European Sustainability Reporting Standard 1 General requirements |
ESRS 2 | European Sustainability Reporting Standard 2 General disclosures |
ESRS E1 | European Sustainability Reporting Standard E1 Climate change |
ESRS E2 | European Sustainability Reporting Standard E2 Pollution |
ESRS E3 | European Sustainability Reporting Standard E3 Water and marine resources |
ESRS E4 | European Sustainability Reporting Standard E4 Biodiversity and ecosystems |
ESRS E5 | European Sustainability Reporting Standard E5 Resource use and circular economy |
ESRS G1 | European Sustainability Reporting Standard G1 Business conduct |
ESRS S1 | European Sustainability Reporting Standard S1 Own workforce |
ESRS S2 | European Sustainability Reporting Standard S2 Workers in the value chain |
ESRS S3 | European Sustainability Reporting Standard S3 Affected communities |
ESRS S4 | European Sustainability Reporting Standard S4 Consumers & end-users |
EU | European Union |
EU ETS | European Union Emissions Trading System |
EWC | European Works Council |
FPIC | Free, Prior and Informed Consent |
FTE | Full-time equivalent |
GAAP | Generally Accepted Accounting Principles |
GHG | Greenhouse Gas |
GJ | Giga-Joules |
GRI | Global Reporting Initiative |
GWP | Global Warming Potential |
HFCs | Hydrofluorocarbons |
IED | Directive 2010/75/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (2) (Industrial Emissions Directive) |
IFC | International Finance Corporation |
IFRS | International Financial Reporting Standards |
ILO | International Labour Organisation |
IPBES | Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services |
IPCC | Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change |
ISEAL | International Social and Environmental Accreditation and Labelling Alliance |
ISO | International Organization for Standardization |
ISSB | International Sustainability Standards Board |
ITS | Implementing Technical Standards |
IUCN | International Union for Conservation of Nature |
KBA | Key Biodiversity Areas |
Kg | Kilogram |
lb | Pounds |
LEAP | Locate Evaluate Assess Prepare |
LGBTQI | Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex |
MDR | Minimum Disclosure Requirement |
MWh | Mega-Watt-hours |
N2O | Nitrous Oxide |
NACE | Statistical Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community |
NF3 | Nitrogen trifluoride |
NGOs | Non-Governmental Organisations |
NH3 | Ammonia |
NOX | Nitrogen oxides |
NUTS | Nomenclature of Territorial Units of Statistics |
O3 | Ozone |
ODS | Ozone-depleting substance |
OECD | Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development |
OECM | One Earth Climate Model |
OpEX | Operating Expenditure |
PBTS | Persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic substances |
PCAF | Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financial |
Table 2
Terms defined in the ESRS
This table defines the terms to be used as reference for the preparation of the sustainability statements in accordance with the ESRS.
Defined term | Definition |
Actions | Actions refer to: i. actions and action plans (including transition plans) that are undertaken to ensure that the undertaking delivers against targets set and through which the undertaking seeks to address material impacts, risks and opportunities; and ii. decisions to support these with financial, human or technological resources. |
Actor in the value chain | Individuals or entities in the upstream or downstream value chain. The actor is considered downstream from the undertaking (e.g., distributors, customers) when it receives products or services from the undertaking; it is considered upstream from the undertaking (e.g., suppliers) when it provides products or services that are used in the production of the undertaking’s own products or services. |
Adequate wage | A wage that provides for the satisfaction of the needs of the worker and his / her family in the light of national economic and social conditions. |
Administrative, management and supervisory bodies | The governance bodies with the highest decision-making authority in the undertaking including its committees. If in the governance structure, there are no members of the administrative, management or supervisory bodies of the undertaking, the CEO, and if such function exists, the deputy CEO, should be included. In some jurisdictions, governance systems consist of two tiers, where supervision and management are separated. In such cases, both tiers are included under the definition of administrative, management and supervisory bodies. |
Affected Communities | People or group(s) living or working in the same area that have been or may be affected by a reporting undertaking’s operations or through its upstream and downstream value chain. Affected communities can range from those living adjacent to the undertaking’s operations (local communities) to those living at a distance. Affected communities include actually and potentially affected indigenous peoples. |
Annual total remuneration | Annual total remuneration to own workforce includes salary, bonus, stock awards, option awards, non-equity incentive plan compensation, change in pension value, and nonqualified deferred compensation earnings provided over the course of a year. |
Anticipated financial effects | Financial effects that do not meet the recognition criteria for inclusion in the financial statement line items in the reporting period and that are not captured by the current financial effects. |
Area at water risk | A water catchment, where several physical aspects related to water: i. lead to one or more water bodies to be in less than good status and / or deteriorate in status (as defined in Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (1)), thus pointing to significant issues as regards water availability, quality, quantity (including high water-stress); and/or ii. lead to issues as regards accessibility of water, regulatory or reputational issues (including the shared use of water with communities and affordability of water) for its facilities and for the facilities of key supplier(s). |
Area of high-water stress | Regions where the percentage of total water withdrawn is high (40-80%) or extremely high (greater than 80%) in the Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas tool of the World Resources Institute (WRI). See also water scarcity. |
Associated process materials | Materials that are needed for the manufacturing process but are not part of the final product, such as lubricants for manufacturing machinery. |
Best Available Techniques (BAT) conclusions | A document containing the parts of a BAT reference document laying down the conclusions on best available techniques, their description, information to assess their applicability, the emission levels associated with the best available techniques, the environmental performance levels associated with the best available techniques, the minimum content of an environmental management system including benchmarks associated with the best available techniques, associated monitoring, associated consumption levels and, where appropriate, relevant site remediation measures (2). |
Best Available Technique-Associated Emission Level (BAT-AEL) | The range of emission levels obtained under normal operating conditions using a best available technique or a combination of best available techniques, as described in BAT conclusions, expressed as an average over a given period of time, under specified reference conditions, i.e., the emission level that is associated with a BAT. |
Best Available Technique-Associated Environmental Performance Level (BAT-AEPL) | The range of environmental performance levels, except emission levels, obtained under normal operating conditions using a BAT or a combination of BAT s (3). |
Best Available Techniques (BAT) (4) | The most effective and advanced stage in the development of activities and their methods of operation which indicates the practical suitability of particular techniques for providing the basis for emission limit values and other permit conditions designed to prevent and, where that is not practicable, to reduce emissions and the impact on the environment as a whole: i. ‘techniques’ includes both the technology used and the way in which the installation is designed, built, maintained, operated and decommissioned; ii. ‘available techniques’ means those developed on a scale which allows implementation in the relevant industrial sector, under economically and technically viable conditions, taking into consideration the costs and advantages, whether or not the techniques are used or produced inside the Member State in question, as long as they are reasonably accessible to the operator; and iii. ‘best’ means most effective in achieving a high general level of protection of the environment as a whole. |
Biodiversity loss | The reduction of any aspect of biological diversity (i.e., diversity at the genetic, species and ecosystem levels) in a particular area through death (including extinction), destruction or physicalmanual removal; it can refer to many scales, from global extinctions to population extinctions, resulting in decreased total diversity at the same scale. |
Biodiversity or biological diversity | The variability among living organisms from all sources including terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are a part. This includes variation in genetic, phenotypic, phylogenetic, and functional attributes, as well as changes in abundance and distribution over time and space within and among species, biological communities and ecosystems. |
Biodiversity sensitive area | Natura 2000 network of protected areas, UNESCO World Heritage sites and Key Biodiversity Areas (‘KBAs’), as well as other protected areas, as referred to in Appendix D of Annex II to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2139 (5). |
Biosphere integrity or ecological integrity | The ability of an ecosystem to support and maintain ecological processes and a diverse community of organisms. |
Blue economy | The blue economy encompasses all industries and sectors related to oceans, seas and coasts, whether they are based in the marine environment (e.g., shipping, fisheries, energy generation) or on land (e.g. ports, shipyards, land-based aquaculture and algae production, coastal tourism). |
BREF or EU Best Available Techniques reference documents | A document resulting from the exchange of information organised pursuant to Article 13 of Directive 2010/75/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council (6) on industrial emissions, drawn up for defined activities and describing, in particular, applied techniques, present emissions and consumption levels, techniques considered for the determination of best available techniques as well as BAT conclusions and any emerging techniques, giving special consideration to the criteria listed in Annex III of Directive 2010/75/EU. |
Bribery | Dishonestly persuading someone to act in your favour by giving them a gift of money or another inducement. |
Business model | The undertaking’s system of transforming inputs through its activities into outputs and outcomes that aims to fulfil the undertaking’s strategic purposes and create value over the short-, medium- and long-term. ESRS use the term ‘business model’ in the singular, although it is recognised that undertakings may have more than one business model. |
Business relationships | The relationships the undertaking has with business partners, entities in its value chain, and any other non-State or State entity directly linked to its business operations, products or services. Business relationships are not limited to direct contractual relationships. They include indirect business relationships in the undertaking’s value chain beyond the first tier, and shareholding positions in joint ventures or investments. |
By-product | A substance or object resulting from a production process the primary aim of which is not the production of that substance or object is considered not to be waste, but to be a by-product if the following conditions are met: i. further use of the substance or object is certain; ii. the substance or object can be used directly without any further processing other than normal industrial practice; iii. the substance or object is produced as an integral part of a production process; and iv. further use is lawful, i.e., the substance or object fulfils all relevant product, environmental and health protection requirements for the specific use and will not lead to overall adverse environmental or human health impacts. |
Carbon credit | A transferable or tradable instrument that represents one metric tonne of CO2eq emission reduction or removal and is issued and verified according to recognised quality standards. |
Carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent (eq) | The universal unit of measurement to indicate the global warming potential (GWP) of each greenhouse gas, expressed in terms of the GWP of one unit of carbon dioxide. It is used to evaluate releasing (or avoiding releasing) different greenhouse gases on a common basis. |
Child labour | Work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development. It refers to work that: i. is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children; and/or ii. interferes with their schooling by depriving them of the opportunity to attend school; obliging them to leave school prematurely; or requiring them to attempt to combine school attendance with excessively long and heavy work. A child is defined as a person under the age of 18. Whether or not particular forms of ‘work’ can be called ‘child labour’ depends on the child’s age, the type and hours of work performed and the conditions under which it is performed. The answer varies from country to country, as well as among sectors within countries. The minimum age of work should not be less than the minimum age of completion of compulsory schooling, and, in any case, should not be less than 15 years according to International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention No. 138 on Minimum Age. Exceptions can occur in certain countries where economies and educational facilities are insufficiently developed, and a minimum age of 14 years applies. These countries of exception are specified by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in response to a special application by the country concerned and in consultation with representative organisations of employers and workers. National laws may permit the employment of persons 13 to 15 years of age in light work as long as it is not likely to be harmful to their health or development and does not prejudice their attendance at school or participation in vocational or training programmes. The minimum age for admission into work which by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out is likely to jeopardise the health, safety or morals of young persons shall not be less than 18 years. |
Circular economy | An economic system in which the value of products, materials and other resources in the economy is maintained for as long as possible, enhancing their efficient use in production and consumption, thereby reducing the environmental impact of their use, minimising waste and the release of hazardous substances at all stages of their life cycle, including through the application of the waste hierarchy. |
Circular economy principles | The European circular economy principles are: i. usability; ii. reusability; iii. repairability; iv. disassembly; v. remanufacturing or refurbishment; vi. recycling; vii. recirculation by the biological cycle; viii. other potential optimisation of product and material use. |
Circular material use rate | Recirculation of materials, components and products in practice after first use employing the following strategies (in order of preference): i. maintenance/prolonged use; ii. reuse /redistribution; iii. refurbishment/remanufacturing; iv. recycling, composting, or anaerobic digestion. The use rate is defined as the ratio of circular use of materials to overall use of materials. |
Classified information | EU classified information as defined in Council Decision 2013/488/EU (7) on the security rules for protecting EU classified information or classified by one of the Member States and marked as per Appendix B of that Council decision. |
Climate change adaptation | The process of adjustment to actual and expected climate change and its impacts. |
Climate change mitigation | The process of reducing GHG emissions and holding the increase in the global average temperature to 1,5 °C above pre-industrial levels, in line with the Paris Agreement. |
Climate resilience | The capacity of an undertaking to adjust to climate changes, and to developments or uncertainties related to climate change. Climate resilience involves the capacity to manage climate-related Scope 1 and benefit from climate-related opportunities, including the ability to respond and adapt to transition risks and physical risks. An undertaking’s climate resilience includes both its strategic resilience and its operational resilience to climate-related changes, developments or uncertainties associated with climate change. |
Climate-related opportunity | Potential positive effects related to climate change for the undertaking. Efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change can produce opportunities for undertakings. Climate-related opportunities will vary depending on the region, market, and industry where an undertaking operates. |
Climate-related physical risk (Physical risk from climate change) | Risks resulting from climate change that can be event-driven (acute) or from longer-term shifts (chronic) in climate patterns. Acute physical risks arise from particular hazards, especially weather-related events such as storms, floods, fires or heatwaves. Chronic physical risks arise from longer-term changes in the climate, such as temperature changes, and their effects on rising sea levels, reduced water availability, biodiversity loss and changes in land and soil productivity. |
Climate-related transition risk | Risks that arise from the transition to a low-carbon and climate-resilient economy. They typically include policy risks, legal risks, technology risks, market risks and reputational risks. |
Collective bargaining | All negotiations which take place between an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers' organisations, on the one hand, and one or more trade unions or, in their absence, the representatives of the workers duly elected and authorised by them in accordance with national laws and regulations, on the other, for: i. determining working conditions and terms of employment; and/or ii. regulating relations between employers and workers; and/or regulating relations between employers or their organisations and a workers' organisation or workers' organisations. |
Confirmed incident (child or forced labour or human trafficking) | Incident of child or forced labour or human trafficking that has been found to be substantiated. Confirmed incidents do not include incidents of child or forced labour or human trafficking that are still under investigation in the reporting period. |
Confirmed incident of corruption or bribery | An incident of corruption or bribery that has been found to be substantiated. Confirmed incidents of corruption or bribery do not include incidents of corruption or bribery that are still under investigation at the end of the reporting period. The determination of potential non-compliance cases as substantiated may be made either by the undertaking’s compliance officer or similar function or an authority. A determination as substantiated by a court of law is not required. |
Consumer | Individuals who acquire, consume or use goods and services for personal use, either for themselves or for others, and not for resale, commercial or trade, business, craft or profession purposes. |
Corporate culture | Corporate culture expresses goals through values and beliefs. It guides the undertaking’s activities through shared assumptions and group norms such as values or mission statements or a code of conduct. |
Corruption | Abuse of entrusted power for private gain, which can be instigated by individuals or organisations. It includes practices such as facilitation payments, fraud, extortion, collusion, and money laundering. It also includes an offer or receipt of any gift, loan, fee, reward, or other advantage to or from any person as an inducement to do something that is dishonest, illegal, or a breach of trust in the conduct of the undertaking’s business. This can include cash or in-kind benefits, such as free goods, gifts, and holidays, or special personal services provided for the purpose of an improper advantage, or that can result in moral pressure to receive such an advantage. |
Credible proxies | Individuals with sufficiently deep experience in engaging with affected stakeholders from a particular region or context (for example, women workers on farms, indigenous peoples or migrant workers) who can help to effectively convey their likely concerns. In practice, this can include development and human rights NGOs, international trade unions and local civil society, including faith-based organisations. |
Current financial effects | Financial effects for the current reporting period that are recognised in the primary financial statements. |
Decarbonisation levers | Aggregated types of mitigation actions such as energy efficiency, electrification, fuel switching, use of renewable energy, products change, and supply-chain decarbonisation that fit with undertakings' specific actions. |
Deforestation | Temporary or permanent human-induced conversion of forested land to non-forested land (8). |
Degradation or degraded ecosystem | Chronic human impacts resulting in the loss of biodiversity and the disruption of an ecosystem s structure, composition, and functionality. |
Dependencies | The situation of an undertaking being dependent on natural, human and/or social resources for its business processes. |
Deposit in water and soil | An amount of a substance that has accumulated in the environment, either in water or in soil, and either as a consequence of regular activities or from incidents or from disposals of undertakings, independent of whether that accumulation occurs at the production site of an undertaking or outside. |
Desertification | Land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities. Desertification does not refer to the natural expansion of existing deserts. |
Discharge | Wastewater discharge means the amount of water (in m3) or substance (in kg BOD/d or comparable) added / leached to a water body from a point or a non-point source. Sewage effluent (or discharge) means treated sewage discharged from a sewage treatment plant. |
Discrimination | Discrimination can occur directly or indirectly. Direct discrimination occurs when an individual is treated less favourably by comparison to how others, who are in a similar situation, have been or would be treated, and the reason for this is a particular characteristic they hold, which falls under a ‘protected ground’. Indirect discrimination occurs when an apparently neutral rule disadvantages a person or a group sharing the same characteristics. It must be shown that a group is disadvantaged by a decision when compared to a comparator group. |
Double materiality | Double materiality has two dimensions: impact materiality and financial materiality. A sustainability matter meets the criterion of double materiality if it is material from the impact perspective or the financial perspective or both. |
Durability of a product, component or material | The ability of a product, component or material to remain functional and relevant when used as intended. |
Ecological threshold | The point at which a relatively small change in external conditions causes a rapid change in an ecosystem. When an ecological threshold has been passed, the ecosystem may no longer be able to return to its state by means of its inherent resilience. |
Ecosystem extent | The size of an ecosystem asset, whereas an ecosystem asset is the contiguous space of a specific ecosystem type characterised by a distinct set of biotic and abiotic components and their interactions. |
Ecosystem restoration | Any intentional activities that initiate or accelerate the recovery of an ecosystem from a degraded state. |
Ecosystem services | The contributions of ecosystems to the benefits that are used in economic and other human activity, respectively the benefits people obtain from ecosystems. In the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, ecosystem services can be divided into supporting, regulating, provisioning and cultural. The Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES) classifies types of ecosystems services. |
Ecosystem(s) | A dynamic complex of plant, animal and micro-organism communities and their non-living environment interacting as a functional unit. A typology of ecosystems is provided by the IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology 2.0. |
Emission | The direct or indirect release of substances, vibrations, heat or noise from individual or diffuse sources into air, water or soil (9). |
Employee | An individual who is in an employment relationship with the undertaking according to national law or practice. |
End-users | Individuals who ultimately use or are intended to ultimately use a particular product or service. |
Equal opportunities | Equal and non-discriminatory access, among individuals, to opportunities for education, training, employment, career development and the exercise of power without their being disadvantaged on the basis of criteria such as gender, racial or ethnic origin, nationality, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation. |
Equal treatment | The principle of equal treatment is a general principle of European law which presupposes that comparable situations or parties in comparable situations are treated in the same way. In the context of ESRS S1, the term ‘equal treatment’ also refers to the principle of non-discrimination, according to which there shall be no direct or indirect discrimination based on any ground such as sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age or sexual orientation. |
Financial effects | Effects from risks and opportunities that affect the undertaking’s financial position, financial performance and cash flows over the short, medium or long term. |
Financial materiality | A sustainability matter is material from a financial perspective if it generates risks or opportunities that affect (or could reasonably be expected to affect) the undertaking’s financial position, financial performance, cash flows, access to finance or cost of capital over the short, medium or long term. |
Forced labour | All work or service which is exacted from any person under the threat of penalty and for which the person has not offered himself or herself voluntarily. The term encompasses all situations in which persons are coerced by any means to perform work and includes both traditional ‘slave-like’ practices and contemporary forms of coercion where labour exploitation is involved, which may include human trafficking and modern slavery. |
Fossil fuel | Non-renewable carbon-based energy sources such as solid fuels, natural gas and oil. |
Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) | A manifestation of indigenous peoples right to self-determine their political, social, economic and cultural priorities. It constitutes three interrelated and cumulative rights of indigenous peoples: the right to be consulted; the right to participate; and the right to their lands, territories and resources. FPIC pertains to indigenous peoples and is recognized under international human rights law, notably the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). |
Freshwater | Groundwater and surface water, with a mean annual salinity of < 0,5 ‰ (i.e., the limit mentioned in Annex II of the Water Framework Directive). |
GHG emission reduction | Decrease in the undertaking’s Scope 1, 2, 3 or total GHG emissions at the end of the reporting period, relative to emissions in the base year. Emission reductions may result from, among others, energy efficiency, electrification, suppliers' decarbonisation, electricity mix decarbonisation, sustainable products development or changes in reporting boundaries or activities (e.g., outsourcing, reduced capacities), provided they are achieved within the undertaking's own operations and upstream and downstream value chain. Removals and avoided emissions are not counted as emission reductions. |
GHG removal and storage | (Anthropogenic) removals refer to the withdrawal of GHGs from the atmosphere as a result of deliberate human activities. These include enhancing biological anthropogenic sinks of CO2 and using chemical engineering to achieve long-term removal and storage. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) from industrial and energy-related sources, which alone does not remove CO2 from the atmosphere, can remove atmospheric CO2 if it is combined with bioenergy production (Bioenergy with Carbon Capture & Storage - BECCS). Removals can be subject to reversals, which are any movement of stored GHG out of the intended storage that re-enters the atmosphere. For example, if a forest that was grown to remove a specific amount of CO2 is subject to a wildfire, the emissions captured in the trees are reversed. |
Global warming potential (GWP) | A factor describing the radiative forcing impact (degree of harm to the atmosphere) of one unit of a given GHG relative to one unit of CO2. |
Greenhouse Gases (GHG) | The gases listed in Part 2 of Annex V of Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 of the European Parliament and of the Council (10). These include Carbon dioxide (CO2), Methane (CH4), Nitrous Oxide (N2O), Sulphur hexafluoride (SF6), Nitrogen trifluoride (NF3), Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), Perfluorocarbons (PFCs). |
Grievance mechanism | Any routinized, state-based or non-state-based, judicial or non-judicial processes through which stakeholders can raise grievances and seek remedy. Examples of state-based judicial and non-judicial grievance mechanisms include courts, labour tribunals, national human rights institutions, National Contact Points under the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, ombudsperson offices, consumer protection agencies, regulatory oversight bodies, and government-run complaints offices. Non-state-based grievance mechanisms include those administered by the undertaking, either alone or together with stakeholders, such as operational-level grievance mechanisms and collective bargaining, including the mechanisms established by collective bargaining. They also include mechanisms administered by industry associations, international organisations, civil society organisations, or multi-stakeholder groups. Operational-level grievance mechanisms are administered by the organisation either alone or in collaboration with other parties and are directly accessible by the organisation’s stakeholders. They allow for grievances to be identified and addressed early and directly, thereby preventing both harm and grievances from escalating. They also provide important feedback on the effectiveness of the organisation’s due diligence from those who are directly affected. According to UN Guiding Principle 31, effective grievance mechanisms are legitimate, accessible, predictable, equitable, transparent, rights-compatible, and a source of continuous learning. In addition to these criteria, effective operational-level grievance mechanisms are also based on engagement and dialogue. It can be more difficult for the organisation to assess the effectiveness of grievance mechanisms that it participates in compared to those it has established itself. |
Groundwater | All water which is below the surface of the ground in the saturation zone and in direct contact with the ground or subsoil (11). |
Habitat | The place or type of site where an organism or population naturally occurs. Also used to mean the environmental attributes required by a particular species or its ecological niche. |
Habitat fragmentation | A general term describing the set of processes by which habitat loss results in the division of continuous habitats into a greater number of smaller patches of lesser total size and isolated from each other by a matrix of dissimilar habitats. Habitat fragmentation may occur through natural processes (e.g., forest and grassland fires, flooding) and through human activities (forestry, agriculture, urbanisation). |
Harassment | A situation where an unwanted conduct related to a protected ground of discrimination (for example, gender under Directive 2006/54/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (12), or religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation under Council Directive 2000/78/EC (13)) occurs with the purpose or effect of violating the dignity of a person, and of creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment. |
Hazardous waste | Waste which displays one or more of the hazardous properties listed in Annex III of Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (14) on waste. |
High climate impact sectors | Sectors that are listed in Sections A to H and Section L of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 1893/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council (15) (as defined in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/1288 (16)). |
Impacts | The effect the undertaking has or could have on the environment and people, including effects on their human rights, connected with its own operations and upstream and downstream value chain, including through its products and services, as well as through its business relationships. The impacts can be actual or potential, negative or positive, intended or unintended, and reversible or irreversible. They can arise over the short-, medium-, or long-term. Impacts indicate the undertaking’s contribution, negative or positive, to sustainable development. |
Impact drivers | All the factors that cause changes in nature, anthropogenic assets, nature’s contributions to people and a good quality of life. Direct drivers of change can be both natural and anthropogenic. They have direct physical (mechanical, chemical, noise, light etc.) and behaviour-affecting impacts on nature. They include, inter alia, climate change, pollution, different types of land use change, invasive alien species and zoonoses, and exploitation. Indirect impact drivers operate diffusely by altering and influencing direct drivers (by affecting their level, direction or rate) as well as other indirect drivers. Interactions between indirect and direct drivers create different chains of relationship, attribution, and impacts, which may vary according to type, intensity, duration, and distance. These relationships can also lead to different types of spill-over effects. Global indirect drivers include economic, demographic, governance, technological and cultural ones. Special attention is given, among indirect drivers, to the role of institutions (both formal and informal) and impacts of the patterns of production, supply and consumption on nature, nature’s contributions to people and good quality of life. |
Impact materiality | A sustainability matter is material from an impact perspective when it pertains to the undertaking’s material actual or potential, positive or negative impacts on people or the environment over the short-, medium- and long-term. A material sustainability matter from an impact perspective includes impacts connected with the undertaking’s own operations and upstream and downstream value chain, including through its products and services, as well as through its business relationships. |
Incident | A legal action or complaint registered with the undertaking or competent authorities through a formal process, or an instance of non-compliance identified by the undertaking through established procedures. Established procedures to identify instances of non-compliance can include management system audits, formal monitoring programs, or grievance mechanisms. |
Incineration | The controlled burning of waste at high temperature with or without energy recovery. |
Independent board member | Board members that exercise independent judgment free from any external influence or conflicts of interest. Independence generally means the exercise of objective, unfettered judgement. When used as the measure by which to judge the appearance of independence, or to categorise a non-executive member of the administrative, management and supervisory bodies or their committees as independent, it means the absence of an interest, position, association or relationship which, when judged from the perspective of a reasonable and informed third party, is likely to influence unduly or cause bias in decision-making. |
Indigenous peoples | There is no single definition for indigenous peoples agreed on at the international level. In practice, there is convergence among international agencies on what groups can be considered indigenous peoples and should enjoy special protection as such. An important criteria for defining indigenous people is related to their connection to a traditional area, as defined in ILO Convention No. 169, Article 1, which states that the convention applies to: ‘(a) tribal peoples in independent countries whose social, cultural and economic conditions distinguish them from other sections of the national community, and whose status is regulated wholly or partially by their own customs or traditions or by special laws or regulations; (b) peoples in independent countries who are regarded as indigenous on account of their descent from the populations which inhabited the country, or a geographical region to which the country belongs, at the time of conquest or colonisation or the establishment of present state boundaries and who, irrespective of their legal status, retain some or all of their own social, economic, cultural and political institutions’. ILO Convention 169 also states in Article 1(2) that: ‘[s]elf-identification as indigenous or tribal shall be regarded as a fundamental criterion for determining the groups to which the provisions of this Convention apply’. |
Indirect GHG emissions | GHG emissions that are a consequence of the activities of an entity but occur at sources owned or controlled by another entity. Indirect emissions are Scope 2 GHG emissions and scope 3 GHG emissions combined. |
Installation | A stationary technical unit within which one or more activities are carried out which could have an effect on emissions and pollution. |
Internal carbon price | Price used by an undertaking to assess the financial implications of changes to investment, production, and consumption patterns, and of potential technological progress and future emissions abatement costs. |
Internal carbon pricing scheme | An organisational arrangement that allows an undertaking to apply carbon prices in strategic and operational decision making. There are two types of internal carbon prices commonly used by undertakings. The first type is a shadow price, which is a theoretical cost or notional amount that the undertaking does not charge but that can be used in assessing the economic implications or trade-offs for such things as risk impacts, new investments, net present value of projects, and the cost-benefit of various initiatives. The second type is an internal tax or fee, which is a carbon price charged to a business activity, product line, or other business unit based on its GHG emissions (these internal taxes or fees are similar to intracompany transfer pricing). |
Invasive or alien species | Species whose introduction and/or spread by human action outside their natural distribution threatens biological diversity, food security, and human health and well-being. ‘Alien’ refers to the species’ having been introduced outside its natural distribution (‘exotic’, ‘non-native’ and ‘non-indigenous’ are synonyms for ‘alien’). ‘Invasive’ means ‘tending to expand into and modify ecosystems to which it has been introduced’. Thus, a species may be alien without being invasive, or, in the case of a species native to a region, it may increase and become invasive, without actually being an alien species. |
Key Biodiversity Area (KBA) | Sites contributing significantly to the global persistence of biodiversity’, in terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems. Sites qualify as global KBAs if they meet one or more of 11 criteria, clustered into five categories: threatened biodiversity; geographically restricted biodiversity; ecological integrity; biological processes; and, irreplaceability. The World Database of KBAs is managed by BirdLife International on behalf of the KBA Partnership. |
Land degradation | The many processes that drive the decline or loss in biodiversity, ecosystem functions or their benefits to people and includes the degradation of all terrestrial ecosystems. |
Landfill | A waste disposal site for the deposit of the waste onto or into land (17). |
Land-system (change) | The terrestrial component of the Earth system, encompassing all processes and activities related to the human use of land. These include socio-economic, technological and organisational inputs and arrangements, as well as the benefits gained from land and the unintended social and ecological outcomes of societal activities. The land-systems concept combines land-use (the activities, arrangements and inputs associated with land-use) with land cover (the ensemble of physical characteristics of land discernible by Earth Observation). |
Land-use (change) | The human use of a specific area for a certain purpose (such as residential; agriculture; recreation; industrial, etc.). Influenced by, but not synonymous with, land cover. Land-use change refers to a change in the use or management of land by humans, which may lead to a change in land cover. |