Glossary of terms related to
carbon footprint measurement

EU directive obliging large companies to run human rights and environmental due diligence across their value chains. Adopted in 2024 and significantly simplified by the 2026 Omnibus I package.

The CSRD standardises corporate sustainability reporting in the EU. The 2026 Omnibus reform narrowed its scope to large companies and shifted the timeline.

The Corporate Sustainability Report is annex (10180) to the annual report that Peru's Securities Market Superintendency requires from issuers listed on the Public Registry of the Securities Market. The current format was approved by Resolution 018-2020-SMV/02 and is filed each year with the annual report, due 31 March.

A guide to the corporate water footprint: what it is, how it is calculated, which standards govern it and how companies use it to manage water risk.

Corporate water neutrality means a company first reduces its water footprint and then replenishes the remaining volume through verified projects in the basins it affects.

Corporate water risk assessment is a technical and strategic process through which companies evaluate how their dependence on water can become a threat to their operational, financial or reputational viability.

An EU framework (Regulation (EU) 2026/1030) setting a common, harmonised methodology, based on the EN ISO 14083 standard, to calculate and report GHG emissions from transport services.

A European initiative, launched in 2008 and expanded in 2015, that brings together local governments that make voluntary commitments to climate and energy targets and draw up an action plan aligned with climate neutrality by 2050.

Cradle-to-Cradle (C2C) is a circular-design framework by McDonough and Braungart in which products are designed as biological or technical nutrients, eliminating the concept of waste.

Cradle-to-Gate is the life cycle assessment boundary covering raw material extraction through manufacturing up to the factory gate, excluding transport, use and end-of-life.

Cradle-to-Grave (C2G) is the most comprehensive Life Cycle Assessment scope, evaluating a product's impacts from raw material extraction through use to final disposal.

Cradle-to-Practical Completion (C2PC) is a life-cycle assessment boundary that captures the upfront embodied carbon of a building, from raw-material extraction to practical completion (handover), before it enters use.

Cradle-to-Site (C2S) measures the environmental impact of a building material from raw material extraction to delivery at the construction site, a key boundary for reducing embodied carbon.

Cumulative environmental impact captures the combined, accumulated effects of activities and products on ecosystems. A guide to what it covers, how it is measured and how to cut it.

d2w is an additive that promotes the oxidative breakdown of conventional plastics into so-called oxo-biodegradable plastics. Critics warn it can create microplastics, and the EU prohibits oxo-degradable plastics.

Decarbonization is the process of cutting greenhouse gas emissions across the economy to reach net zero. A practical guide to why it matters, the main strategies and how to measure progress.

A deposit return scheme (DRS) adds a refundable deposit to packaged products, repaid when the empty container is returned, boosting separate collection and recycling quality.

What desalination is, the main technologies (reverse osmosis and thermal processes), its role in water security, and its principal environmental challenges: energy use and brine.

The Digital Product Passport (DPP) is the EU's electronic record of a product's composition, footprint, reparability and end-of-life data, introduced by the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR).

Directive 1999/31/EC, the Landfill Directive, sets strict technical and environmental requirements for landfills and progressively reduces the waste, especially biodegradable waste, sent to landfill in the EU.

Directive 2010/75/EU, the Industrial Emissions Directive, is the EU framework for preventing and controlling pollution from large industrial installations through integrated permits and best available techniques.

The direct water footprint measures the water consumed and polluted by a company's own facilities and processes. We explain how it is calculated and reduced.

The displaced environmental footprint captures the environmental impacts that happen far from the point of consumption, embedded in imported goods and global supply chains.

The Distintivo Calidad Ambiental is a voluntary recognition awarded by Mexico's PROFEPA to organisations, across many sectors, that go beyond legal environmental requirements.

The principle that an economic activity must not significantly harm any of the six environmental objectives of the EU Taxonomy.

Double materiality analysis assesses both a company's impact on the environment and society and how sustainability factors affect the company itself. It is the cornerstone of the CSRD.

Double materiality is the principle that combines a company's impact on the environment with the effect of sustainability on its finances. It is the basis of the CSRD and the ESRS.

Double materiality is the analytical principle that underpins the CSRD, requiring companies to report both their impacts on people and planet and the financial risks and opportunities sustainability creates for them.

Downcycling reuses recycled materials to make lower-quality products, extending material life but eventually reaching a point where the material becomes waste.

Downstream covers the final stages of a value chain. In a circular economy it is also where waste is turned back into useful materials and energy.

Ecodesign is a methodology that builds environmental criteria into a product from conception through end of life, reducing impact across the life cycle while maintaining functionality, quality and cost-effectiveness.

A practical guide to ecodesign for packaging: what it is, the design principles, the EU and Spanish rules (PPWR, Royal Decree 1055/2022) and the most common strategies.

The ecological footprint compares humanity's demand for natural resources with the planet's biocapacity, expressed in global hectares. It is a broader measure than the carbon footprint alone.

EDGE is a fast, affordable green building certification from IFC (World Bank Group) that requires at least 20% savings in energy, water and the energy embodied in materials, designed especially for emerging markets.

EFRAG is the technical body that advises the European Commission and develops the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) that underpin the CSRD.

The electric footprint quantifies the emissions linked to electricity use by a person, company or region, and points to where efficiency and clean energy can cut them.

EMAS (Eco-Management and Audit Scheme) is the EU's voluntary environmental management and reporting scheme, established by Regulation (EC) No 1221/2009 and built around independently verified environmental statements.

Embodied carbon covers the emissions locked into materials and construction, as opposed to the operational emissions produced while a building or product is in use.

The embodied carbon footprint is the sum of emissions from raw material extraction to the factory gate. We explain how it is calculated and how to reduce it.

An emission factor is the coefficient that converts an activity figure (kWh, litres, km) into greenhouse gases emitted, expressed in CO2 equivalent. We explain their types and official sources.

The reference year against which an organisation compares its emissions to measure reduction progress and set credible targets.

An emissions inventory quantifies an organisation's greenhouse gas emissions across Scopes 1, 2 and 3, providing the baseline for target setting, reduction plans and sustainability reporting.

Emissions offsetting balances residual GHG emissions by funding projects that reduce or remove an equivalent amount elsewhere. It should complement, never replace, real reductions.

An emissions trading system (ETS), or carbon market, is a cap-and-trade mechanism that prices greenhouse gas emissions to drive cost-effective reductions.

Directive (EU) 2024/825 protecting consumers from greenwashing: it bans unsubstantiated generic environmental claims, regulates sustainability labels and tackles premature obsolescence. It will apply from 27 September 2026.

Critical waste management infrastructures are the essential facilities and systems that keep waste services running safely, underpinning public health, resilience and the circular economy.

A guide to electronic waste (WEEE): the six categories, the EU and Spanish legal framework, extended producer responsibility, and its key role in recovering critical raw materials.

Digital waste traceability systems record each step of a waste stream, from generation to final treatment, to improve transparency, fight fraud and support regulatory compliance, with blockchain offering tamper-resistant records.