2025/2026
Biomass - Answers A category of fuels whose energy source is photosynthesis, through which
plants transform the sun's energy into chemical energy.
Carbon Disclosure Project - Answers Organization that provides reporting frameworks for
greenhouse gas emissions and water use.
Carbon Footprint - Answers A measure of the volume of greenhouse gas emissions caused by a
product's manufacture and use.
Climate - Answers Meteorological conditions, including temperature, precipitation, and wind that
prevail in a region.
Concentrating Solar Thermal Power - Answers A system using mirrors or lenses to collect
sunlight for heating water that powers an electrical generator.
Desertification - Answers Permanent transformation of habitable or arable land to desert.
Environmental Sustainability - Answers State in which the demands placed upon the
environment by people and commerce can be met without reducing the capacity of the
environment to provide for future generations.
Environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting - Answers An approach for reporting a
company's performance on environmental, social, and corporate governance dimensions.
Geothermal Power - Answers Power from heat stored in the earth.
Global Reporting Initiative - Answers Sustainability reporting framework developed among
stakeholders.
Heavy oil - Answers Oil that does not flow easily, presently sourced from oil sands and oil-
bearing shale.
Inland Waterway - Answers Waterway that provides access to interior regions.
International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) - Answers A global coalition of standard set-
ters, regulators, companies, investors, academics, nongovernmental organizations, and the
accounting profession that encourages communication about value creation to
promote evolution of corporate reporting, including the reporting of information about
companies' governance, strategy, performance—including on sustainability—and future
prospects. - Answers
International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) - Answers An international body charged
with creating a global set of disclosure requirements intended to provide high quality, globally
, comparable information on climate and general sustainability-related disclosures for investors
and other stakeholders.
Life Cycle Assessment - Answers An evaluation of the environmental aspects of a product or
service throughout its life cycle.
Natural Capital - Answers Natural resources such as air, land, and water that provide us with the
goods and services on which our survival depends.
Natural Resources - Answers Anything supplied by nature on which people depend.
Nonrenewable Energy - Answers Energy that comes from sources that cannot be replenished,
such as the fossil fuels—petroleum, coal, and natural gas—and nuclear power.
Rare Earths - Answers Seventeen elements used in defense and technology applications.
Renewable Energy - Answers Energy that comes from sources that are naturally replenished,
such as sunlight, wind, and water flow.
Shale - Answers A fissile rock (capable of being split) composed of laminated layers of claylike,
fine-grained sediment.
Solar Photovoltaic Power - Answers Power based on the voltage created when certain materials
are exposed to light.
Stakeholder Theory - Answers An understanding of how business operates that takes into
account all identifiable interest holders.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - Answers A set of development goals established by
the United Nations regarding the elimination of poverty, protection of the planet, and promotion
of worldwide peace and prosperity.
Topography - Answers The surface features of a region.
Triple-Bottom-Line Accounting (3BL) - Answers An approach to accounting that measures the
firm's social and environmental performance in addition to its economic performance.
United Nations Global Compact - Answers A voluntary reporting scheme for businesses that
covers critical areas affecting the conduct of international business—human rights, labor, the
environment, and anti-corruption efforts.
Water Footprint - Answers A measure of the amount of water used in a product's manufacture
and use.
Balanced Scorecard - Answers A performance measurement approach integrating strategic
planning and budgeting to track progress across financial, customer, internal processes, and
learning and growth dimensions.