Sustainability Marketing
The process of promoting, selling, and distributing a product or service in a sustainable market in such a way as to educate customers of the multiple benefits of valuing human, economic, and natural capital.
Rot
Often called the fourth “R” (as in Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle), Rot is the process of allowing natural materials to decompose (break down) due of natural chemical reactions or be aided by fungi, bacteria and insects. Rot can be considered a natural recycling process.
Brown Power
Electricity generated from the combustion of fossil fuels, which generates significant amounts of anthropogenic greenhouse gases. Brown power sources include coal, oil, and natural gas. Also, called Brown Energy.
Green Building
A comprehensive process of design and construction that employs techniques to minimize adverse environmental impacts and reduce the energy consumption of a building, while contributing to the health and productivity of its occupants. A common metric for green buildings is the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. See www.usgbc.org
Financial Capital
One of at least four forms of capital used by people, organizations, corporations, and governments, to build and maintain their livelihoods. Financial Capital includes all financial assets, instruments, and resources (including loans, bonds, stock, expenses, assets, equity, and cash flows) used throughout the the organization’s activities. Sustainable organizations seek to maximize their effectiveness and efficiency […]
Sustainable Management
The ability to direct the course of a company, community, organization, or country in ways that restore and enhance all forms of capital (human, natural, manufactured, and financial) to generate stakeholder value and contribute to the well-being of current and future generations.
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 […]
Garbage
Anything that costs less to dispose of than it’s worth commercially. In many cases, these materials are the same being handled by manufacturers in the production of goods but because of supply chains, technology, and often subsidized capture and transportation industries, recyclable materials are often worth less than virgin materials. In addition, this includes only […]
OCC (Opportunity Cost of Capital)
The expected return from investments missed in favor of other investments. Opportunity Cost of Capital is calculated by comparing various investment alternatives, their capital costs, and the value they may return. Companies usually choose the highest profit per investment ratio (if all other factors, such as risk, are equal). Some components are not, traditionally, calculated […]
Net Present Value (NPV)
The value, in the present, of an investment or financial transaction that will pay-off in the future, minus the cost of the investment up until the time of that pay-off. NPV represents the profit or loss, in present worth, of future transactions so they are comparable against other investments. NPV is usually calculated by adding […]
