This page provides short and comprehensive definitions to lay the foundations of Sustainability. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have additional needs.
Sustainability
The ability to maintain processes, systems, or practices over the long term without depleting resources or harming future generations.
Sustainable Development
Defined by the 1987 Brundtland Report as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.
Greenwashing
The deceptive practice of making false, misleading, or unsubstantiated claims about the environmental benefits of a product, service, or company.
The 3 pillars of Sustainability
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance)
Framework for assessing corporate sustainability performance.
IPCC
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is an intergovernmental body providing scientific information on Climate Change.
Environmental Sustainability
Economic Sustainability
Social Sustainability
Planetary Boundaries
A scientific framework that identifies nine critical Earth-system processes (such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and freshwater use) and sets quantitative limits within which humanity can operate safely. Crossing these boundaries increases the risk of destabilizing the planet’s systems.
Adaptation
Adjustments in systems or behaviors to reduce harm or exploit opportunities arising from environmental or climate change.
Biodiversity
The variety of life on Earth, plants, animals, and ecosystems, essential for resilience and balance in nature.
Decarbonization
Reduction of carbon intensity in processes, products, or systems.
Carbon Neutrality
Achieving a balance between emitting carbon and absorbing or offsetting it, so that net emissions equal zero.
Circular Economy
An economic model that minimizes waste by reusing, repairing, and recycling materials to keep resources in use for as long as possible.
Climate Mitigation
Actions to reduce or prevent greenhouse gas emissions.
Renewable Energy
Energy from sources that naturally replenish, such as solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal.
Resilience
The ability of systems, ecological, social, or economic, to adapt and recover from shocks or stresses.
Sustainability Reporting Frameworks
Structured guidelines (e.g., GRI, SASB, TCFD) that help organizations disclose sustainability performance in a standardized way.
Integrated Reporting
Combines financial and non-financial (sustainability) data into a single holistic report.
Indicators & KPIs (Key Performance Indicators)
Quantitative or qualitative measures used to track progress toward sustainability goals (e.g., energy intensity, water use per unit).
Double Materiality
A reporting principle requiring companies to assess and disclose sustainability information from two perspectives: how their business activities impact the environment and society (inside-out), and how external sustainability issues (like climate change) present financial risks or opportunities to the business (outside-in).
Greenhouse Gas (GHG)
Gases like carbon dioxide and methane that trap heat in the atmosphere and drive climate change.
Global Warming Potential (GWP)
A factor used to convert different greenhouse gases into CO₂-equivalents based on their warming effect over a set time horizon (commonly 100 years).
Carbon Footprint
Quantitative measurement of greenhouse gas emissions associated with a product, activity, or organization.
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)
A standardized method to evaluate the environmental impacts of a product or service across its entire life cycle (from raw material extraction to disposal).
Environmental Product Declaration (EPD)
Third‑party verified document summarizing LCA results according to ISO 14025 and product category rules (PCRs).
Material Flow Analysis (MFA)
Tracks the flow of materials through a system to identify inefficiencies and opportunities for circularity.
Water Footprint
Allocation Rules
Procedures for distributing environmental burdens among co‑products (mass, energy, economic).
Attributional LCA (A‑LCA)
Life cycle assessment approach that allocates average environmental burdens to a product system, describing what is rather than what would change.
Biogenic Carbon
Carbon that originates from biological sources, such as plants, animals, or organic waste. In sustainability assessments, it is distinguished from fossil carbon because it is part of the short-term carbon cycle (absorbed and released naturally), whereas fossil carbon adds long-term emissions when burned.
Consequential LCA (C‑LCA)
LCA approach modeling the environmental consequences of decisions, focusing on marginal changes and market-mediated effects.
Functional Unit
Quantified performance of a product system used as the reference for LCA comparisons (e.g., “1 kWh delivered”, “1 km driven”).
Mass Balance
System Boundaries
The defined limits of a study or analysis (e.g., in Life Cycle Assessment). They specify which processes, inputs, and outputs are included or excluded — for example, whether the analysis covers “cradle-to-gate” (production only) or “cradle-to-grave” (full life cycle including disposal).
ISO 14025
Environmental labels and declarations - Type III environmental declarations - Principles and procedures.
EN 15804
Sustainability of construction work - Environmental product declarations - Core rules for the product category of construction products.
EN 15978
Sustainability of construction works - Assessment of environmental performance of buildings - Calculation method.
LEED (USGBC)
A global green building certification system evaluating energy, water, materials, indoor air quality, and innovation. LCA contributes to material impact credits.
BREEAM
A leading sustainability assessment method scoring buildings on environmental performance, health, materials, and management. Integrates EPDs and LCA for material selection.