Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer
The protocol was signed in Montreal, Canada, in 1987, as an adjunct to the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer. The protocol has been ratified by all nations recognized by the UN, as a commitment to eliminate products containing halogenated hydrocarbons which are believed to be responsible for the depletion of the […]
Microfinance
The field within financial services in which companies lend capital and provide financial services to low-income groups or individuals who do not typically have access to these services, in order to provide them with opportunity to become financially self-sufficient.
Mission Related Investing
The investment of a foundation’s endowment assets in opportunities that align with its program goals. Some foundations have common under criticism for endowment investments in companies who are seen to cause the very problems their programs seek to remedy.
Market Failure
A market’s inability to create maximum efficiency, by not properly providing goods or services to consumers, not efficiently organizing production, or not serving the public interest. The term does not refer to the collapse or demise of a market, but instead to the unintended and unwanted consequences of decisions made by economic actors. A variety […]
Marketing
The process of understanding people and markets in order to provide better products and services and differentiate offerings. Marketing consists of both the “inhale” (customer and market research aimed at understanding needs, desires, and cultural contexts as well as competitors), and the “exhale” (the creating of messaging to effectively communicate offerings in appropriate ways). Too […]
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
A UN-funded study of the state of ecosystem services around the world. It is the most extensive and accurate study of its kind. Launched in 2001 and completed in March 2005, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment reports on habitat status, fishing, coral reefs, forests, water use, atmospheric carbon and temperature, weather, land use, and population. More […]
Mission (Corporate)
An organization’s ultimate purpose or reason for being. A company’s mission should define the opportunities or needs which the company seeks to address, what the company is doing to address those needs, and the principles or beliefs which guide the company’s work.
Market Segmentation
A business process focused on defining market segments on the basis of customer demographic or psychographic attributes (such as age, location, culture, etc.). Segmentation is best when it uses the same understandings gained from market and user research used in Environmental Modeling and Positioning. Distinct market segments identify customers who require different products and services […]
Multiple Stakeholders
Traditionally, stakeholders in a company have been thought to be limited to stockholders and, possibly, employees. However, stakeholders have come to refer to all people for whom a company or its products and services have an impact, including, customers, governments, organizations, and the environment. Sustainable management requires that these stakeholders’ needs be addressed in the […]
Muda
A Japanese word for waste especially through poorly organized systems. Organizations seeking economic, manufacturing, and human efficiency seek to design and/or replace systems to eliminate muda.
