Insights
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.
PCAF (Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials) is a global industry-led initiative that provides a standardized methodology for financial institutions to measure and disclose the greenhouse gas emissions associated with their loans and investments — enabling banks, asset managers, and insurers to quantify their financed emissions as Scope 3 Category 15 and set credible decarbonization targets.
Permanence is a carbon-credit quality criterion referring to how durably a project keeps carbon out of the atmosphere, and the risk that stored carbon is later re-released.
PFAS are a large family of synthetic "forever chemicals" used for grease and water resistance. Under the PPWR, food-contact packaging faces binding PFAS limits from 12 August 2026 — the regulation's first hard deadline and the one already in force.
Physical risk is the financial risk to an organisation from the physical effects of climate change — divided between acute risks arising from extreme weather events and chronic risks arising from long-term shifts in climate patterns.
The pilot phase is the first, learning-oriented stage of the Türkiye ETS, covering emissions in the 2026–2027 period. During the pilot, administrative penalties are reduced by 80% (Provisional Article 1/1), so installations can build their monitoring and reporting capacity before the system becomes fully binding.
A plastic credit represents a fixed amount of plastic — typically one tonne — collected or recycled by a project, which a company can buy to support or claim plastic-reduction action.
If you're working through a regulatory framework or sustainability challenge and need clarity on a specific term or concept — our team is here to help directly.
