Glossary of terms related to
carbon footprint measurement

The 2030 Agenda is the global action plan adopted by all 193 UN Member States in September 2015 to eradicate poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity, through 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 targets.

Additionality is the principle that a carbon credit project is only valid if its emission reductions would not have happened without the funding generated by the project itself.

Total greenhouse gas emissions from crop and livestock production: CO2, methane and nitrous oxide, measured through life cycle assessment.

The agricultural water footprint measures the green, blue and grey water used to produce food. We explain its components, drivers and how to reduce it.

The presence in the atmosphere of harmful substances such as particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide and ground-level ozone, with effects on health, ecosystems and the climate.

The state of the air based on pollutant concentrations, assessed through indices, limit values and monitoring networks, with direct effects on health and business activity.

The annual hazardous waste report is a mandatory summary of the hazardous waste an organisation generates or manages, submitted to the regional authority each year for traceability and compliance.

A mandatory annual reporting instrument in Mexico through which facilities report their emissions, discharges and waste; it feeds the Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (RETC).

Aqueduct is the World Resources Institute's free online atlas of global water risk. It maps indicators such as baseline water stress, drought and flood risk, helping companies assess water risk across their operations and supply chains.

A figure regulated in Spain by Law 7/2022 that carries out the collection, transport, storage, recovery or disposal of waste, subject to authorisation or prior notification and registration.

AWARE (Available Water Remaining) is a water scarcity characterisation method for life cycle assessment. It scales each cubic metre consumed by local water scarcity, and underpins ISO 14046 and the EU Product Environmental Footprint.

Baseline Water Stress measures the ratio between water withdrawals and available supply in a basin. We explain its thresholds and how companies use it.

B Corp Certification, awarded by B Lab, recognises companies that meet high social, environmental, transparency and accountability standards.

Measurable, verifiable and tradable units representing a positive biodiversity outcome that fund the conservation or restoration of nature.

A renewable gas produced by upgrading the biogas from anaerobic digestion to a quality equivalent to natural gas, suitable for grid injection and as a transport fuel.

Biowaste explained: definition under Law 7/2022, the EU separate-collection requirement, collection systems (brown bin, door-to-door, composting), treatment routes and its role in the circular economy.

Blue bonds are debt instruments that fund marine and ocean conservation projects, applying the same sustainability and transparency principles as green bonds but focused on the blue economy.

Blue carbon is the carbon stored in coastal and marine ecosystems such as mangroves, seagrasses and salt marshes, which sequester CO2 at far higher rates per area than most land forests.

The blue economy promotes the sustainable use of marine resources to drive economic development, protect the environment and foster social well-being, addressing challenges such as climate change and marine pollution.

The blue water footprint is the volume of surface water and groundwater consumed, and not returned to the same source, in producing goods and services.

Blue water scarcity is an indicator that compares the blue water footprint of a basin with its renewable freshwater availability, after reserving environmental flows.

The process of measuring, calculating and recording the greenhouse gas emissions of an organisation or product, the foundation of any credible climate strategy.

A carbon audit is the structured process of measuring, analysing and verifying an organization's greenhouse gas emissions across Scopes 1, 2 and 3, expressed in CO2e.

A guide to the carbon balance: what it is, how it is calculated, which standards govern it and how it is used to demonstrate progress toward climate neutrality.

CBAM is the EU's regulatory tool to prevent carbon leakage by charging imports for their embedded carbon, mirroring the EU ETS price. After a transitional phase, its definitive regime began on 1 January 2026.

The carbon budget is the total amount of CO2 that can still be emitted while keeping global warming below a set limit, such as 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

A set of technologies that capture CO2 from industrial sources or the air to use it (CCU) or store it geologically (CCS), key in hard-to-abate sectors.

A carbon credit represents one tonne of CO2 equivalent reduced or removed from the atmosphere, tradable on compliance or voluntary markets.

The CDP runs the world's largest environmental disclosure system, scoring companies on climate change, water security and deforestation. Since 2024 it uses a single questionnaire aligned with IFRS S2.

Farming and forestry practices that capture carbon in soils and biomass or reduce emissions, with the potential to generate credits and an EU certification framework.

The carbon footprint is the total greenhouse gases, in CO₂e, linked to a person, organisation, product or service. We explain how it is measured, classified into scopes and reduced.

A practical look at the carbon footprint: what greenhouse gases it covers, why measuring it matters and how the GHG Protocol splits emissions into three scopes.

Carbon footprint certification is the process by which an accredited third party verifies an organisation's or product's greenhouse gas emissions against recognised international standards.

A carbon footprint label communicates a product's life-cycle emissions to consumers. To be credible it must rest on a robust calculation, such as ISO 14067, and independent verification.

Carbon footprint monitoring is the ongoing tracking of an organisation's GHG emissions. We explain why it matters and how the PDCA cycle drives continuous improvement.

A carbon footprint reduction plan sets out the actions, responsibilities and timelines a company uses to cut its greenhouse gas emissions. Here is how to design an effective one.

A carbon footprint registry documents and stores an organization's GHG emissions. In Spain, the official MITECO registry also recognises emission reductions and absorption projects.

Carbon footprint verification and certification are the independent assurance steps that confirm an organisation's reported greenhouse gas emissions are accurate, complete and credible.

Carbon footprint verification is the independent review that confirms an emissions inventory is correct and reliable. We explain its stages, levels of assurance and applicable standards.

A carbon gap analysis compares current or projected emissions with a company's reduction targets, revealing the gap to be closed and how to prioritise action.

Carbon intensity is a relative indicator that expresses greenhouse gas emissions per unit of activity, such as grams of CO2 per kWh or tonnes of CO2 per million euros of revenue.

Carbon leakage happens when stricter climate policy in one region pushes emissions, or production, to places with weaker rules, undermining the net climate benefit.

Carbon negative means an organisation, product or process removes more greenhouse gases from the atmosphere than it emits, going beyond carbon neutrality to actively cut atmospheric CO2.

Anaerobic digestion is a biological process in which microorganisms break down organic matter without oxygen, producing biogas and a digestate that can be used as fertiliser.

The 30 Indicadores Básicos de Sostenibilidad (IBSO) are the set of core ESG metrics defined by CINIF under NIS B-1 that companies reporting in Mexico must disclose.

A guide to agricultural waste: what it is, the main types, how it is managed in Spain and the regulation that governs its recovery within the circular economy.

The AENOR mark is a quality and trust mark issued by AENOR, the leading certification body in Spain, covering standards on quality, environment, energy and more.

A by-product is a production residue that can be used directly as a resource without further processing, enabling industrial symbiosis and keeping materials in the economy.