Climate Change

The global climate has changed as human activity has released more and new substances and gases into the atmosphere. This has many results, including global warming, the effect of consistently increased average global temperature, particularly in the oceans. One of the most common term associated with climate change is global warming, which can be confusing since climate change can take many forms, including higher temperatures in some areas, lower... Read More

Clean Production

Manufacturing processes designed to minimize environmental impact by using the minimum amount of energy and raw materials possible and producing limited waste or emissions  Read More

Ceres Principles

A ten-point code of environmental conduct that is publicly and voluntarily endorsed by companies as an environmental mission statement or ethic. Formed in 1989, Ceres is a partnership among environmental groups, labor unions, and institutional investors devoted to using shareholder power to move companies to more sustainable practices. More information: www.ceres.org  Read More

Cause-Related Marketing

A way that businesses and corporations support and promote nonprofit organizations. A cause marketing program allows a business to engage with nonprofits over and above their community relations program. As the name suggests, the emphasis is on marketing, and that means that a business will draw on its sales and marketing resources to make the program successful.  This can be a great benefit to nonprofits who often have more limited marketing... Read More

Catalyst

In chemistry, an agent that speeds the rate of a chemical reaction. In business, this is often a term for a person who “makes things happen” by providing important knowledge, ideas, motivation or connections (relationships) in order to move an endeavor past a bottleneck.  Read More

Carbon Trading

Any trading system designed to offset carbon emissions from one activity (such as burning fossil fuels in manufacturing, driving, or flying) with another (such as installing more efficient technologies, planting carbon-reducing plants, or establishing contracts with others not to partake in carbon-releasing activities). The Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) is the first and biggest carbon trading market in existence and is modeled on a stock market.... Read More

Capital

There are a number of related meanings in finance, accounting and economics. Capital refers to assets that can be used to create other assets. Sustainable managers recognize at least three different kinds of capital: financial (cash and other monetary instruments), natural (natural resources that can be used to create products or that provide the natural services of breathable air, drinkable water etc), and human/cultural (employees, customers, governments... Read More

CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy ) standards

The fuel standards for passenger cars and light trucks were established as part of the Energy Policy Conservation Act (EPCA) enacted in 1975. The Act was passed in response to the 1973-74 Arab oil embargo. Though generally opposed by industry, increasing these standards has been advocated by environmentalists as an important step towards decreasing greenhouse gas emissions and reducing U.S. dependence on oil.  Read More

Business Ecosystem/Ecology

A system-level view of the relationships and interdependencies evident in organizations, markets, or industries, including their components, actors, resources, and stakeholders. Inspired from nature, this is a similar approach to understanding biological ecosystems in their fullest sense.  Read More

Brand Experience

Often confused with a corporate identity or package design, a brand experience is the total interaction of customers with a company, product, service, or other offering through all senses, media, and touchpoints (such as television advertising, customer service, product use, etc.).  Read More