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Sustainability Glossary

Sustainability progress requires a shared understanding of key concepts. Below are definitions we use to communicate about sustainability at GOJO. 

Biobased
Biodegradable
Bottom of the Pyramid (BoP)
Carbon Footprint
Cradle-to-Cradle
Ecosystem
Energy Audit
Global Warming
Green Building
Green Cleaning
Greenhouse Gases (GHGs)

Greenwashing
Health
LEED-EBOM
Non-renewable Resource
Renewable
Renewable Energy
Sustainability
Sustainable Value
Sustainable Ways of Working (SWOWSM)
Zero Waste

Biobased

Biobased products are those that are composed mostly of plant or animal materials that are renewable and contain no synthetics or environmentally damaging substances. 

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Biodegradable

Biodegradable is the capacity of a material to decompose over time as the result of a biological activity, such as enzymes produced by living organisms.

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Bottom of the Pyramid (BoP)

Bottom of the Pyramid (BoP) refers to the world’s 4 billion poorest people who live on less than 1.3 British Pounds a day. This represents two-thirds of the world’s population as of 2004.

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Carbon Footprint

A Carbon Footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gases emitted directly or indirectly through any human activity, typically expressed in equivalent tonnes of either carbon or carbon dioxide.

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Cradle-to-Cradle

Cradle-to-Cradle is a design philosophy stated by architect William McDonough that considers the life-cycle of a material or product, and ensures that the product is completely reused or recycled at the end of its defined lifetime.

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Ecosystem

An Ecosystem is a community of living organisms and non-living things that are interdependent for survival within a given area. Areas may be as small as a pond or as large as a watershed of thousands of acres or more. Cities are urban ecosystems.

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Energy Audit

An Energy Audit is a process used to evaluate the usage of electricity in a facility.  The purpose of the process is to identify opportunities to reduce energy consumption.

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Global Warming

Global Warming is a scientific theory that describes the increase in the average temperature of the oceans and the air near the earth’s surface, which is thought to be causing more severe floods and droughts, increasing the prevalence of insects and related diseases effecting human health, causing the sea levels to rise and redistribute the earth’s precipitation.

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Green Building   

Green Building is a process of design and construction that employs techniques to minimise adverse environmental impacts and reduce the energy consumption of a building, while contributing to the health and productivity of its occupants.

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Green Cleaning

Green Cleaning is defined as cleaning that protects health without harming the environment.

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Greenhouse Gases (GHGs)

Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) are components of the atmosphere that come from natural sources and human activity and contribute to the “greenhouse effect.”  These include water vapors, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone and chlorofluorocarbons.

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Greenwashing

Greenwashing is the act of misleading or overstating to the public the environmental practices and impacts of an enterprise or the environmental benefits of a product or service.

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Health

Health is defined by the first World Health Organisation as the complete state of physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. Therefore, health may be regarded as a balance of physical, mental, and social aspects of life in a being.

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LEED-EBOM

LEED is an acronym for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, a rating system developed by the United States Green Building Council. EBOM is an acronym for Existing Buildings Operations and Maintenance.

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Non-renewable Resource

A Non-renewable Resource is a resource that is unable to be regenerated or renewed fully and without loss of quality once it is used.

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Renewable

Renewable refers to a naturally occurring resource that can be replenished by natural processes in the ecosystem at a rate comparable or faster than its rate of consumption by humans. Unlike fossil fuels, which yield synthetic materials, a renewable resource advances sustainability by leveraging natural capital. 

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Renewable Energy

Renewable Energy is the use of natural resources such as sunlight, wind, tides and geothermal (heat in the earth) to create another form of energy, such as electricity.

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Sustainability Sustainability is about meeting or exceeding the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet or exceed their own needs. There are three key domains of sustainability:
  • Social - Enhancing people’s quality of life and reducing risks to health and well-being
  • Environmental - Increasing positive impacts and reducing negative impacts on our ecosystem
  • Economic - Building economic strength and prosperity for an enterprise and its stakeholders 

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Sustainable Value

Sustainable Value is about creating value for an enterprise and its stakeholders. It's about making business decisions that are good for life and the ecosystem while being profitable to an enterprise and its stakeholders.

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Sustainable Ways of Working (SWOWSM)

Sustainable Ways of Working, or SWOWSM is about changing the way we think and work at GOJO in order to embed sustainability into all aspects of our business. Practising Sustainable Ways of Working will create value for GOJO and its stakeholders -- employees, customers, suppliers, partners, communities, society and the ecosystem -- now and for generations to come.

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Zero Waste

Zero Waste is a production system aimed at eliminating the volume and toxicity of waste and materials by conserving or recovering all resources.

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