Ten sustainability terms you must know in 2021

"Sustainability is no longer about doing less harm. It's about doing more good" said Jochen Zeitz and we couldn't agree more!

To celebrate Earth Day, we have put together a list of terms that you must know in order to make better choices in 2021 -

1. Circular Economy

A circular economy is an economic system aimed at eliminating waste and the continual use of resources. It employs reuse, sharing, repair, recycling, upcycling to create a closed-loop system, minimising the use of resource inputs and the creation of waste, pollution and carbon emissions.

Source: Wikipedia

2. Upcycling

Upcycling is the creative re-use of a discarded product or material into a new product of higher value than the original. In simple terms, when you use creativity to bring a waste product back to life by creating something new out of it, it is termed as upcycling.

Discover upcycling ideas here.

3. Conscious Consumer

A conscious consumer is one who takes into account the public consequences of his or her private consumption or who attempts to use his or her purchasing power to bring about social change.

Source: Webster

4. Conscious capitalism

The term conscious capitalism refers to a socially responsible economic and political philosophy. The premise behind conscious capitalism is that businesses should operate ethically while they pursue profits. This means they should consider serving all stakeholders involved including their employees, humanity, and the environment - not just their management teams and shareholders. 

Source: Investopedia

5. Traceability

Traceability refers to a company knowing or being able to trace its supply chains from start to finish. This is crucial to transparency, as without properly tracing the journey of a product, one cannot be truly transparent with their customers. 

6. Carbon Sequestering

It is the process of capturing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide in plants, soils, geological formations and the ocean - for example through tree planting. This is one method of reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere with the goal of reducing global climate change. 

Source: Britannica

7. Carbon Sink

A carbon sink is any reservoir, natural or otherwise, that accumulates and stores some carbon containing chemical compounds for an indefinite period and thereby lowers the concentration of Carbon Dioxide from the atmosphere. Globally, the two most important carbon sinks are vegetation and the ocean.

Source: Conserve Energy 

8. Net Zero

Net Zero refers to the balance between the amount of greenhouse gas produced and the amount removed from the atmosphere.

Source: National Grid

9. Natural Capital

Natural capital is the world's stock of natural resources, which includes geology, soils, air, water and all living organisms.

Source: Wikipedia

10. Biophilic Design

Biophilic design focuses on human’s innate attraction to nature and natural processes. It is seen that when spaces are designed with a human centred approach, it results in numerous benefits to our health and well-being.

Source: Oliver Heath

Tell us about any new terms you've learnt in 2021 by leaving a comment below 🌱