The most trending sustainability terms and buzzwords

It’s time for an update of the most trending sustainability terms and buzzwords! The guide Sustainability Buzzwords, Abbreviations and Acronyms You Need to Know provides you with a whole lot of terms used in the sustainability field, now the guide has been updated and contains a lot of new buzzwords. You may recognize some of them - and learn a bunch of new ones. In this blog post we’ve picked out some of the most trending buzzwords for you.

Sustainable investing

Sustainable investing is a growing topic on agendas everywhere, and getting a grip on the ESG of your investments is more important than ever.

B-corp

B corp is a certification for businesses that meet the highest standards of social and environmental performance, as well as transparency and legal accountability. To achieve the B-certification, companies must go through a strict certification process of measuring the company’s entire social and environmental impact.

PRI

PRI stands for Principles for Responsible Investments. Responsible investment, according to the PRI, is an investment approach that specifically acknowledges the relevance and impact that ESG factors have on investments and the long-term health and stability of the market as a whole. The PRI framework makes it easier for investors to make more responsible decisions when it comes to environmental, social, and corporate governance factors.

SFDR

The SFDR was adopted by the European Commission in the spring of 2019 as a proposal for “a regulation on disclosures relating to sustainable investments and sustainability risks”. The primary goal is to increase transparency on sustainability to ensure that financial market participants (FMP) are able to finance growth in a sustainable manner. It consists of disclosure requirements on both business and product-level to standardize sustainability disclosure while combat “greenwashing”.

The IPCC report

The intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released their latest report in 2022 and the results are alarming. Companies need to take action to reach our climate goals.

IPCC (Intergovernmental panel on climate change)

The IPCC stands for the Intergovernmental panel for climate change - the UN’s panel with the purpose of assessing science related to global warming. They provide policymakers with scientific assessments, implications of climate change and potential future risks, along with mitigation options.

Paris Climate Agreement

The Paris Climate Agreement – also known as the Paris Climate Accord, Paris Climate Deal or simply Paris Agreement – is a 2016 pact sponsored by the United Nations to bring the world's countries together in the fight against climate change.

Further reading: United Nations – Climate Change

Net Zero

Net zero is the balance between the amount of greenhouse gas produced and the amount removed from the atmosphere. Balance, and net zero is reached when the amount taken away is equal to the amount we add.

Sustainability reporting

Focusing on the right metrics is key for your sustainability report. Complying with required regulations and metrics is essential, but can also make a difference for your company's sustainable development and making sure that you stay relevant.

Reporting frameworks
Sustainability reporting is a tool to increase transparency and accountability in the issues that traditional financial reporting is not dealing with. These include the linkages between environmental, social and economic issues as well as long-term perspective.

Further reading: The Top 5 Sustainability Reporting Frameworks You Should Know

Human rights due diligence
Human rights due diligence (HRDD) is a risk management process that businesses can implement to identify and respond to actual and potential negative impacts within their own operations and their supply chain.