Glossary & References

Alcumus ISOQAR – UKAS accredited ISO certification and CQI IRCA training provider.
Carbon compensation – The process of mitigating for carbon dioxide emissions arising from industrial or other human activity, by investing in projects and products designed to make equivalent reductions of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This can include carbon avoidance or removal projects, which can be nature-based or innovative technology.
Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) – A not-for-profit charity that runs the global disclosure system or investors, companies, cities, states and regions, to manage its environmental impacts. CDP is regarded as the gold standard of environmental reporting with the richest and most comprehensive dataset on corporate and city action. CDP’s system supports measurement and management of risks and opportunities on climate change, water security and deforestation www.cdp.net/en.
Carbon footprint – The total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by an individual, event, organisation, service, place or product, expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e).
CO2 – Carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.
CO2e – Carbon dioxide equivalent, the standard unit in carbon accounting to quantify all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The effect of each greenhouse gas on global warming is defined relative to that of CO2 to make measurement and comparison easier.
Cyber essentials certification – UK Government backed scheme that helps organisations of all sizes protect themselves against a whole range of the most common cyber attacks.
DEFRA – UK Government Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs produce emission conversion factors annually for use by UK and international organisations to report on greenhouse gas emissions.
DEI – Diversity, Equity & Inclusion:
Diversity: having differences within an organisation or setting. Diversity recognises different identities, backgrounds, and experiences should all have equitable access to resources and decision-making.
Equity: treating people in ways that make sure they are not unfairly prevented from accessing resources and opportunities, nor that others have an unfair advantage. Simply providing the same opportunities to everyone is not an effective way to create equality of outcomes. Equity is about giving people what they need for fair access; it’s about removing inequalities to make sure everyone has the chance to realise their ambitions.
Inclusion: being proactive to make sure people of different backgrounds, experiences and identities feel welcomed, respected, valued and fully able to participate. It is not only about creating a diverse environment but also about ensuring a culture exists where individuals can be their full selves.
Due diligence – An investigation, audit or review performed to confirm facts or details of a matter under consideration. It can be a legal obligation, but the term will more commonly apply to voluntary investigations.

EcoVadis – A company that provides business sustainability ratings, with a global network of more than 85,000+ rated companies.
Energy Performance Rating – The UK government requires all buildings to have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) to help sellers, landlords, building managers and occupiers, builders and their agents and buyers and tenants of non-dwellings to understand the Energy Performance of a building. The rating is shown on an A–G rating scale.
ESOS – Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme – UK Government’s mandatory energy assessment scheme for organisations in the UK. The Environment Agency is the UK scheme administrator.
FTE – Full time employee.
GDPR – General Data Protection Regulations – laws to ensure the personal data of citizens has robust protection.
GHGs – Greenhouse gases that include: carbon dioxide CO2, methane CH4, nitrous oxide N20, water vapour, fluorinated gases HFCs, PFCs, etc.
GHG protocol – Partnership of the World Resources Institute (WRI) and World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), which establishes comprehensive global standardised frameworks to measure and manage greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from private and public sector operations, value chains and mitigation actions.
- Scope 1 – Direct GHG emissions from sources owned or controlled by the company e.g. furnaces, boilers and company vehicles
- Scope 2 – Indirect GHG emissions from the generation of purchased electricity
- Scope 3 – Indirect GHG emissions, which are a result of an organisation’s operations, from upstream and downstream sources not owned or controlled by the company
GRC – Governance, Risk and Compliance.
Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) – The GSTC is an independent and neutral organisation representing a diverse and global membership, including national and provincial governments, leading travel companies, hotels, tour operators, NGOs, individuals and communities, all striving to achieve best practices in sustainable tourism. The GSTC establishes and manages global standards for sustainable travel and tourism, known as the GSTC Criteria. There are two sets: Destination Criteria for public policy-makers and destination managers, and Industry Criteria for hotels and tour operators.
ISLA – A non-profit organisation founded by event professionals and industry leaders focusing on a sustainable future for events. An independent industry body here to support the events sector transition to a more sustainable future.
ISO – International Organisation for Standardisation. ISO is an independent, non-governmental international organisation with a membership of 167 national standards bodies who develop voluntary, consensus-based, market relevant International Standards.
MFA – Multifactor Authentication.

NPS – A Net Promoter Score is a method of using a single survey question to gauge satisfaction with a product. Net Promoter Score scores can range from -100 (all detractors and no promoters) to 100 (all promoters and no detractors). The closer to 100, the better.
Net zero – Net zero refers to achieving a balance between the amount of GHG emissions produced and the amount removed from the atmosphere. A company with net-zero targets must actively reduce existing emissions and remove greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere. According to Science Based targets initiative guidance, by 2050 an organisation should have reduced their total emissions by 90-95% from a baseline and can use high-quality carbon credits from carbon avoidance or removals projects to mitigate for the remaining 5-10% of unavoidable emissions.
Key requirements of the SBTi Net-Zero standard: 1.Focus on rapid, deep emission cuts.
2.Set near- and long-term targets, 3.No net-zero claims until long-term targets are met, 4.Go beyond the value chain. https://sciencebasedtargets.org/net-zero/
OKRs – Objectives and key results is a goal-setting framework used by individuals, teams and organisations to define measurable goals and track their outcomes.
PCI DSS – Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. An information security standard designed to reduce payment card fraud by increasing security controls around cardholder data.
PPA – A Power Purchase Agreement is a contractual agreement between energy buyers and sellers. They come together and agree to buy and sell an amount of energy, which is, or will be, generated by a renewable asset. PPAs are usually signed for a long-term period between 10-20 years. Corporates typically use PPAs to achieve their ambition of reducing their carbon footprint, especially when a renewable energy supply is not directly available in their operational location/s.
REC – Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) are a market-based instrument that certifies the bearer owns one megawatt-hour (MWh) of electricity generated from a renewable energy resource. Once the power provider has fed the energy into the grid, the REC received can then be sold on the open market as an energy commodity. RECs earned may be sold, for example, to other entities that are polluting as a carbon credit to offset their emissions.
ROAR – Resilience, Opportunity and Risk
Sabre Eco: Certified hotels – Hotels that have been certified by a partner whose standards closely align with the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) criteria.
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 – Also known as the Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act or, simply, SOX. It is a federal law passed by the United States Congress in response to a series of high-profile corporate accounting scandals that shook investor confidence in the financial markets in the early 2000s.
Science Based Targets – A partnership between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to drive ambitious climate action in the private sector by enabling companies to set science-based emissions reduction targets.
SECR – Streamlined Energy & Carbon Reporting – UK Government mandatory reporting requirement for large companies.

SOC2 – A voluntary compliance standard for service organisations, developed by the American Institute of Certified Practising Accountant (CPA) (AICPA), which specifies how organisations should manage customer data. The standard is based on the following Trust Services Criteria: security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, privacy.
SQUAKE – An end-to-end solution, powering accurate carbon calculations and providing tangible compensation of all travel and logistics related emissions.
Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) – an aviation fuel made from sustainable and renewable sources, which can act as a substitute for fossil jet fuel.
Sustainable Development Goals (UN) – The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, provides a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. At its heart are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are an urgent call for action by all countries – developed and developing – in a global partnership. They recognise that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests. THE 17 GOALS | Sustainable Development (un.org)
SWEEP – Software that lets businesses take control of their climate journey. From tracking and reducing emissions, to contributing to exciting climate projects around the world. www.sweep.net/
The Joint Meetings Industry Council (JMIC) – The Joint Meetings Industry Council is an organisation that represents the combined interests of major international Meetings Industry associations. Which consists of a broad range of organisers, suppliers and facilities engaged in the development and delivery of meetings, conferences, exhibitions and other related events held in order to achieve a range of professional, business, cultural or academic objectives.
JMIC provides a forum for information exchange, strategy development and the recognition of excellence.
The Paris Agreement – The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change. It was adopted by 196 Parties at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris, France, on 12 December 2015. It entered into force on 4 November 2016.
Its overarching goal is to hold “the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels” and pursue efforts “to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.”
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) – The UNFCCC secretariat (UN Climate Change) is the United Nations entity tasked with supporting the global response to the threat of climate change. The Convention has near universal membership (199 Parties) and is the parent treaty of the 2015 Paris Agreement.
United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) – UN’s global voluntary corporate sustainability initiative.

UNGC Business Ambition for 1.5°C campaign – aims to mobilise businesses to set science-based emissions reduction targets aligned with the Paris Agreement's objectives. The campaign has gained momentum since its launch in 2019, with hundreds of companies committing to set science-based targets and accelerate their efforts to mitigate climate change.
WELL Certification – Spanning 108 features and 10 concepts, WELL is a roadmap for improving the quality of our air, water and light with inspired design decisions that not only keep people connected but facilitate a good night's sleep, support mental health and help them do their best work everyday. Projects pursuing WELL Certification can earn points based on performance outcomes for various policy, design and operational strategies and can achieve one of four certification levels: Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum.
Whistleblowing / Whistleblower – You’re a whistleblower if you’re a worker and you report certain types of wrongdoing. This will usually be something you’ve seen at work, though not always. The wrongdoing you disclose must be in the public interest. This means it must affect others, for example your colleagues, clients or the general public. You can raise your concern at any time about an incident that happened in the past, is happening now, or you believe will happen in the near future.

REFERENCES

1 https://www.sustain.life/blog/scope-3-emissions?campaignid=17817971457&adgroupid=142233327027&network=g&utm_medium=ppc&utm_source=google&utm_term=&utm_campaign=International_Uk_IE_Blog_Dynamic&hsa_acc=6395178135&hsa_cam=17817971457&hsa_grp=142233327027&hsa_ad=611943137258&hsa_src=g&hsa_tgt=dsa-1689191144766&hsa_kw=&hsa_mt=&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ver=3&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIzIa8iZqm_QIVgfftCh0G6QsdEAAYASAAEgIJ1PD_BwE