Carbon jargon: net zero, emissions, science-based targets – what does it all mean?

Carbon emissions and greenhouse gases

‘Carbon’ and ‘carbon emissions’ can be used as shorthand for all greenhouse gas emissions. This is because carbon dioxide is the most common greenhouse gas, however other gases such as methane also cause global warming and must be reduced.

Carbon footprint

The total amount of carbon emissions (or ‘greenhouse gases’) directly and indirectly released by a business’s activities, including in their supply chain.

Carbon footprints are also used to describe emissions associated with products or services.

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) set standards for carbon footprinting in the ISO 14067. These standards help define the principles and guidelines for reporting the carbon footprint.

According to ISO 14067, a carbon footprint is the sum of the “Greenhouse Gas emissions and Greenhouse gas removals of one or more selected process(es) in a product system”.

Carbon Reduction Plan (CRP)

A Carbon Reduction Plan (CRP) is required when bidding for certain Government contracts, as required by PPN 06/21.

The CRP must be published on a suppliers’ website, and details their carbon footprint and confirms their commitment to achieving net-zero by 2050 at the latest.

Do a search for the GOV.UK ‘Carbon Reduction Plan Template’ to help you make your carbon reduction plan.

This template includes:

• commitment to achieving net-zero
• baseline emissions footprint
• current emissions reporting
• emissions reduction targets
• carbon reduction projects

Circular economy

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation defines the circular economy as a system where “products and materials are kept in circulation through processes like maintenance, reuse, refurbishment, remanufacture, recycling, and composting”.  

Essentially, it is a system where materials never become waste. This is achieved through actions such as reuse, repair, and recycling that keep materials and products (resources) in use for longer.

Companies can also consider ways to improve the resource efficiency of their activities by designing their products to minimise waste and keep them in use at their highest value for as long as possible.

Downstream emissions

Indirect GHG emissions from logistics, use and disposal of your products.These are products that are sold, but also include products that are distributed but not sold.  

Downstream emissions also include those that are generated from activities like investing and franchising.

The Greenhouse Gas Protocol offers guidance on accounting for downstream emissions. 

Dry recyclables

Dry recyclables can include:

• glass including drinks bottles and rinsed empty food jars
• metal such as drinks cans and food tins
• plastic such as rinsed empty food containers and bottles
• paper such as old newspapers and envelopes
• cardboard such as delivery boxes and packaging
• e-waste, including computers and cell phones

Standards may vary across regions. Find out more about what is considered dry recyclable from your local authority’s waste or commercial waste service provider.  

Emissions baseline

An emission baseline serves as a foundation for understanding your current emissions. You can use this as a reference point against which you can measure changes in your greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions going forward.

ESG or Environmental, Social and Governance

ESG is a set of standards that measures a business’s impact on the environment, society and the business’s ethical behaviour as well as diversity and inclusion. The three pillars of ESG are:

1. Environmental – the organisation’s impact on the planet.
2. Social – the organisation’s impact on people, including staff, customers and the community.
3. Governance – how an organisation is governed.

The United Nation’s (UN) 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development set out Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015.

These 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all.

SDGs and ESGs are closely related. Both consider factors such as: 

• carbon emissions
• renewable energy use
• sustainable practices to reduce the impact of climate change

For example, a company that emphasises an ESG value, such as replacing plastic straws with reusable alternatives, is helping to achieve:

• SDG 13: Climate action
• SDG 14: Protection of seas and oceans

Greenhouse gases (GHGs)

Greenhouse gases (GHGs) are emissions that contribute to climate change. According to a 2021 study by British Business Bank, SMEs produce around a third of all emissions in the UK.

GHGs include:

• carbon dioxide (CO₂)
• methane (CH₄)
• nitrous oxide (N₂O)
• hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)
• perfluorocarbons (PFCs)
• sulphur hexafluoride (SF₆)
• nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) 

To simplify matters, all GHGs are converted to CO₂ equivalent or CO₂(e) to produce a carbon footprint.

Examples of activities which contribute to GHGs are:

• electricity from fossil fuel power stations
• burning gas for heating
• driving a petrol or diesel fuelled car

Green jobs

The term green skills is defined by the Green Jobs Taskforce as “employment in an activity that directly contributes to – or indirectly supports – the achievement of the UK’s net zero emissions target and other environmental goals, such as nature restoration and mitigation against climate risks”.

For example, any job in the renewables sector could be called a “green job”, rather than a job needing “green skills”.

Green skills

The term ‘green skills’ is defined by UK Parliament as “the knowledge, abilities, values and attitudes needed to live in, develop and support a society which reduces the impact of human activity on the environment”. Examples of these skills include:

• pollution mitigation and waste prevention
• environmental remediation
• sustainable procurement
• energy generation and management

Hazardous waste

Hazardous waste is waste, or the material or substances it contains, that is harmful to humans or the environment. 

Check how you should dispose of hazardous waste in GOV.UK’s hazardous waste guide.

Examples of hazardous waste include: 

• asbestos
• batteries
• chemicals, such as print toner
• electrical appliances
• fluorescent light tubes
• fridges, freezers and air-conditioning units
• gas bottles and canisters
• hazardous or toxic waste
• liquids
• medical waste
• mercury
• oil, fuel and other automotive fluids
• paints (including residues inside paint cans) and solvents
• pesticides
• plasterboard
• roofing felt containing bitumen
• solvents

Find out more about waste and your legal obligations in Waste less and maximise resources.

Net zero

The Climate Change Act commits the UK government by law to reducing UK greenhouse gas net emissions by at least 100% of 1990 levels (net zero) by 2050.

The SME Climate Commitment defines net zero for a company as follows:

“To reach a state of net zero emissions, a company must reduce its emissions by at least 90% and counterbalance the remaining residual emissions with durable or permanent carbon removals. The term “residual” refers to emissions that cannot technically be eliminated. Such residual emissions shall not exceed 10% of baseline emissions”.

Organic waste

Organic waste is waste that consists of materials that are biodegradable, so they will break down naturally over time. For organics recycling, these can include:

• food leftovers
• garden waste such as leftover food and food scraps
• grass clippings
• leaves and branches
• biomass

Standards may vary across regions. Find out more about what is considered organics recycling from your local authority’s waste or commercial waste service provider.  

Science-based targets

Science based targets (SBT) show how much a business’s carbon emissions need to reduce, and how quickly, to be consistent with limiting global warming to 1.5 C.

This involves calculating the amount of global emissions ‘allowed’ across different economic sectors and what a fair share would be for an individual company.

The Science Based Targets Initiative provides calculation methods and advice for firms considering this approach.

Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions

Scope 1 

Direct emissions that from operations that are owned or controlled by the reporting company.

These include:

• emissions from combustion in owned or controlled boilers, furnaces and vehicles
• emissions from chemical production in owned or controlled process equipment

Scope 2 

Indirect emissions from the generation of purchased or acquired electricity, steam, heating, or cooling consumed by the reporting company.

These include the use of:

• purchased electricity
• steam
• heating
• cooling

Scope 3 

All indirect emissions that are not included in scope 2 and occur in the value chain of the reporting company, including both upstream and downstream emissions

These include the:

• production of purchased products
• transportation of purchased products
• use of sold products

Source: WRI/WBCSD Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Accounting and Reporting Standard (opens in PDF), page 5

Supply chain

A ‘supply chain’ refers to the system and resources required to move a product or service from supplier to customer.

Sustainability

Sustainability is a broad term that means operating in a way that meets the needs of the current generation while not undermining future generations to meet theirs.  It can be applied to social and financial issues as well as environmental ones.

The United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) recognise that sustainability and development must go hand-in-hand with strategies that focus on:

• health
• education
• inequality
• environmental preservation

Upstream emissions

Indirect GHG emissions from purchased or acquired goods and services. Other upstream categories include:

• business travel
• employee commuting
• emissions generated from waste leased assets

The Greenhouse Gas Protocol offers guidance on accounting for upstream emissions. 

Value chain

Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) describes the concept of a value chain as the manner in which value is added along the supply chain. 

The value chain refers to both the product/service and the actors involved. It includes a full lifecycle perspective, including:

• design
• production
• marketing
• distribution
• support to the final consumer