As sustainability work continues to develop and advance worldwide, more terminologies and definitions are being formed. Are you up-to-date on the latest sustainability concepts? Regardless of your answer, we’ve got you covered! Our popular Buzzword Guide has been updated with the latest sustainability lingo that is trending right now. Test yourself and get familiar with the latest additions – how many do you know?
ISO 14001
ISO 14001 has become the international standard for designing and implementing an environmental management system. The standard is published by ISO (the International Organization for Standardization), an international body that creates and distributes standards that are accepted worldwide. The most recent version of the environmental management system requirements was published in 2015, and is referred to as “ISO 14001:2015.” The standard was agreed upon by a majority of member countries before being released and updated, and as such it has become an internationally recognized standard accepted by a majority of countries around the world.
Code of Conduct
A code of conduct clarifies an organization’s mission, values and principles, linking them with standards of professional conduct. The code articulates the values the organization wishes to foster in leaders and employees and, in doing so, defines desired behavior. As a result, written codes of conduct or ethics can become benchmarks against which individual and organizational performance can be measured.
New Resource-positive
Being a sustainable business is often equated with being carbon-neutral – that is, achieving a zero-carbon footprint by removing equal amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as is produced. However, being resource-positive takes a more comprehensive approach in that it doesn’t only promise removing carbon from the atmosphere, but aims to protect a variety of limited resources such as clean water, and eliminate waste and pollution by using clean energy. Resource-positive companies contribute with a net positive impact rather than net neutral or negative impact on the world and its inhabitants.
New Supply Chain Transparency
Supply chain transparency is reached when a business or organization knows what is happening in the supply chain and are able to communicate this knowledge further – both internally and externally. For a business to be transparent, real-time data of every area of sustainability in the supply chain needs to be collected and shared to everyone of interest. For a food business, this could mean information about ingredients, food fraud, animal welfare, or child labor. Supply chain transparency benefits all parties in the supply chain, but is mainly implemented for consumers and end users of an enterprise's product to take part in.
New Supply Chain Traceability
The traceability in supply chain traceability refers to the ability to identify, track, and trace elements of a product or substance as it moves along the supply chain – from raw goods to finished products. The goal is to find issues related to a component or ingredient, and thus locate the source of an identified problem. By doing so, businesses and organizations are able to either distance itself from the problem – for example to say its product or food was not affected – or take corrective action with the affected product or substance.
New Supply Chain Visibility (SCV)
Supply chain visibility refers to the visibility of data across every tier of the supply chain and all the logistic movements in between. It is the ability to track components, products and/or parts from the manufacturer to their final destination. The goal is to improve and strengthen the supply chain by making real-time and actionable data available to all stakeholders at any time. In a supply chain with total visibility, all parties, including customers, should have access to pertinent data anytime and anywhere.
Sustainability Risk Management (SRM)
SRM is a business strategy that aligns profit goals with a company's environmental policies. The goal of SRM is to make this alignment efficient enough to sustain and grow a business while preserving the environment. One of the chief drivers for SRM adoption is increasing demand for compliance with global and national regulations.
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- The Sustainability buzzwords acronyms and abbreviations you need to know
- The ultimate glossary of sustainability terms and buzzwords part 2
- An Overview of Corruption in Supply Chains
