Glossary

wdt_ID	TERM	MEANING
1	Accessibility	The usability of a product, service, environment or facility by people with the widest range of capabilities. Note 1 to entry: This definition is related to the fundamental principle of universal accessibility in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities[13], which outlines the requirements to be fulfilled by environments, processes, goods, products and services, objects, instruments, tools and devices in order to be understandable, usable, and viable for a" people in safe and comfortable conditions, and as independently and naturally as possible. Source: ISO20121 Event Sustainability Management Systems - requirements with guidance for use. Page 3
2	Activities	All the undertakings of the business
3	Alternative materials	Materials that have a lower embodied carbon than those used during "business as usual". Source: 11th Hour Racing Team definition
4	Anthropogenic Emissions	Emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), precursors of GHGs, and aerosols caused by human activities. These activities include the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, land use and land-use changes (LULUC), livestock production, fertilization, waste management, and industrial processes. Source: UNFCCC glossary
5	Audit	Systematic, independent and documented process for obtaining audit evidence and evaluating it objectively to determine the extent to which the audit criteria are fulfilled. Source: ISO20121 Event Sustainability Management Systems - requirements with guidance for use, Page 6
6	Biodegradable	Capable of being broken down especially into innocuous products by the action of living things (such as microorganisms)
7	Biodiversity	The variety of plant and animal life in the world or in a particular habitat, a high level of which is usually considered to be important and desirable.
8	Bioenergy	Energy that is derived from biological sources (such as plant matter or animal waste) Source: Merriam Webster
9	Biomimicry	The imitation of nature to solve complex problems, through innovation and design. This can lead to more efficient and environmentally-friendly designs and processes: there is neither waste that cannot be recycled, nor non-regulated pollution. Source: Station de la Marine, Concarneau
10	Blue carbon	Carbon captured by the world's ocean and coastal ecosystems. Seagrasses occupy 0.1% of the seafloor, yet are responsible for 11% of the organic carbon buried in the ocean. Seagrass meadows, mangroves, and coastal wetlands capture carbon at a rate two to four times greater than tropical forests. Source: NOAA
11	Blue water footprint	Water that has been sourced from surface or groundwater resources and is either evaporated, incorporated into a product or taken from one body of water and returned to another, or returned at a different time. Source: Water Footprint
12	Boundaries	Description of where the impacts occur for a material topic, and the organization’s involvement with those impacts
13	Carbon Credits	A generic term to assign a value to a reduction or offset of greenhouse gas emissions. A carbon credit is usually equivalent to one ton of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-e). A carbon credit can be used by a business or individual to reduce their carbon footprint by investing in an activity that has reduced or sequestered greenhouse gases at another site. Source: UNFCCC
14	Carbon Dioxide equivalent (CO2e)	A measure used to compare the emissions from various types of greenhouse gas (GHG) based on their global warming potential (GWP). The CO2 equivalent for a gas is determined by multiplying the metric tons of the gas by the associated GWP, and is expressed in tC02e. Example: 20 tCO2e can be used to describe the emissions of 20 tonnes of carbon or 1 tonne of methane Source: GRI Standards Glossary 2019, Page 5
15	Carbon emissions	The burning of fossil fuels such as gas, coal or oil, causes carbon dioxide (CO2 ) to be released (emitted) into the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas (GHG), as it traps heat in the atmosphere. Typical sources of such carbon emissions come from energy production to provide power, heating and cooling; using fuel in vehicles and machinery, and in the process of creating food, products and services for our consumption.
16	Carbon footprint	A quantitative measure of the amount of carbon emissions attributable to a given organisation, activity (e.g. a sport event) or product. Carbon footprints can be measured at widely different scales, such as for an individual (e.g. one’s personal annual carbon footprint lies typically in the range 1-20 tonnes CO2 eq) all the way to a whole city, region or country, which typically range in the millions of tonnes of CO2 eq. The term carbon footprint is common currency but strictly speaking it is a measure of a basket of GHG emissions expressed in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2 eq). Therefore, a more accurate (but less widely understood) term would be 'GHG inventory'. Source: IOC Essentials - Issue 2
17	Carbon neutral	A condition in which during a specified period there has been no net increase in the global emission of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere as a result of the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the subject during the same time period.
18	Carbon neutrality	Carbon neutrality describes a state in which the greenhouse gas emissions released into the atmosphere result in net-zero emissions. To achieve this, either the activities must release no emissions or the emissions they still release after decarbonizing must be permanently sequestered. Source: UNFCCC
19	Carbon offsetting	A way to reduce emissions and to pursue carbon neutrality by offsetting emissions made in one sector by reducing them somewhere else. This can be done through investment in renewable energy, energy efficiency or other clean, low-carbon technologies. The EU’s emissions trading system (ETS) is an example of a carbon offsetting system. 11th Hour Racing Team considers that offsetting suggests a certified process as opposed Footprint compensation which would be a non-certified process. Source: European Parliament & 11th Hour Racing Team
20	Climate Neutrality	To achieve ‘climate neutrality’ means to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as much as possible today, while also compensating for any remaining emissions. In this way, a net-zero emissions balance can be achieved, which means the amount of greenhouse gas released into the atmosphere is neutralized. This can be done by carbon sequestration, i.e. projects that remove carbon from the atmosphere, or through offsetting measures, which typically involve supporting climate-oriented projects. “The term climate neutral is similar to carbon neutral, but has one crucial difference: it covers all greenhouse gases (GHGs) as defined by the Kyoto Protocol. Different GHGs may be compared with each other in terms of their climate impact by means of their Global Warming Potential (GWP). Climate neutral refers to a state in which the activities of an individual, an organisation, a city or a country result in net-zero GHG emissions.
21	Climate positive	An activity that goes beyond achieving net zero carbon emissions to create an environmental benefit by removing additional carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. A common definition being developed is that a Climate Positive organisation is one for which carbon neutrality is achieved in accordance with the definition in ISO 14021:2017 or PAS 2060 with additional offsetting of at least 10% of the full carbon footprint. (CLIPOP) Source: CLIPOP
22	Carbon sequestration	Removing carbon oxide from the atmosphere and then storing. In order to achieve net zero emissions, all worldwide greenhouse gas emissions will have to be counterbalanced by carbon sequestration. Source: European Parliament
23	Circular economy	Looking beyond the current take-make-waste extractive industrial model, a circular economy aims to redefine growth, focusing on positive society-wide benefits. It entails gradually decoupling economic activity from the consumption of finite resources, and designing waste out of the system. Underpinned by a transition to renewable energy sources, the circular model builds economic, natural, and social capital. It is based on three principles: Design out waste and pollution Keep products and materials in use Regenerate natural systems Source: Ellen Macarthur Foundation
24	Climate action	Stepped-up efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-induced impacts, including: climate-related hazards in all countries; integrating climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning; and improving education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity with respect to climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning.
25	Climate change	Large-scale, long-term shift in the planet's weather patterns and average temperatures.
26	Compostable	Aerobic Microbial (bacteria and fungi) breakdown of organic matter in the presence of oxygen to produce soil with high organic (humus) content. Note: Certain products are only compostable in industrial composting units. See Industrial composting
27	Conformity	Fulfillment of a requirement
28	Continual improvement	Recurring activity to enhance performance
29	Corrective action	Action to eliminate the cause of a nonconformity and to prevent recurrence
30	Digital footprint	The impacts associated with office and online digital services including computer and smartphone use, SMS text and conference calls, data storage and transfer, cloud computing and supercomputer use
31	Direct emissions	Emissions resulting from fuel combustion in owned machines, devices and vehicles (referred to as ‘Scope 1’ in the GHG Protocol).
32	Downcycle	To recycle (something) in such a way that the resulting product is of a lower value than the original item: to create an object of lesser value from (a discarded object of higher value)
33	Downstream (Activities)	Emissions that occur in the life cycle of a material/product after the sale by the producer. This includes distribution and storage, use of the product and end-of-life.
34	Embodied Carbon	The amount of carbon emissions (expressed as CO2 e or CO2 eq) emitted through the processes of extraction, refining, production, transporting and fabrication of a material or product. The concept is particularly used in the construction industry
35	Emission factor	The use of emission (or conversion) factors allows organisations and individuals to calculate carbon emissions from a range of activities, including energy use, water consumption, and transport activities. For instance, a conversion factor can be used to calculate the amount of carbon emitted as a result of burning a particular quantity of oil in a heating boiler. Emission factors can be found in various national databases and bespoke databases developed by technical specialists. A list of databases is available on the GHG Protocol website.
36	End of life (EOL)	The stage at which a product is disposed of or is no longer fit for purpose.
37	Greenhous Gas (GHG) Emissions	Gas that contributes to the greenhouse effect by absorbing infrared radiation Green House Gases include: carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and sculpture hexafluoride (SF6) GHG emissions are typically expressed in metric tons carbon dioxide equivalent (tC02e)
38	Global Warming Potential (GWP)	Value describing the radiative forcing impact of one unit of a given GHG relative to one unit of CO2 over a given period of time. Note: GWP values convert GHG emissions data for non-CO2 gases into units of CO2 equivalent
39	Goal	General statements of desired outcomes. e.g. be a leader in sustainability in the marine industry
40	Green water footprint	Water from precipitation that is stored in the root zone of the soil and evaporated, transpired or incorporated by plants. It is particularly relevant for agricultural, horticultural and forestry products
41	Grey water footprint	The amount of fresh water required to assimilate pollutants to meet specific water quality standards. The grey water footprint considers point-source pollution discharged to a freshwater resource directly through a pipe or indirectly through runoff or leaching from the soil, impervious surfaces, or other diffuse sources
42	Footprint	The impact associated with your organization's activities
43	Footprint compensation	Reducing the impacts in one sector by reducing them somewhere else, 11th Hour Racing Team defines compensation as a non-certified process as opposed to the offsetting which suggests a certified process.
44	How-To Guides	A series of sustainability program how to guides that make up part of the TOOLBOX
45	Impact	Unless otherwise stated, ‘impact’ refers to the effect an organization has on the economy, the environment, and/or society, which in turn can indicate its contribution (positive or negative) to sustainable development. Positive or negative change to society, economy or the environment, wholly or partially resulting from past and present decisions and activities
46	Inclusivity	The practice of fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all interested parties regardless of race, age, gender, colour, religion, sexual orientation, culture, national origin, income, disability (mental, intellectual, sensorial and physical) or any other form of discrimination
47	Indirect emissions	Emissions resulting from purchasing energy, in particular electricity, steam, heat or cooling (referred to as ‘Scope 2’ in the GHG Protocol). Indirect emissions also come from activities such as travel and from the provision of goods and services that an organisation has procured (referred to as ‘Scope 3’ in the GHG Protocol).
48	Industrial composting	A professionally managed and controlled, aerobic thermophilic waste treatment process covered by international standards and certification schemes, which results in compost, a valuable soil improver - also known as municipal composting
49	Interested party	A stakeholder, person or organization that can affect, be affected by, or perceive themselves to be affected by a decision or activity Note 1 to entry: This can be an individual or group that has an interest in any decision or activity of an organization
50	Insetting	Insetting allows businesses to invest directly into their value chain, (and) drive transformation. Insetting aims to create carbon removals and emissions reductions in agricultural supply chains, mostly through nature-based solutions such as agroforestry, reforestation and regenerative agriculture. Insetting strategies must be long-term and responsive to local needs.
51	IPCC	The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was created to provide policymakers with regular scientific assessments on climate change, its implications and potential future risks, as well as to put forward adaptation and mitigation options. Through its assessments, the IPCC determines the state of knowledge on climate change
52	Issues	Sustainability related topics that could occur as a result of the organization's activities
53	Issues register	A list of sustainability related issues put together as a result of mapping out the organization's activities
54	Key Performance Indicator (KPI)	The measure that helps you evaluate how you are progressing towards your target
55	Landfill	A system of trash and garbage disposal in which the waste is buried between layers of earth to build up low-lying land Landfill is responsible for significant emissions of methane a potent greenhouse gas
56	Local community	Persons or groups of persons living and/or working in any areas that are economically, socially or environmentally impacted (positively or negatively) by an organization’s operations Note: The local community can range from persons living adjacent to an organization’s operations, to those living at a distance who are still likely to be impacted by these operations.
57	Local economy	In this context of economic impact - The Team defines local economies as being within the state (USA), within Region (France), or national boundary of similar scale for other countries, where the Team is based temporarily or permanently.
58	Management System	A framework for an organization to improve its process and thinking to lead to continual performance improvement and allows the organization the flexibility to be more creative about the delivery of event-related activities without detracting from the aim of the event. A management system standard is not a checklist or a reporting framework or a method of evaluating event sustainability performance.
59	Marine debris	Any persistent solid material that is manufactured or processed and directly or indirectly, intentionally or unintentionally, disposed of or abandoned into the marine environment. Marine debris injures and kills marine life, interferes with navigation safety, and poses a threat to human health.
60	Material topic	A topic that reflects a reporting organization’s significant economic, environmental and social impacts or that substantively influences the assessments and decisions of stakeholders
61	Materiality	Materiality is the threshold at which sustainability topics become sufficiently important that they should be reported
62	Materiality assessment	The term materiality comes from the financial world. Conducting a materiality assessment is an exercise in stakeholder engagement designed to gather insight on the relative importance of specific environmental, social and governance issues. This helps companies determine where to focus their energy and resources, and which activities matter most from a sustainability perspective.
63	Microplastics	Waste plastics that have broken down to pieces smaller than 5mm in size
64	Mission	How an organization will go about achieving its vision
65	Natural capital	The world's stock of natural resources, which includes geology, soils, air, water and all living organisms
66	Net positive	Net positive describes the intention of 11th Hour Racing Team to affect regenerative change across the team's sectors of operation and influence - Simply described as doing more good than harm and contributing more than you take. Using the example of GHG emissions, 11th Hour Racing team define Net Positive to mean offsetting your carbon footprint to neutral plus 10%
67	Net Zero emission	Net-zero emission means that all anthropogenic produced greenhouse gas emissions must be removed from the atmosphere. This can be achieved through reduction measures, which lead to reducing the Earth’s net climate balance, after removal via natural and artificial sink, to zero. In doing so, humankind would be carbon neutral and global temperature would have the possibility to stabilize.
68	Net Zero	According to the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi), “Net Zero emissions are achieved when anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere are balanced by anthropogenic removals over a specified period.”
69	Non renewable energy source	An energy source that cannot be replenished, reproduced, grown or generated in a short time period through ecological cycles or agricultural processes
70	Non renewable material	A resource that does not renew in a short time period
71	Nonconformity	The non-fulfillment of a requirement
72	Nurdles	Small round pieces of plastic used as raw material (a material before is has been processed for use) in making plastic products
73	Objective	Specific statements of intent
74	Ocean acidification	The ongoing decrease in the pH of the Earth's oceans, caused by the uptake of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere
75	Opportunities	Positive impacts that could occur as a result of action being taken to address the issues associated with the organization's activities
76	Post consumer recycled content	Post consumer materials (such as packaging, old or broken products, disposables, wastes) that are recycled into new products
77	Preventive action	Action to eliminate the cause of potential nonconformity
78	Principle	The outcomes a report is expected to achieve, and that guides decisions made throughout the reporting process around report content or quality
79	Procurement	The activity of acquiring goods or services from suppliers The procurement process considers the whole cycle from identification of needs through to the end of a services contract or the end of the life of goods, including disposal. Sourcing is a part of the procurement process that includes planning, defining specifications and selecting suppliers.
80	Recycle	The process of reducing a product all the way back to its basic material level, thereby allowing those materials to be remade into new products
81	Regenerative	To revive and restore to bring new and more vigorous life to an area, industry, environment, community etc.
82	Regenerative (Systems Thinking)	Regenerative systems are those which may have net positive environmental and/or social impacts that continue to flourish into the future by their very nature
83	Regeneration/regenerative	1. Restoring, renewing and/or healing systems we all depend on, while also 2. Improving the ability of systems to restore, renew and/or heal themselves more effectively
84	Renewable energy	Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources, which are naturally replenished on a human timescale, including carbon neutral sources like sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves, and geothermal heat.
85	Renewable material	Material that is derived from plentiful resources that are quickly replenished by ecological cycles or agricultural processes, so that the services provided by these and other linked resources are not endangered and remain available for the next generation
86	Reporting (Sustainability)	An organization's practice of reporting publicly on it's economic, environmental and/or social impacts, and hence its contributions - positive or negative - towards the goal of sustainable development
87	Reporting period	Specific time span covered by the information reported
88	Risks	Negative impacts that could occur because of the issues associated with the organizations activities
89	Scope	To avoid double accounting the GHG protocol divides emissions into three scopes
90	Scope 1	All direct GHG emissions by the organization including fuel combustion, company vehicles and fugitive emissions
91	Scope 2	Indirect GHG emissions from consumption of purchased electricity, heat or steam
92	Scope 3	* All other indirect emissions not covered in scope 2: Example; The extraction and production of purchased materials and fuels, transport-related activities in vehicles not owned or controlled by the reporting entity, transmission and distribution (T&D) losses of electricity, outsourced activities, waste disposal, etc * Scope 3 emissions - Valuechain emissions associated with the upstream and downstream impacts of products or services procured by an organization
93	Sea level rise	Sea level rise is an increase in the level of the world's oceans due to the effects of global warming.
94	Single use plastic	Goods that are made primarily from fossil fuel–based chemicals (petrochemicals) and are meant to be disposed of right after use—often, in mere minutes. Single-use plastics are most commonly used for packaging and serviceware, such as bottles, wrappers, straws, and bags.
95	SMART	Targets that are Specific (clearly defined), Measurable (expressed with a number), Achievable (ambitious but not unrealistic), Relevant (addresses a defined issue) and Time-bound (a deadline).
96	Stakeholder	A stakeholder is a person or organization that can affect, be affected by, or perceive themselves to be affected by an organization’s activities or decisions. The Global Reporting Initiative states the following examples of stakeholder groups: Civil society - Customers - Employees and contractors - Trade unions - Local communities - Shareholders and providers of capital - Suppliers
97	Supply chain	The sequence of activities or parties that provides products or services to an organization
98	Sustainability	The act of preserving long term environmental, social and economic balance A way of working in accordance with one’s vision and values that ensures decision-making that takes account of feasibility, while maximising positive benefits and minimising negative impacts on people, communities and the environment.
99	Sustainability Policy	A policy that outlines an organization's commitment to practices and standards, designed to establish environmentally, socially and economically responsible operations
100	Sustainable sourcing	The integration of social, ethical and environmental performance factors into the process of selecting suppliers.
101	Systems thinking	A way of exploring and developing effective action by looking at connected wholes rather than separate parts.
102	Target	Indicator established to measure success against objectives and goals.
103	The Toolbox	A suite of resources, How To Guides and Measurement Tools, originally created by 11th Hour Racing Team, with ongoing development by the community of Toolbox users, for the wider benefit of all. It is designed to help make sustainability more accessible for organizations of all sizes and industry sectors.
104	Topic	economic, environmental or social subject
105	Transparency	Openness about decisions and activities that affect society, the economy and the environment, and willingness to communicate these in clear, accurate, timely, honest and complete manner
106	UK GHG Protocol	The establishment of comprehensive global standardized frameworks to measure and manage greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from private and public sector operations, value chains and mitigation actions.
107	Upcycle	To recycle (something) in such a way that the resulting product is of a higher value than the original item
108	Upstream (activities)	Cradle-to-gate (sometimes referred to as 'upstream') emissions, which include all emissions that occur in the life cycle of a material/product up to the point of sale by the producer
109	Value chain	An organization's activities that convert input into output by adding value. It includes entities with which the organization has a direct or indirect business relationship and which either (a) supply products or services that contribute to the organization’s own products or services, or (b) receive products or services from the organization. The value chain covers the full range of an organization’s upstream and downstream activities, which encompass the full life cycle of a product or service, from its conception to its end use.
110	Virtual Water Trade	The amount of water, either green (soil moisture) or blue (renewable and nonrenewable), that is consumed in the production of goods that are then traded in the international market
111	Vision	An aspirational statement of how an organization envisions its future
112	Water Footprint	Water footprint associated with an organization's activities including the procurement of products and/or services Water footprint measures the consumption of freshwater resources for producing goods and services. The water footprint has three components: green, blue and grey. Together, these components provide a comprehensive picture of water use by specifying the source of water consumed, either as rainfall/soil moisture or surface/groundwater, and the volume of fresh water required for assimilation of pollutants. The water footprint of a product is the volume of freshwater used to produce the product, measured over the full supply chain The water footprint calculations follow the methodology of Hoekstra et al (2011). The data used for the calculations come from academic research performed by WF experts and from various international databases such as Aquastat and Faostat.
113	Waste to energy	Energy recovered from incinerating waste
114	Workforce	Team, staff, contractors, interns, apprentices