Supply Chain
A network of individuals or organizations that performs the functions of procurement of materials; transformation of these material into intermediate and finished products; and distribution of these finished products to customers.
Sunk Costs
Used in business decision-making, costs which have already been incurred and which cannot be recovered to any significant degree and, thus, should be ignored.
Substance Flow Analysis (SFA)
A method of assessing the value of materials and energy used in creating a product.
Strategy
An expression of the strategic intent and purpose of an organization, used to identify core competencies and determine long-term objectives, resource allocations and managerial tasks.
Strategic Planning
An organizational activity that creates a plan of action that meets and responds to high-level goals throughout all operations and communicates these plans so that everyone in the organization can act on them in understandable, coordinated, and effective ways.
Strategic Plan
A complex and ongoing process of organizational change which establishes a context for accomplishing goals, and provides a framework and direction to achieve an organization’s desired future. A strategic plan differs from a business plan in that it focuses more on the overall organizational development and not, specifically, on financial models, investment, and budgets.
Stewardship
Responsible caretaking; based on the premise that we do not own resources but only manage them, and are responsible to future generations for their condition. Making decisions regarding the care of our environment with the goal of passing healthy ecosystems on to future generations.
Steady-state Economy
An economic theory, put forth by Herman Daly in response to geophysicist M. K. Hubbert’s predictions of the limits of the fossil fuel supply, which regards the notion of economic growth in a finite world as inherently unsustainable. Instead, we should pursue a steady-state economy, which exists within our ecosystem and is similarly finite, non-growing […]
SROI (Social Return on Investment)
The measure of an investment’s ability to produce social value in a community or broader society. An attempt to monetize social value in order to help investors assess potential investments based on returns outside of traditional financial measures.
Sole Proprietorship
An unincorporated business that is owned by one individual. The simplest form of business organization to start and maintain. About 76% of all businesses in the USA are sole proprietorships.
