Sustainability
Sustainability glossary

The Paris Agreement on climate change aims to limit global warming to less than 2ºC, preferably 1.5ºC, compared to pre-industrial levels. The path to achieving this long-term goal involves steadily reducing greenhouse gas emissions, reaching a climate-neutral world by 2050.

At the heart of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, these 17 Sustainable Development Goals aim to promote global peace and prosperity by reducing poverty and inequality, improving health and education, and spurring economic growth, while also tackling climate change and preserving oceans and forests. 

The United Nations’ plan of action for people, planet and prosperity. The 2030 Agenda was adopted at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit on 25 September 2015. It seeks to shift the world onto a sustainable and resilient path, with the ultimate aims of freeing the human race from poverty, and healing the planet.

An electric vehicle powered by a battery.

A blockchain is a digital register of records which are linked to one another via cryptography. It records the same set of data in each transaction within a supply chain. In the case of cobalt, it records the origin, weight, size, chain of custody, and information showing the participants’ adherence to OECD guidelines on responsible sourcing of minerals. It also guarantees that the information contained in these records cannot be changed without detection.

Another name for a report called “Our Common Future”, published in 1987 by the World Commission on Environment and Development. The report defined 'sustainable development' as "Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs". The report also showed a clear link between poverty reduction, gender equity, wealth redistribution and environmental conservation.

The total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions produced directly and indirectly by an individual, event, organization, service, place or product. Carbon footprints are measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) per year.

Net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. This can be achieved by removing GHG emissions (e.g. via carbon offsetting) or eliminating them completely from product life cycles, including their use phase and end-of-life.

The practice of compensating for emissions of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases, for example by planting trees that absorb carbon dioxide. Offsets are measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent (CO2e).

Circularity, or the circular economy, is a concept for reducing a society's resource consumption and the resulting environmental impact through the use of multiple circular strategies like reduce, reuse, repair, repurpose and recycle. 

We consider materials to be circular when they are produced using waste, renewable materials, or recycled content, or when they are designed to be easily repairable, recyclable or reusable. 

In order to compare emissions of greenhouse gases according to their global-warming potential, we convert amounts of other gases to the equivalent (e) amount of carbon dioxide (CO2).

An assessment that includes part of the product’s life cycle, including material acquisition through the production of the studied product and excluding the use or end-of-life stages. 

An assessment that considers impacts at each stage of a product’s life cycle, from the time natural resources are extracted from the ground and processed (cradle) through each subsequent stage of manufacturing, transportation, product use, recycling, and ultimately, disposal or recycling (grave).

Electricity is generated from different primary sources, like coal, oil, gas, nuclear, hydropower, solar, wind and biofuels. A geographic region’s “energy mix” reflects how that region combines the different available sources to meet its energy needs. This allows us to calculate and compare its greenhouse gas emissions.

Natural fuels like coal, oil and gas, formed from the remains of living organisms. Fossil fuels are being used up far more quickly than they are being replenished. 

Gases that contribute to global warming, e.g. carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), as well as freons/CFCs. Greenhouse gases are often quantified as a mass unit of CO2e, where e is short for equivalent. 

When light from the sun hits the Earth, some is reflected back into space, and the rest becomes heat. Greenhouse gases absorb and reflect this heat, preventing it from escaping into space. The result is a steady warming of the planet.

The opposite of greenwashing. When a business deliberately withholds information about its sustainability practices, hoping to avoid scrutiny and criticism. Companies can shy away from talking about the steps they’re taking in the right direction, because they don’t want to be seen to be not perfect. The result is that consumers and other stakeholders aren’t kept informed, educated and inspired about actual progress.

A deceptive form of marketing, which aims to persuade people that an organization's products, aims and policies are more environmentally friendly than they really are.

Ensuring that everyone enjoys equal access to opportunities and resources, especially people who might otherwise be excluded or marginalized, for example members of other minority groups, and people with physical or mental disabilities.

A vehicle engine fueled by petrol or diesel.

Consecutive and interlinked stages of a product system, from raw material acquisition or generation from natural resources to final disposal.

A study done to determine the environmental impact of a product. It also provides a framework to measure said impact, along with steps towards a stated goal, such as how to make that product more sustainable.

Net zero is achieved when the amount of emissions is balanced out by the amount removed from the atmosphere. Net zero can refer either to carbon dioxide or to all greenhouse gases.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development provides detailed recommendations to companies on how to respect human rights when making purchasing and materials decisions.

The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change, signed by almost every nation on the planet (197 countries at the time of writing).

A vehicle powered both by a petrol or diesel engine and a battery that you have to plug in to recharge.

The name of our moonshot program that aims to create a climate-neutral car by 2030, by removing greenhouse gas emissions throughout the supply chain and production.

Renewable energy is useful energy that is collected from renewable resources, which are naturally replenished on a human timescale, including carbon neutral sources like solar, wind, and hydro power. 

Materials like cobalt, gold, lithium, nickel, mica, tantalum, tin, tungsten, leather and plastics which have a high risk of human rights violations in their supply chain, e.g. child labour, corruption etc., or environmental impacts, e.g. ecosystem disruption, greenhouse gas emissions, etc.

Publicly disclosing our policies, procedures, goals, commitments, successes, failures, and real-world impacts on workers, communities and the environment. Transparency should be seen as a means to change, not an end in itself.