Social & Environmental Sustainability StrategyGlossary of terms
The following table explains terms used in the Social & Environmental Sustainability Strategy
| Term | Description of term |
|---|---|
| Active citizenship | Motivating and inspiring people to make a positive difference. Active citizens advocate for change and take action on the issues they care about, often with a social and environmental focus |
| Adaptation | Taking action to prepare for and adjust to both the current effects of climate change and the predicted increasing impacts in the future |
| Ethical investment | A set of investment principles or an investment framework that fully integrates these three aspects within decision-making. Investors are concerned with financial returns and real-world positive impact that protects the value of their investment, reduces for example environmental risk and promotes social and environmental benefit. It is also known as responsible or impact investing |
| Greenhouse gas (GHG)/greenhouse gas emissions | Any gases in the atmosphere which absorb heat and keep the planet’s atmosphere warmer than it otherwise would be. GHGs encompass the six gases covered by the UNFCCC: carbon dioxide (CO2); methane (CH4); nitrous oxide (N2O); hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs); perfluorocarbons (PFCs); and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6). (See also 'mitigation' below) |
| Just transition | Means ensuring fairness is integral to securing support for the scale and pace of societal and economic net zero transition required, including leaving no-one behind, nor creating disproportionate financial or inequalities burdens in the net zero transition |
| Net Zero (emissions) | When the GHG emissions released into the atmosphere by an organisation or country are balanced by removals over a specified period (for example by mitigation, or carbon removal/sequestration) |
| Resilience | The ability of a system (for example a community, an economy, or an ecosystem) to withstand, recover from, and adapt to the impacts of climate change. These impacts may include extreme weather events such as flooding or drought |
| Scope 1 emissions | Emissions from operations that are owned or controlled by an organisation. Scope groups are defined in the latest Scottish Government Guidance, using guidance from the Greenhouse Gas Protocol |
| Scope 2 emissions | Are those generated through purchased electricity, steam, heating or cooling consumed by an organisation |
| Scope 3 emissions | Are all indirect emissions (not included in scope 2) that occur in the value chain of an organisation, including both upstream and downstream emissions |
| Sustainability | Is the long-term maintenance and enhancement of human well-being within finite planetary boundaries. This means operating within the three rules set out by Daly et al. (1990): (1) exploit renewable resources no faster than they can be regenerated; (2) emit wastes no faster than they can be assimilated; and (3) deplete non-renewable resources no faster than renewable substitutes can be developed to replace them |
| Sustainable development | Defined in the 1987 Brundtland report 'Our Common Future' as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs |
| Sustainable Development Goals | Sustainable Development Goals are a United Nations approved set of 17 global development goals to end poverty and other deprivations with improving health and education, reducing inequality and spurring economic growth – all while tackling climate change and preserving our oceans and forests. They were adopted by the United Nations in 2015 with a goal to reach them by 2030 |
| UNESCO Education for Sustainable Development | UNESCO Education for Sustainable Development is an internationally recognised framework to empower people with the knowledge, skills, values, attitudes and behaviors to live in a way that is good for the environment, economy, and society |