Chapter 9: Sustainable Development and Global Business

Anthropocene

The period in which human activity has been the dominant influence on climate and the environment

Biodiversity

The number and variety of species and the range of their genetic makeup

Carbon Neutrality

When an organization or individual produces net zero emissions of greenhouse gases

Carbon Offsets

Investments in projects that remove carbon dioxide or its equivalent from the atmosphere

Circular Economy

A production system that is regenerative by design, that is, it restores rather than wastes its inputs

Climate Change

Changes in the Earth’s climate caused by increasing concentrations of carbon dioxide and other pollutants produced by human activity

Convention on Climate Change

First negotiated in 1992, an annual conference hosted by the United Nations to negotiate agreements to cut fossil fuel emissions that cause global warming

Ecological Footprint

The amount of land and water an individual or group needs to produce the resources it consumes and to absorb its wastes, given prevailing technology

Extended Producer Product Responsibility

The idea that companies have a continuing responsibility for the environmental impact of their products and services, even after they are sold

Global Warming

The gradual warming of the Earth’s climate, believed by most scientists to be caused by an increase in carbon dioxide and other trace gases in the Earth’s atmosphere resulting from human activity, mainly the burning of fossil fuels

Great Acceleration

Refers to the rapid intensification of human impacts on the environment from 1750 to 2010

Industrial Ecology

Designing factories and distribution systems as if they were self-contained ecosystems, such as using waste from one process as raw material for another

Life-Cycle Analysis (LCA)

Collecting information on lifelong environmental impact of a product in order to minimize its adverse impacts at all stages, including design, manufacture, use, and disposal

Marine Ecosystems

Oceans and the salt marshes, lagoons, and tidal zones that border them, and as well as the diverse communities of life that they support

Natural Capital

The world’s natural assets, including its geology, soil, air, water, and all living things

Ozone

A bluish gas, composed of 3 bonded oxygen atoms, that floats in a thin layer in the stratosphere between 9-28 miles above the planet. It is critical to life on Earth by absorbing dangerous ultraviolet light from the sun.

Paris Agreement

A global agreement, negotiated in Paris in 2015, which aimed to limit the rise in the average global temperatures

Planetary Boundaries

Created by the Stockholm Resilience Center, the idea that the planet Earth’s physical systems create a set of boundaries for safe operating space for humanity

Sustainable Development

Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, ensuring a better quality of life for everyone, now and for generations to come

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Created by the United Nations, a set of 17 goals designed to be a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all

Technology Cooperation

Long-term partnership between companies in developed and developing countries to transfer environmental technologies to attain sustainable development