Sustainability Jargon Busting

A system that puts a file on new carbon regulation created by the EU and is the world’s first carbon border tax with the aim of reducing emissions from countries who have less ambitions and strict national policies around climate change. Reporting is expected to start in 2023 and go into effect in 2026.

The total amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere.

This can be associated with:

• Individual
• Product
• Company
• Country

A carbon footprint is presented as a number (often measured in tonnes, kilograms or grams)

This is the main contributor to climate change.

This is released through natural processes:

• Volcanic eruptions
• Plant respirations.
• Human and animals breathing.

The CO2 concentration has increased 50% since the industrial revolution – due to human activities like burning fossil fuels and deforestation.

A unit of measurement use to compare the impact of GHGs on the environment.

It is a unified wat to see the contribution of all greenhouse gases to climate change.

It helps compare the impact of different GHGs and provide a way of measuring the total impact.

The carbon footprint measures the total amount of greenhouse gases a company or person generates, and that requires knowing the CO2e.

Environmental Social and Governance is a holistic framework that measures the sustainable and ethical behaviour of a business.

Created by the Smart Freight Centre, the GLEC is a group of companies, programmes and leading experts to create a universal method of calculating logistics emissions.

They created the GLEC Framework to harmonise the calculation and reporting of logistics GHG emissions across multi-modal supply chains.

These are the gases in the earth’s atmosphere that trap heat.

The main greenhouse gases are:

• Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
• Methane (CH4)
• Nitrous Oxide (N2O)
• Water Vapour (H2O)

The group of gases are naturally produced by the reason their increase in concentration is to man made.

A strategy by companies to reduce their carbon footprint within their own supply chain, looking to minimise the number of emissions created within an industry or supply chain.

Involves investing in nature-based solutions:

• Reforestation
• Renewable energy
• Agroforestry and regenerative agriculture

This reduces the number of emissions created and nurtures a business’s local community, ecosystem and landscape.

Insetting is a way to reduce carbon emissions within a company’s supply chain. By integrating sustainability into the core of business operations it creates a more authentic and impactful approach.

The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) has introduced a way of quantifying and reporting greenhouse gas emissions within transport chain operations. It replaced the European Standard (EN 16258).

ISO 14083 provides a comprehensive method for measuring carbon emissions of freight and passenger transport activities. This standard was based on the GLEC Framework, which has now been updated to stay in line with the new ISO-14083 standard.

The new standard covers:

• Measurement across all transport modes
• End-to-end shipment coverage
• Considers “empty miles” emissions.
• Emissions from hub operation

Net Zero is the goal to achieve an overall balance between greenhouse gas emissions produced and emissions taken out of the atmosphere. Think of a set of scales where no more gases can be added to the atmosphere than is taken out.

An action or process to reduce or remove emissions of carbon dioxide (or other GHGs) to compensate for emissions made elsewhere.

Some offsetting methods:

• Reforestation
• Carbon capture

Scopes are the basis for GHG reporting.

Scope 1 are the direct greenhouse gas emissions that a company makes.

• Fuel combustion.
• Company vehicles
• Fugitive emissions

Scopes are the basis for GHG reporting.

Scope 2 are the indirect emissions a company uses where the energy it purchases and uses is produced.

• Electricity into buildings
• Heat
• Steam

Scopes are the basis for GHG reporting.

Scope 3 emisisons can account for 70% of an organisations carbon footprint. Indirect emissions associated with company activities from sources not owned or controlled by a company.

• Purchased goods and services.
• Transportation and distribution
• Business travel
• Employee commuting
• Waste disposal.
• Use of sold products.
• Investments
• Leased assets and franchises

Defined by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol which includes emissions from the transportation and distribution of products by a company within the year from its suppliers. This includes third-party logistics and distribution services, covering both inbound and outbound logistics.

Emissions can come from the following:

• Air transport
• Rail
• Road
• Marine
• Storage of product purchased.

This includes emissions that occur from transportation and distribution of sold products in vehicles and facilities not owned or controlled by the reporting company.

SBTs promote best practices and guidelines to reduce emissions and target setting methods on climate science.

SBTs are reduction targets for greenhouse gas emissions that align with what science states impacts to global warming.

These were introduced in 2015 during the Paris Agreement, with nearly 200 countries signing to act and keep global warming below 2°C pre-industrial levels.

The Smart Freight Centre (SFC) is an international organisation (non-profit) focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from freight transport.  They have been responsible for removing barriers and leveraging initiatives to improve the practical solutions to improve fuel efficiency, remove emissions and lower operating costs.

These were developed by the United Nations (UN) to create a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the plant and ensure people enjoy peace and prosperity.