Acid Rain:
Rain, snow or fog having a pH less than 5.6. The acidity results from chemical reactions occurring when water, sulphur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides generally released by industrial processes, are chemically transformed into sulphuric and nitric acids.
Air Quality:
The measure of the degree to which air is polluted; the type and maximum concentration of man-produced pollutants that should be permitted in the atmosphere.
Alternative Energy:
Another source of energy that is environmentally sound, like solar or wind power—energy that does not come from fossil fuels.
Biodegradable:
Materials that break down, or decompose naturally when bacteria and living organisms feed on them.
Biodiesel Fuel:
A clean burning and non-toxic alternative diesel fuel to petroleum-based fuels. Biodiesel is made from animal fats and plant oils and can be used alone or in combination with petro-diesel
(petroleum diesel).
Biofuel:
Renewable fuel comprised of biological materials (made from biodiesel, biogas and methane).
Biodiversity:
The assortment of plants, animals and ecosystems in the world.
Biomass:
All organic matter that derives from the photosynthetic conversion of solar energy.
Biosphere:
The part of the Earth and atmosphere capable of supporting living organisms.
Canada green building Council (cagbc):
Accelerates the design and construction of green buildings in Canada. They are a broad-based inclusive coalition of representatives from different segments of the design and building industry.
Carbon Dioxide (co2):
An odourless, colourless gas that is produced by all animals, plants, fungi and microorganisms during respiration, and is used by plants during photosynthesis. Also generated as a byproduct of the combustion of fossil fuels or vegetable matter, among other chemical processes.
Carbon Footprint:
A measure of the impact our activities (such as driving a car, heating your home) have on the environment. Your carbon footprint is measured in units of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gasses—a direct contributor of global warming.
Carbon Monoxide (co):
A colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas that forms in preference to the more usual carbon dioxide when there is a reduced availability of oxygen present during the combustion process.
Certification:
The process in which a third party gives a guarantee that a product or service follows specific requirements. The standards and process for certification varies from industry to industry.
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs):
Compounds containing chlorine, fluorine and carbon only
(they contain no hydrogen). Created in the late 1920’s, they cause climate change and were once used in refrigeration systems, air conditioners and plastic foams. CFCs have half-lives between 50-100 years, so their presence in the atmosphere and reactivity with ozone is long lived. One CFC molecule typically degrades around 10,000 ozone molecules before its removal, but this number can sometimes be in the millions.
Compost:
The result of collected organic waste such as food, leaves or cut grass that is left to naturally break down. Used as a natural fertilizer, it provides plants with nutrients.
Conserve:
To reduce or to save.
Conservation:
Protecting and efficiently using natural resources such as water and forests.
Cradle to Cradle:
Refers to waste-free production, using materials that can be recycled, reused, composted or consumed so that materials may be re-used.
(Opposite of cradle-to-grave: when companies take responsibility for the disposal of goods it has produced, but do not put product materials back into service)
Decontamination:
The process of removing hazardous substances.
Deforestation:
When large amounts of trees are cleared from an area.
Ecological Footprint:
The measure of human demand on the Earth's ecosystems and natural resources. It compares human consumption of natural resources with planet Earth’s ecological capacity to regenerate them.
Ecologo:
A North American certification of environmental leadership, setting standards
and certifying products in more than 120 categories. There are currently more than 7,000 EcoLogo-certified products from hundreds of manufacturers.
Ecosystem:
A natural community consisting of animals, plants and microorganisms, and how they all co-exist with all of the non-living physical factors of the environment.
Elemental Chlorine-Free (ECF):
This term is used to define paper that is processed without elemental chlorine
(as chlorine is toxic and associated with some health problems), but with a chlorine derivative instead such as chlorine dioxide. Although chlorine-free paper is best, ECF paper is less harmful to the environment than paper containing high amounts of chlorine.
Elemental Chlorine-Free with Extended, or Oxygen Delignification:
An enhanced form of ECF paper (see above) this removes more lignin (which helps bind wood-cells together and directs water flow) before paper is bleached, which reduces energy usage and chemical usage during processing.
Emission:
A substance, or several substances, which are released into the air, water or soil.
Emissions Cap:
The limit a company or country can legally produce in terms of greenhouse gasses. Usually set by countries, governments, or international bodies.
Endangered Forest:
A forest that is rare, threatened, and is of high global biological importance that any logging activity could damage the conservation value of the Earth forever.
Energy:
The capacity to do work. Cannot be created, but changes from one form to another.
Environment:
The circumstances, or living things such as soil, climate and air that surround an organism or group of organisms.
Extinction:
The loss of a type of species, plant or animal. Some species become extinct because of non-human forces, but most species face extinction because of human activities. According to National Geographic, in 2007 the western lowland gorilla was listed as one of the species of animals in the most danger of becoming extinct.
Food Chain:
The way each living organism depends on another as a source of food. For example, one organism feeds on the one below it, while it is in turn, eaten by the organism
above it in the chain.
Forest Certification:
The system in which the social, environmental and economic integrity of forest management is calculated and verified by an independent third party.
Forest Stewardship Council (FSC):
An independent organization that promotes responsible management of the global forests by creating standards, a trademark and certification systems. It provides accreditation for companies interested in responsible forestry practices. To be FSC-certified, means the product meets FSC standards. The FSC also certifies wood/fibre, which is virgin wood or fibre from an FSC-certified forest.
Fossil Fuel:
These are non-renewable remains of plant and animal life used to make energy, such as coal, oil and natural gas.
Global Warming:
This is the gradual increase of the Earth’s surface temperature. This climate change is caused by greenhouse gasses
(mainly carbon dioxide and methane), which trap heat and remain in the atmosphere for decades or even centuries.
Greenguard Certification Program:
A third-party verification for low-emitting products. The program identifies specific products that have been tested and continue to be tested to ensure that their chemical and particle emissions meet acceptable indoor air quality pollutant guidelines and standards. This program is voluntary and available to all manufacturers and their suppliers.
Greenhouse Effect:
The process in which the emission of infrared radiation by the atmosphere warms a planet’s surface. Without the greenhouse effect the Earth would be uninhabitable. However, Global Warming, a recent warming of the Earth's lower atmosphere, is believed to be the result of an enhanced greenhouse effect due to increased concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Greenhouse Gases:
One of the ‘bad guys’ on this list, these are gases (like CO2, methane, CFCs as listed above…and nitrous oxide) that trap heat in the earth’s atmosphere while letting the sun’s heat pass through (just like what happens in a greenhouse).
GREENOFFICE Hero:
Someone taking action and encouraging others to help the environment by making changes in their everyday work habits, whether small or large!
Habitat:
The place where animals and plants live, eat and grow. A habitat is also an ecological community—referring to the environment used by a plant, fungus or other living thing
(a marine habitat, for example).
Hydroelectricity:
Electric energy produced by moving water (hydropower). It is a renewable source of energy, producing no waste—and does not produce carbon dioxide (CO2) which contributes to greenhouse gases.
ISO 1400:
A series of international standards on environmental management developed at a 1992 summit in Rio de Janeiro.
ISO 14001:
An internationally accepted standard that sets out how you can go about putting in place an effective Environmental Management System (EMS). The standard is designed to address the delicate balance between maintaining profitability and reducing environmental impact; with the commitment of your entire organization, it can enable you to achieve both objectives.
Kyoto Protocol (sometimes called kyoto forest) :
Allows industrial countries to discount their greenhouse gas emissions by certain land-use change and forestry activities. Since 1990, these activities are limited to strictly defined cases including afforestation, reforestation and deforestation. A Kyoto Forest is a minimum area of land of 0.05-1.0 hectares with tree crown cover (or equivalent stocking level) of more than 10-30 percent containing trees with the potential to reach a minimum height of 2-5 metres at maturity.
Landfill:
A place where trash is kept and separated from the surrounding environment.
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (leed) :
The LEED Green Building Rating System is a voluntary, consensus-based national rating system for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings emphasizing state-of-the-art strategies in five areas: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials and resources selection, and indoor environmental quality.
Managed Growth:
A development expansion that is controlled in order to be less harmful to the environment. Managed growth is the opposite of “Urban Sprawl” which is a term used to describe unplanned and uncontrolled growth springing up beyond an urban boundary. The motivation in planning communities under a managed growth plan is to reduce the amount of the air pollution, traffic congestion, and impact on wildlife caused by the construction of new communities.
Mobius loop:
This is the widely recognized recycling symbol utilizing three arrows folded into a continuous loop. The loop means that an object can be recycled, but does not always mean it has been. On occasion, a number with a percentage sign is found in the middle of the loop to indicate the percentage of recycled material used in the product.
Non-Renewable Resource:
Minerals, oil, gas and coal. Their use as material and energy sources lead to the depletion of the Earth's reserves and are characterized by the fact they do not renew within human relevant periods.
Organic:
Living or non-living thing comprised of/made from plants or animals.
Ozone Layer:
A thin layer in the earth’s atmosphere that shields the earth from much of the sun’s ultraviolet rays.
PEFC:
This paper certification terms stands for Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification, which guarantees that timber and paper products come from responsibly managed forests. PEFC certified forests are managed to promote long term timber supplies while protecting the environment.
pH:
An expression of both acidity and alkalinity on a scale of 0 to 14, with 7 representing neutrality; numbers less than 7 indicate increasing acidity and numbers greater than 7 indicate increasing alkalinity.
Photosynthesis:
When plants use sunlight, water and carbon dioxide to produce energy in the form of sugar and oxygen.
Pollutant:
Any substance, usually a residue of human activity, which has an undesirable effect upon the environment.
Pollution:
The indirect or direct alteration of the biological, thermal, physical, or radioactive properties of any medium in such a way as to create a hazard or potential hazard to human health—or to the health, safety or welfare of any living species.
Post-Consumer Material:
Products that have been used, thrown away and then turned into a new product (like our post-consumer paper). Products claiming to be recycled should indicate how much/what percentage of the item is made up from re-used materials.
Pre-Consumer Waste:
Scrap materials that have been reintroduced by the manufacturer into the making of a product, much like recycling. An example is using scrap paper trimmings to make more paper.
Processed Chlorine Free (PCF) and Totally Chlorine Free (TCF):
This refers to paper produced without chlorine compounds—or in the case of TCF paper, it refers to paper made
of 100 percent virgin fibres.
Quality Index:
A measure of water quality based on biological diversity and water quality—including levels of dissolved oxygen, coliform bacteria, oxygen-demanding substances, and nutrients.
Recycle:
To use something again either by using it for something else instead of throwing it away, or by changing its state to use again. For example, manufacturing pens from discarded vehicle headlights and CDs.
Recycled Fibre:
Material that has been reused from a previous product to create a new one.
Reduce:
Cutting down on, using less. It could mean using less energy, or cutting down on the amount of pages you print in a day. This is the easiest and most important way an individual can help the environment.
Reforestation:
Planting new trees where others have been cut down.
Renewable Resources:
Resources that are always replenished naturally like water, trees and sunlight.
Reuse:
To find new ways to use something.
Sierra Club:
An American environmental organization that was formed in 1892 in San Francisco. It is affiliated with the Sierra Club of Canada and is the oldest and largest grassroots environmental group in the U.S.
Sustainable Forestry Initiative Program (SFI):
A system of certification principles created by scientists, conservationists and foresters to promote forest growth, air quality and the protection of wildlife. This labeling program (for products like paper) ensures the product comes from legal and sustainable (or renewable) sources.
Smog:
A term combining the words smoke and fog—it defines a brownish haze in the atmosphere made up by a mixture of air pollutants with ground-level ozone. Smog contributors include emissions from industries, cars and other activities such as burning things in the open. Smog decreases visibility and is related to respiratory health problems in humans.
Sustainability:
A characteristic of a process (or state) that can be maintained forever. This includes resources, which can’t be used up and are replenished naturally like wind or solar power. This term also refers to a process of making positive decisions that balance economic, environmental and social factors without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
TErraChoice:
TerraChoice is a North American science-based environmental marketing agency that helps grow the world’s most sustainable companies by converting environmental leadership into sound environmental strategy, communications and positioning.
Toxic:
Something harmful or poisonous to living entities. Toxic substances usually cause unwanted side effects and in some cases can even be fatal.
Urban Runoff:
Storm water from streets and buildings that carries pollution into the sewer system, then into rivers lakes and the ocean.
Virgin Wood:
Wood or industrial co-products/byproducts (like sawdust and bark) which are traceable to forest sources and have no chemical treatments or finishes applied.
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs):
Organic chemical compounds that have high enough vapor pressures under normal conditions to significantly vaporize and enter the atmosphere. The most common VOC is methane, a greenhouse gas. VOCs are sometimes accidentally released into the environment, where they can damage soil and groundwater. Vapours of VOCs escaping into the air contribute to air pollution.
Waste:
Material often unusable, left over from any manufacturing, industrial, agricultural or other human process; or material that is damaged or altered during a manufacturing process and subsequently left useless.
Xenobiotic Substance:
A substance that would not normally be found in a given environment, and usually means a toxic chemical, which is entirely artificial.
Zoning:
Designation and reservation under a master plan of land use for light and heavy industry dwellings, offices, and other buildings; use is enforced by restrictions on types of buildings in each zone.