The multifaceted subject area of sustainability has many implications in everyday life and it is of growing importance that we become comfortable in navigating it.
However, understanding sustainability and the key concepts surrounding it such as climate change, biodiversity, and pollution, can be challenging. This glossary aims to help break down and simplify these ideas.
Ecological Footprint Ecosystem Ethical Consumerism Fair Trade Fast Fashion Greenfield & Brownfield
Greenhouse Gases Greenwashing Intersectionality IPCC Microplastics Municipal Waste Organic
Palm Oil Pollution Recycle Reforestation Regenerative Renewable Sustainability
Transparency True Cost Upcycle Virtual Water Water Scarcity
Agriculture
Agriculture is the science and art of cultivating plants and livestock. It is responsible for everything from denim to medicine to timber for housing. It is an industry responsible for many social and ethical injustices, and a major contribution to environmental degradation. Regenerative and ethical agricultural practices, however, have very positive impacts on producers and the environment.
Anti-racism
Anti-racism is the practice of actively identifying, opposing, and eliminating all forms of racism including, individual, interpersonal, institutional, and structural. Anti-racism is a sustained effort to change systems, structures, policies, practices, and attitudes that perpetuate racists ideas and effects. It involves redistributing power to enable a more equitable and just global community.
Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiverse ecosystems, from small urban gardens to large rainforests, are more resilient to natural disasters, contribute to a stable climate and pollution breakdown and removal. Diverse ecosystems protect natural water resources, and contribute to productive ecosystems which provide food, medicine, clothing, and other human essentials.
Carbon Footprint
A carbon footprint is the total GHG emissions caused by an individual, event, organization, service, or product. It is a useful way to quantify and realise your own carbon emissions. Many calculators exist to help individual’s identify carbon footprint.
Carbon Neutral
Carbon neutrality, or having a net zero carbon footprint, refers to achieving net zero carbon dioxide (and GHG) emissions. This is achieved by balancing carbon emissions with carbon removal (carbon offsetting) or simply eliminating carbon emissions altogether.
Carbon Offsets
A carbon offset is a reduction in emissions of carbon dioxide or other GHGs made in order to compensate for emissions made elsewhere. It involves investing in carbon sinks or technology that reduces potential emissions. Examples of carbon offsets are sustainable forestry, landfill gas capture, methane capture, and regenerative agriculture.
Carbon Sinks
A carbon sink is any natural reservoir that absorbs more carbon than it releases, and thereby lowers the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Globally, the most important carbon sinks are healthy forests, the ocean, and thoughtfully managed soil systems. Urban environments also play a key role – green gardens, houses, and public spaces.
Circular Economy
A circular economy is an economic system based on the principles of eliminating waste and pollution, keeping products and materials in continual use, and regenerating natural systems. Such a change in the system involves everyone and everything: businesses, governments, and individuals; our cities, our products, and our jobs.
Climate Change
Climate change is the rapid destabilisation of the Earth’s climate. An increased atmospheric temperature has global consequences including loss of biodiversity, global food shortages, water scarcity, more frequent extreme weather events, and will negatively impact human health and the global economy.
Composting
The act of allowing waste organic matter to decomposed, recycling various organic materials otherwise regarded as waste products into a valuable soil conditioner rich in nutrients. Composting reduces food waste thus minimising the consequences food waste has on climate change.
Conservation
Conservation's goals include protecting species from extinction, maintaining and restoring habitats, enhancing ecosystem services, and protecting biodiversity. It’s about looking beyond immediate needs and ensuring the well-being of future generations. “Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell.” - Edward Abbey, The Journey Home: Some Words In Defence Of The American West.
Deforestation
Deforestation is the removal of a forest from land which is then converted to a non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated deforestation occurs in tropical rainforests. The loss of trees and other vegetation reduces biodiversity, and contributes to climate change, desertification, soil erosion, flooding, and a host of problems for indigenous people.
Dollar Voting
Dollar voting is the practice of carefully considering the impact of purchases. It is an analogy that considers every dollar spent as a vote for what you believe in. It is practiced through the buying of ethically made products that support local businesses while protecting wildlife and the environment, whilst avoiding purchasing products that involve unethical and unsustainable practice. Brand transparency, in addition to consumer education and awareness are critical in facilitating ethical consumption.
Ecological Footprint
An ecological footprint is a measurement of an organisation’s, community’s, or individual’s impact on nature. Ecological footprints measure everything from water consumption to GHG release to deforestation to pollution, unlike carbon footprints, which focus on carbon emissions. It is a key metric in helping us identify, understand, and mitigate the overconsumption of natural resources.
Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a community of biological organisms and its physical environment interacting as an interdependent system. Every living thing exists as part of an ecosystem, everything from plants to bacteria to all animals – including humans. Each part of the community provides its own unique benefit to the health of the ecosystem, and each part is reliant on other parts to sustain it. Biodiverse ecosystems offer greater benefits for environmental and human health.
Ethical Consumerism
Ethical consumerism is defined as personal allocation of funds, including consumption and investment, where choice has been informed by a particular issue – be it human rights, social justice, the environment or animal welfare. It is based on the concept of dollar voting.
Fair Trade
Fair trade involves commerce between companies in developed countries and producers in developing countries in which fair prices are paid to the producers. Fairtrade is about better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability, and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers based upon sustainable and equitable trade relationships.
Fast Fashion
Fast fashion refers to the rapid production and distribution of cheap clothing. This method of production relies on unsustainable and unethical practice and uses large amounts of resources, having negative impacts on human and environmental health. This makes not only makes the industry a major contributor to environmental degradation, but a frequent source of human rights issues.
Greenfield & Brownfield Sites
A greenfield site is an area of undeveloped land that has never been built on, which is being considered for urban development. A brownfield site is an area of land that has been previously developed upon, but not currently in use and typically derelict. Building on greenfield sites brings greater social and environmental impacts, such as increased chemical and noise pollution, and reduced biodiversity. Sustainable urban growth considers all options for land use, human population expansion, economic considerations as well as environmental needs.
Greenhouse Gases
Greenhouse gases (GHGs) are gases in the atmosphere that influence atmospheric temperature, and include carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. Through absorbing more of the suns energy, GHGs reduce the amount of heat escaping the earth’s atmosphere, this greenhouse effect means more of the suns energy stays in the atmosphere, contributing to climate change.
Greenwashing
Greenwashing is a form of corporate misrepresentation where a company will present a green public image and publicize green initiatives that are false or misleading. These companies are trying to take advantage of the growing public concern and awareness for environmental issues by promoting an environmentally responsible image. Ironically, many companies spend more money marketing sustainability than actually investing in sustainable practices.
Intersectionality
We exist in overlapping systems of privilege and oppression. Intersectionality is a conceptual tool to understand these interdependent systems that shape one’s lived experience. This theoretical framework helps us understanding how aspects of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender might combine to create unique modes of discrimination and privilege. Intersectionality identifies advantages and disadvantages that are felt by people due to a combination of factors.
IPCC
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is an intergovernmental body of the United Nations that is dedicated to providing the world with objective, scientific information on the risk of human-induced climate change and its natural, political, and economic impacts. With its capacity for reporting on climate change, the IPCC is also looked to as the official advisory body to the world’s governments on climate change.
Mircoplastics
Whilst plastics are deigned to be durable, over time they break down into smaller and smaller pieces – once they are less than 5mm they are defined as microplastics. With 8 million tons of plastic entering oceans each year, microplastics are being ingested by marine wildlife such as fish and shellfish and entering food systems, and in turn being consumed by humans. The health risk posed by microplastics remains unclear, but evidence regarding microplastic toxicity is emerging.
Municipal Waste
Municipal solid waste (MSW) is defined as waste collected and treated by or for municipalities (a town or district that has local government). It covers waste from households, commerce and trade, office buildings, institutions and small businesses, as well as garden waste and the contents of public bins. MSW collection and disposal is one of the major problems of urban environments in most countries worldwide today. MSW management solutions must be financially sustainable, technically feasible, socially, legally acceptable and environmentally friendly.
Organic
In agriculture, organic refers to production methods that improve soil fertility and biodiversity. Production of organic food uses fewer pesticides, no artificial agents such as colours or preservatives, no routine use of antibiotics, and is not genetically modified. In post-farm clothing production, organic means processes that do not include substances that are toxic or detrimental to ecosystems. Organic crop production is one part of regenerative agriculture.
Palm Oil
The palm oil tree is an extremely efficient crop which produces a versatile oil, making it very useful and widely used. It is found in close to 50% of the packaged products we find in supermarkets. Palm oil has been and continues to be a major driver of deforestation, thus threatening wildlife and contributing to GHG release, and in some cases its harvesting involves exploitation of workers and child labour. However, sustainably farmed palm oil benefits local producers and the environment, whilst offering the benefits of this highly productive crop.
Pollution
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light. The three major types of chemical pollution are air pollution, water pollution, and land pollution. Exposure to high levels of air pollution can cause a variety of adverse health outcomes. It increases the risk of respiratory infections, heart disease and lung cancer.
Recycle
Recycling turns waste or other by-products into another product, often through energy and chemical processes that reduce the functionality of the raw material in the original item. Materials like plastic cannot be recycled infinitely, unlike glass and metal which can be (this doesn’t mean they are). Recycling forms a key component of a circular economy.
Reforestation
Reforestation is the natural or intentional restoration of forests and woodlands that have been depleted, usually through deforestation. Reforestation increases biodiversity, minimises climate change, desertification, soil erosion and flooding. It is one method of carbon offsetting.
Regenerative
Regenerative refers to reinvigoration of a system by expanding, improving and supporting its health and productivity. Regenerative agricultural practices touch upon every part of the farming process, and supports not just biodiversity, but a healthy farming community as well. Unlike organic agriculture, which simply means to not add toxic elements to the environment, regenerative farming goes even further - instead of not causing harm, you are actively healing.
Renewable
Typically referring to materials or energy, a renewable resource is a natural resource that is constantly replenished. Renewable energy refers to electricity generated from solar, wind, hydro, and or geothermal power, among other forms. Renewable materials are natural materials used to make products, typically from biological origin including plants and fungi. Non-renewable materials include oil and gas.
Sustainability
Sustainability involves meeting social, environmental, and economic needs of the present without diminishing the ability of future generations to meet their needs. These three pillars or sustainability, people, planet, and profit, must all be considered in making a truly sustainable system.
Transparency
Transparency in the context of business and industrial operations involves being clear and open about processes and people involved across the value chain of any product. Transparency implies openness, communication, and accountability.
True Cost
True cost is an economic concept that aims to reveal hidden social and environmental costs of a product or service. The “true cost” of a product is the difference between it’s market price and the comprehensive cost to society and the planet. A true cost economic system involves higher taxes for products and activities that directly or indirectly cause harmful consequences, combined with greater transparency and clarity for consumers.
Upcycle
Upcycling is the process of transforming by-products, waste materials, useless, or unwanted products into new materials or products of better quality and environmental value, thus increasing both the functionality and lifecycle of the raw materials used in the original product.
Virtual Water
Virtual water is the total volume of water used in the production of a product. For example, the total volume of water used in a food product would include the water used in the agricultural process, but also the water used in packaging and shipping. Virtual water is essentially all of the “hidden” water behind a product. A can of Coca Cola contains 0.35 litres of water, yet it requires an average of 200 litres to grow and process the sugar contained in that can. Awareness of virtual water is key in discussions on water scarcity, food security, and ecological sustainability
Water Scarcity
Water scarcity is the lack of sufficient available freshwater to meet the demands of water usage. It already affects every continent and around 2.8 billion people around the world at least one month out of every year. Water scarcity and the concurrent crisis was listed in 2019 by the World Economic Forum as one of the largest global risks in terms of potential impact over the next decade.
These definitions are offered to help with the communication and understanding of this subject area. They are based on research carried out by the author to date. If you can add to these definitions - we'd love to hear from you.