Glossary of terms related to
carbon footprint measurement

Reverse logistics moves products and materials back up the chain for reuse, recycling or recovery, closing loops and underpinning the circular economy.

Sewage sludge is an unavoidable by-product of wastewater treatment, but it can become a resource for agriculture, energy and industry within the circular economy.

An indicator that quantifies the plastic tied to an activity and its impact, including potential leakage to the environment. Reduced through ecodesign and reuse.

A guide to Spain's Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC): what it is, its 2030 targets in the updated 2023-2030 version, and what it means for companies.

The polluter-pays principle holds that those who cause pollution should bear the cost of preventing, controlling and repairing it, rather than passing it on to society.

EU Regulation 2025/40 on packaging and packaging waste that repeals Directive 94/62/EC and, generally applicable since 12 August 2026, sets targets for reduction, recyclability, recycled content and reuse, most of them binding from 2030.

Preparation for reuse covers the checking, cleaning and repair operations that allow products that have become waste to be used again, sitting just below prevention in the waste hierarchy.

Preparing-for-reuse indicators quantify how far products and components can be checked, repaired and returned to the market, a key metric in the circular economy.

A collective extended producer responsibility scheme: a non-profit organisation through which producers fund and organise the management of the waste from their products. Examples in Spain: Ecoembes and Ecovidrio.

What the Product Carbon Footprint is, the standards and methodology behind it, the certifications that communicate it, and the strategies used to reduce it.

A product is carbon neutral when its life-cycle emissions are first reduced and any remaining emissions are balanced, ideally through verified carbon removals rather than offsets alone.

Product Category Rules (PCR) are the agreed technical rules that make Environmental Product Declarations comparable and rigorous within a product category, underpinning EPDs, the ESPR and the Digital Product Passport.

Product decarbonisation is the systematic reduction of a product's life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions, a core lever for reaching corporate and national net-zero targets.

The Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) is the European Commission's multi-criteria, life-cycle-based methodology for measuring and communicating the environmental performance of products.

The RETC is Mexico's public register of pollutant releases and transfers from fixed and diffuse sources, coordinated by SEMARNAT and fed by the Annual Operating Report.

Pyrolysis thermally decomposes waste in the absence of oxygen to recover oils, gases and solid carbon, offering an alternative to direct incineration or landfill within a circular-economy model.

What reverse logistics platforms are, the EU framework that drives them, their core operations, and the environmental and economic benefits of recovering value from returned materials.

QHSE integrates quality, health, safety and environment into a single management system, with the environmental pillar closely linked to carbon footprint measurement and reduction.

Radioactive waste explained: definition, low to high activity classes, the Euratom and Spanish legal framework, and how ENRESA manages it under the 7th General Radioactive Waste Plan.

Spain's Royal Decree 1055/2022 on packaging and packaging waste replaced Royal Decree 782/1998, transposing EU Directive 2018/852 and introducing reuse targets, ecodesign rules and deposit-return systems.

What a reduced carbon footprint means, the standards and criteria behind it, common reduction strategies, and how to avoid greenwashing when communicating progress.

A set of farming practices that restore soil and ecosystems, build organic matter and soil carbon, and improve water retention and biodiversity.

Applying regenerative principles to grazing to improve soil and sequester carbon, with enteric methane as the main emission and a net balance still under debate.

Regulation (EC) 282/2008 set the first EU rules for recycled plastics in food contact. It was repealed in 2022 and replaced by Regulation (EU) 2022/1616.

Regulation (EU) 2019/1009 harmonises the EU market for fertilising products and supports the circular economy by enabling recycled and organic fertilisers to carry the CE mark.

A practical guide to renewable energy sources, their benefits, the EU RED III target of 42.5% by 2030, and how clean energy reduces a company's carbon footprint.

RECs are tradable instruments certifying that one megawatt-hour of electricity was generated from renewable sources, used to support clean-energy claims and market-based Scope 2 accounting.

The repairability index is a 0 to 10 score that tells consumers how easy a product is to repair, pioneered in France in 2021 and now evolving towards a broader durability index.

Responsible consumption means choosing goods and services based not only on personal needs but on their environmental, social and economic impact, a cornerstone of sustainable lifestyles and the circular economy.

Reuse and refill keep products and packaging in use for longer, cutting waste, raw-material demand and the emissions tied to making new packaging.

Directive (EU) 2024/1799 makes repair easier and more attractive for consumers across the EU, with national rules due to apply from 31 July 2026.

Spanish royal decree that regulates packaging and packaging waste, driving prevention, reuse and recycling and extending producer responsibility, in line with EU packaging rules.

Royal Decree 553/2020 is the Spanish framework governing the shipment of waste within Spain, ensuring traceability, mandatory documentation and proper treatment at destination.

The Single Environmental Registry (RUA) is the annual filing through which establishments report to their environmental authority on their use of renewable natural resources and their pollutant releases and transfers. It is governed by Resolution 0839 of 2023 and administered by IDEAM.

A clear guide to separate waste collection: the colour-coded containers, the legal targets behind it and how source separation feeds the circular economy.

The SBTi Corporate Net-Zero Standard defines how companies set near-term and long-term science-based targets to reach net zero. Version 2.0 was published in June 2026 and takes effect in 2027.

The SBTN (Science Based Targets Network) develops methodologies for companies to set science-based targets for freshwater, biodiversity, land use and oceans, beyond carbon.

Science-based targets (SBT) are emission reduction goals aligned with climate science and the Paris Agreement, validated by the SBTi initiative.

Science-Based Targets are corporate emission reduction goals aligned with climate science and the Paris Agreement, validated by the SBTi. A practical guide to what they are and how to set them.

Scope 1 emissions are direct greenhouse gas emissions from sources owned or controlled by an organisation, such as fuel combustion in vehicles, boilers or machinery, and fugitive gas leaks.

Scope 2 emissions are the indirect GHG emissions linked to the electricity, heat, steam and cooling an organisation buys. We explain the location and market-based methods.

Scope 3 emissions are the indirect greenhouse gas emissions in an organisation's value chain, split into 8 upstream and 7 downstream categories under the GHG Protocol.

Scope 4 measures the emissions avoided thanks to a solution. It is useful for demonstrating positive impact, but it must be reported separately and never deducted from Scopes 1, 2, and 3.

A climate planning document prepared by Covenant of Mayors signatories; it includes a baseline emission inventory, reduction targets and mitigation and adaptation measures, with periodic monitoring.

A clear guide to secure landfills for industrial waste: what they are, the main types, how they are designed and operated, and the EU and Spanish rules that govern them.

The Sendai Framework (2015-2030) is the main global agreement for reducing disaster risk and strengthening resilience, closely linked to climate adaptation and the Paris Agreement.

The recovery rate measures the proportion of waste subject to material or energy recovery versus the total generated, reflecting a system's ability to turn waste into resources.

The recycling rate measures the proportion of generated waste that is effectively recycled into new materials, and is a structural indicator of a circular economy's performance.