Sustainability Dictionary

Green-collar Jobs

2008-01-28T22:40:16Z

Jobs created by investments and sustainable practices. Many skilled and unskilled jobs traditionally referred to as "blue-collar" jobs may be created and supported through the expansion of incentives and demand for sustainable building and installation of sustainable systems (such as solar panels, "green" remodeling, and gray-water systems) in the residential, commercial, and government markets. These "green-collar" jobs may employ those who are often left-out of the tech boom cycles or do not have the skills, experience, or education to work in "white-collar" jobs. Championed by Van Jones, the founder of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights in Oakland, California, "green-collar" jobs fill a variety of community and individual needs with rewarding, well-paying work that is sustainable and local (and aren't easily outsourced overseas).

Apathetics

2007-12-16T15:27:52Z

A sector of the market defined by the Roper ASW Green Gauge Report as the least interested in "green" or environmental issues and the least likely to take any action on these issues. In 2007, this group was renamed from "Basic Browns" to "Apatheics" and its numbers fell from 19% to 18% in two years. They tend to be less educated, have lover incomes, and lower influence than other consumers.

Sustainability Helix

2007-05-31T21:36:32Z

A tool for helping organizations drive sustainability into the DNA of their corporate structures and funtions. The Helix helps organizations assess their level of involvement as well as ways to integrate sustainability over time across many organizational functions. Co-developed by Natural Capitalism Solutions and graduates from Presidio School of Management, it tracks efforts in 6 categories of key business functions through 5 levels of commitment to sustainable principles and actions.

Six Categories:

Governance/Management
Operations/Facilities
HR/Corporate Culture
Design/Process Innovation
Marketing/Communications
Partnerships/Stakeholders

Five stages:

No Commitment
Exploration
Experimentation
Leadership
Restoration

Resources:
Sustainability Helix

Sustainable Market

2007-05-22T23:30:58Z

Ideally, a market that is capable of operating continuously while meeting today's (global) economic, environmental, and social needs without compromising the opportunity for future generations to use the market to meet their own needs. In practice, a sustainable market is a market that is moving toward that ideal.

Mission Related Investing

2007-02-01T05:19:45Z

The investment of a foundation's endowment assets in opportunities that align with its program goals. Some foundations have common under criticism for endowment investments in companies who are seen to cause the very problems their programs seek to remedy.

Program Related Investing

2007-02-01T05:14:53Z

Investments made by foundations that meet the philanthropic goals of their programs. To be counted in the grant-making portion of a foundation’s assets, program related investments must also abide by tax laws regarding charitable intent and the relationship to a foundation’s program.

Patient Capital

2007-02-01T05:09:31Z

Investment strategies that provide social and environmental returns in addition to financial returns with an emphasis on returns over the long-term. While a longer investment horizon and/or a smaller financial return may be inherent in individual patient capital investments, neither of these conditions are required of patient capital investments.

Unintended Consequences

2007-01-15T23:37:29Z

Results from actions that were not expected or intended. Unintended consequences are often negative and are due to systems being more complex and interconnected than we may realize—especially environmental and social systems.

The Precautionary Principle is an attempt at helping individuals, organizations, and societies to be more mindful of the effects of their decisions before taking action or making changes. It is being increasingly adopted by organizations around the world.

Thermohaline Conveyor

2006-12-23T19:26:01Z

A global water circulation system driven by water temperature and salt-density that distributes water between the Earth’s oceans. Warmer water closer to the ocean's surface travels from the northern Pacific Ocean, south through the Indian Ocean (where it is joined by more warm water), around the southern tip of Africa, and up to the northern Atlantic Ocean. At this point, the water cools and sinks toward the bottom of the ocean and travels back via the same path. The thermohaline conveyor is repsonsibile for bringing warmer, more temperate climate to most of Europe and has a profound effect on global climate.

In the past, when this system has slowed or stopped, the results were ice ages throughout Europe. Concern is rising that global climate change is again slowing this conveyor system and endangering ecosystems and economies in the EU.

Also called thermohaline circulation

Governance

2006-12-23T19:15:06Z

The systems and processes of management that govern an organization’s behavior and conduct. Governance covers accountability, auditing, transparency (openness), reporting and disclosure, responsibilities and representation of various stakeholders (including shareholders, board of directors, advisory boards, employees, etc.) as well as charters, by-laws, and policies document the rights and responsibilities of all parties. Governance often includes strategy, risk management, and compensation, benefits, and evaluation of senior management. There is growing inclusion of governance issues within international certification systems, such as the GRI.

Blended Value

2006-12-06T23:25:34Z

A term coined by Jed Emerson at Stanford University to describe social, financial, and environmental value created by all organizations' activities (whether non-profit or for-profit). When investors acknowledge these value components, they can be more focused about their investments in organizations that create the mix and amount of value that matched their own values.

Resources:
BlendedValue.org

Payback Period

2006-10-21T20:47:13Z

An accounting term indicating the time required to recoup an investment. It is expressed as a ratio of investment cost to savings or income (usually annually). For example, if a new high-efficiency boiler costs $10,000 to install and saves $2500 per year in fuel, the payback period is four years. Payback periods are critical to environmental and energy efficiency. Currently, conventions of short-term business thinking look at time periods less than common payback periods for alternative energy and other sustainability improvements. Until business people consider longer-term periods of time or new technologies reduce the payback period of "green" technologies, there will continue to be lackluster interest in many sustainable solutions.

Carbon Footprint

2006-10-21T20:41:55Z

The total amount of greenhouse gases emitted directly and indirectly to support human activities, usually expressed in equivalent tons of either carbon or carbon dioxide.

Carbon footprints are calculated by countries as part of their reporting requirements under the Kyoto Protocol, as well as by companies, regions, or individuals.

Direct greenhouse gas emissions can include tailpipe emissions of CO2 from motor vehicles, methane from landfills, and hydrofluorocarbons from leaking refrigeration or air conditioning equipment. Indirect greenhouse gas emissions arise from coal and other fossil fuel-based energy generated to power residential, commercial, and industrial activities. Indirect emissions also arise from fossil fuel combustion used in the manufacture, transport, storage, disposal, and recycling of commodities and manufactured products.

Market Failure

2006-10-21T20:28:07Z

A market's inability to create maximum efficiency, by not properly providing goods or services to consumers, not efficiently organizing production, or not serving the public interest. The term does not refer to the collapse or demise of a market, but instead to the unintended and unwanted consequences of decisions made by economic actors. A variety of elements can cause market failures including:

Abusive market power, such as monopolies
Negative externalities, or costs paid by third parties or the general public, often in the form of pollution and environmental or social degradation
Inadequate production of public goods
Incomplete or false information, such as misleading and erroneous advertising, and asymmetric information, such as insider trading

RoHS Directive

2006-10-21T20:23:28Z

The Restriction of Hazardous Substances directive is EU legislation that bans the sale of electrical and electronic products containing specific toxic contaminants: Lead, Mercury, Chromium, Cadmium, Brominated flame retardants (PBBs & PBDEs) in amounts exceeding set Maximum Concentration Values (MCV). Producers (manufacturers, sellers and resellers of own-brand equipment, and importers and exporters) must demonstrate compliance by submitting technical documentation to the enforcement authority on request and retain such documentation for a period of four years after the Electrical & Electronic Equipment (EEE) is placed on the market.

Due to the global economy, this directive has become a global standard.

Resources:
RoHS Producer Compliance Decision Tree (PDF)
European Commission Waste Policy Homepage
Brady Corporation's Exhaustive Site on RoHS & WEEE
US Department of Commerce Portal on RoHS & WEEE Resources
UK Government's RoHS Compliance Website