Grassroots
A metaphor to describe a movement or change that begins among people with shared interests that they can define and act upon collectively. As a noun it refers to ordinary people in a community or organization. As an adjective it refers to the origin or basis of a principle, idea, or movement.
The Global Sullivan Principles (GSP)
Created by Rev. Leon Sullivan during his service of the Board of General Motors in the 1970s, these principles were a proposed means to dismantle aparthied in South Africa. The principals are a code of conduct that organizations voluntarily adopt to ensure basic human rights and equal opportunity employment in the workplace. The GSP is […]
Hypercar
A specification for a passenger vehicle made of ultra-light materials, is aerodynamically streamlined (for low drag), and uses a hybrid-electric drive system. Regenerative design (such as in hybrid cars) is also implemented which converts normally wasted braking energy back into stored electricity. While any one of these characteristics alone can create improved efficiency, when all […]
Fair Trade (Fairtrade)
A system of trade in which workers receive living wages and employment opportunities for the goods they produce. This system serves as an alternative approach to conventional international trade for producers who are typically economically disadvantaged artisans and farmers from developing countries. The producers partner with international organizations that help them build their skills to […]
Efficiency
The relation of outcomes, measured in a variety of ways, to the inputs required for that level of production. In business, efficiency of materials, energy, personnel, investment, and processes are commonly measured in order to measure performance and prioritize expenditures and projects. In sustainable business, a systems perspective requires addressing untraditional economic effects (such as […]
Factor 10
The goal of being ten times as productive with half the resources (materials and energy), leading to a factor 10 improvement in efficiency. Alternatively, practices that are just as productive while using only 10% of the resources also qualify. This is an escalated challenge from the concept introduced in the 1998 book, Factor 4, written […]
Factor 4
The goal of being twice as productive with half the resources (materials and energy), leading to a factor 4 improvement in efficiency. Alternatively, practices which are just as productive with 1/4 of the resources or 4 times as effective with the same resources also count. The concept was introduced in the 1998 book, Factor 4, […]
Partnership
An unincorporated business that is owned by two or more individuals. These individuals are responsible for all risks and liabilities for the business any share in any proceeds and rewards based on their percentage of ownership. About 7% of all businesses in the USA are sole proprietorships.
Community Choice Aggregation (CCA)
A new energy management model developing in California. Community Choice Aggregation permits any city, county, or joint powers authority to aggregate the electrical loads of residents, businesses, and municipal facilities for electricity purchases. An “opt-out” provision allows constituents to elect not to participate in Community Choice and to continue having their current utility provide their […]
Ethics
Philosophically speaking, ethics is concerned with the evaluation of human actions – which attempts to understand the nature of morality and to define that which is right from that which is wrong(1). From a professional viewpoint, ethics typically pertains to a code of professional standards that contain aspects of fairness and duty to the profession […]
