Insights

Glossary

Clear definitions of the sustainability, climate, and ESG terms that matter most — from CBAM and CSRD to SBTi and PCAF. Written by Semtrio's advisory team.

1

1.5°C Pathway

A 1.5°C pathway is an emissions trajectory consistent with limiting global average warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, used as the benchmark against which corporate climate targets are judged.

A

Additionality

Additionality is the requirement that the emissions reduction or removal a carbon credit represents would not have happened without the carbon project and the finance those credits provide.

Allocation Report

An allocation report is the post-issuance disclosure in which an issuer states how much of a labelled bond's proceeds has been allocated, to which eligible projects, and how much remains unallocated.

B

B Corp Certification

B Corp certification is a third-party certification awarded by B Lab to companies that meet verified standards of social and environmental performance, make a legal commitment to consider all stakeholders, and disclose their results publicly.

Baseline Year

A baseline year is the reference year against which an organisation measures its emissions performance over time and sets reduction targets, chosen for data quality and representativeness and recalculated when the organisation changes structurally.

Biodiversity Credits

A biodiversity credit is a tradable unit representing a measurable, verified gain in biodiversity resulting from a conservation or restoration activity.

Biodiversity Footprint

A biodiversity footprint is a quantified assessment of an organisation's impacts on biodiversity across its operations and value chain, expressed in metrics that support comparison, target-setting and disclosure.

C

Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)

CBAM is a European Union mechanism that prices the carbon content of certain goods imported from outside the EU, requiring non-EU producers to provide verified embedded emissions data and EU importers to purchase carbon certificates equivalent to the carbon cost that would have applied under the EU Emissions Trading System.

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