Glossary

A-E

Commodity

The lowest level of transformed product, standardized and tradable. Examples: copper, wheat, palm oil.

Commodity Inventory

List of commodities with associated quantities traced to your business activities.

Ecosystem Use Type

Classification describing the type of ecosystem or land cover being used by (or transformed for) a given activity.

Ecosystem Use x Conversion

Refers to the permanent transformation of a natural ecosystem into another type of land use, such as agriculture, urban development, or infrastructure.

Ecosystem Use x Occupation

Refers to the temporary use or maintenance of land for a specific purpose, without necessarily changing its fundamental ecological characteristics.

EMRIO

Environmentally Extended Multi-Regional Input-Output model. A framework integrating economic input-output analysis with environmental data to track flows across countries.

EOFP

Photochemical Oxidant Formation Potential: Ecosystems. Refers to the potential impact of air pollutants on ecosystems due to the formation of ground-level (tropospheric) ozone and other photochemical oxidants.

G-L

GHG

Greenhouse Gas. Gases that trap heat in the atmosphere (CO2, CH4, N2O, etc.).

GWP100

Global Warming Potential (100-year). A metric comparing the warming impact of different greenhouse gases over a 100-year time horizon. It is expressed in tonnes of CO2 equivalent (t CO2eq).

IPBES

Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. The leading international body for assessing the state of biodiversity.

LCA

Life Cycle Assessment. A methodology for evaluating environmental impacts of products throughout their entire life cycle (cradle-to-grave).

LCI

Life Cycle Inventory. The data collection phase of LCA, quantifying inputs and outputs of a product system.

LCIA

Life Cycle Impact Assessment. The phase of LCA that evaluates potential environmental impacts based on LCI results.

M-R

MSA

Mean Species Abundance. A dimensionless indicator (0–1) measuring the average abundance of native species relative to an undisturbed reference state. MSA = 1 indicates a fully intact community; MSA = 0 indicates complete loss. Used by the GLOBIO model to express biodiversity intactness at landscape scale.

PDF

Potentially Disappeared Fraction. A metric expressing the fraction of species potentially lost due to environmental pressures.

Pressures

Environmental interventions driving biodiversity loss: land use, pollution, climate change, water consumption, etc.

ReCiPe

A Life Cycle Impact Assessment methodology that converts environmental pressures into damage indicators for human health, ecosystems, and resources.

S-Z

SBTN

Science Based Targets Network. A framework helping companies set science-based targets for nature, including biodiversity.

Scope

Perimeters of the value chain:

• Scope 1: Direct operations
• Scope 2: Purchased energy (included in Scope 3 upstream in Darwin's biodiversity framework)
• Scope 3 Upstream: Supply chain (suppliers, raw materials)
• Scope 3 Downstream: Product use and end-of-life

Species.year

A metric quantifying potential species loss over time due to human activities. It represents the fraction of species potentially affected, integrated over time, and combines the number of species affected with the duration of impact.

Stressors

Environmental extensions in EMRIO models: energy use, emissions, water consumption, waste generation.

TNFD

Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures. A framework for organizations to report nature-related risks and opportunities.

Value Chain

The full range of activities and processes involved in creating a product or service, from raw material extraction through production, distribution, use, and end-of-life management.

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Units Reference