CSR and regeneration glossary

154 terms on CSR, climate, nature, work and reporting, defined in a few sentences and linked to a reference source.

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1.5 °C pathway Climate and energy

Emissions pathway consistent with limiting warming to 1.5 °C with no or limited overshoot. According to the IPCC (AR6), it requires cutting global GHG emissions by about 43% between 2019 and 2030 and reaching net zero CO₂ emissions in the early 2050s. Corporate targets validated by SBTi refer to it.

See also: SBTi (Science Based Targets initiative)

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C

Carbon budget Climate and energy

Maximum cumulative amount of CO₂ that can still be emitted globally to limit warming to a given level with a given probability. Assessed by the IPCC, this remaining budget shrinks every year in line with emissions. In France, the term also refers to the emission caps per period set by the National Low-Carbon Strategy (SNBC).

See also: 1.5 °C pathway

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Carbon capture and storage (CCS) Climate and energy

Set of techniques that capture CO₂ from an industrial or energy facility, transport it and inject it permanently into a geological formation. Regulated in the EU by Directive 2009/31/EC, it reduces emissions from a fossil source without removing CO₂ from the atmosphere; only capture of biogenic or atmospheric CO₂ followed by storage yields net removals.

See also: Carbon sequestration

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Carbon footprint Climate and energy

Total greenhouse gas emissions associated with a product, organisation or population, including indirect upstream and downstream emissions. At national level it includes imported emissions, unlike the territorial inventory; for a company it corresponds to its scopes 1, 2 and 3. It is expressed in tonnes of CO₂e.

See also: Scopes 1, 2 and 3

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Carbon neutrality Climate and energy

Balance between greenhouse gas emissions and removals, meaningful only at global or territorial level (France’s 2050 target). ADEME and the Net Zero Initiative consider that an organisation cannot call itself “neutral”; since 27 September 2026, Directive (EU) 2024/825 bans claims that a product is neutral based on offsetting. Greencelium speaks of contributing to collective neutrality.

See also: Directive (EU) 2024/825

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Carbon offsetting Climate and energy

Funding emission reductions or removals outside the organisation, presented as “cancelling out” its own emissions, which it does not do. Since 27 September 2026, claims that a product is neutral or has a reduced impact based on offsetting are banned in the EU. Greencelium speaks of contribution instead.

See also: Contribution (climate, nature)

Carbon sequestration Climate and energy

Process of removing CO₂ from the atmosphere and storing it in a reservoir: biomass and soils (photosynthesis, agroforestry, grasslands), long-lived bio-based products or geological formations. Its climate value depends on permanence and additionality; the EU certification framework for removals is Regulation (EU) 2024/3012 (CRCF).

See also: Carbon sink

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Carbon sink Climate and energy

Natural or artificial reservoir that absorbs more CO₂ than it releases: forests, soils, grasslands, wetlands, oceans or geological storage. In France, the forest sink has weakened sharply since the 2010s due to droughts, pest outbreaks and fires, which undermines the national neutrality target.

See also: Nature-based solutions

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Climate change adaptation Climate and energy

The process of adjusting to actual or expected climate and its effects in order to moderate harm or exploit beneficial opportunities (IPCC definition). For a company, it means reducing its vulnerability to physical risks such as heat, drought or flooding. In France it is framed by the third National Adaptation Plan (PNACC-3), based on a reference warming of +4 °C by 2100.

See also: Physical risks

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Climate change mitigation Climate and energy

Human intervention to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or enhance the sinks that absorb them (IPCC definition). For a company, it covers cutting emissions across its three scopes and, as a complement, supporting removal projects. It differs from adaptation, which deals with the impacts of climate change.

See also: Climate change adaptation

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CO₂ equivalent (CO₂e) Climate and energy

Common unit expressing the effect of different greenhouse gases as the amount of CO₂ that would cause the same radiative forcing over a given period. Conversion uses the global warming potential (GWP), usually over 100 years, published by the IPCC. Emission inventories are reported in tonnes of CO₂e (tCO₂e).

See also: Greenhouse gas (GHG)

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Contribution (climate, nature) Climate and energy

Funding, on top of one’s own reductions, projects that cut or remove emissions or restore nature, without claiming to cancel one’s own impact. This is the approach advocated by the Net Zero Initiative and by Greencelium’s method.

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D

Decarbonisation Climate and energy

Reduction of the greenhouse gas emissions of an activity, organisation or economy, mainly through sufficiency, energy efficiency, electrification and the replacement of fossil fuels. It is measured as a cut in physical emissions, independently of any credit purchase. France’s framework is the National Low-Carbon Strategy (SNBC).

See also: Climate transition plan

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E

Energy efficiency Climate and energy

Ratio between the service delivered (output, comfort, mobility) and the energy consumed to provide it; improving it means delivering the same service with less energy. Directive (EU) 2023/1791 makes “energy efficiency first” a guiding principle and sets an EU consumption reduction target for 2030. It complements, but does not replace, sufficiency.

See also: Energy sufficiency

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Energy mix Climate and energy

Breakdown of the primary energy sources (oil, gas, coal, nuclear, renewables) in a territory’s energy supply or consumption. It should not be confused with the electricity mix, which only concerns power generation. In France, it is monitored by the ministry’s statistical service and steered by the multi-annual energy plan (PPE).

See also: Renewable energy

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Energy sufficiency Climate and energy

Reducing energy demand by questioning needs and uses (sizing, organisation, behaviour) before any technical improvement. The IPCC recognises sufficiency as a mitigation lever; in France, the sufficiency plan launched in 2022 aimed to cut energy consumption by 10% within two years. It comes before and complements efficiency.

See also: Energy efficiency

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G

Greenhouse gas (GHG) Climate and energy

Atmospheric gas that absorbs and re-emits infrared radiation, contributing to warming of the Earth’s surface. Regulatory inventories and the GHG Protocol cover the seven Kyoto Protocol gases: carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), sulphur hexafluoride (SF₆) and nitrogen trifluoride (NF₃).

See also: CO₂ equivalent (CO₂e)

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Greenhouse gas inventory Climate and energy

An inventory of an organisation’s greenhouse gas emissions over a year, expressed in tonnes of CO₂ equivalent. ADEME’s Base Empreinte provides French emission factors.

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I

IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) Climate and energy

Intergovernmental body established in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization and the UN Environment Programme. It assesses the state of scientific knowledge on climate change, its impacts and adaptation and mitigation options, without conducting research itself. Its Sixth Assessment Report was completed in 2023; the seventh cycle is under way.

See also: Carbon budget

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N

Net zero Climate and energy

State in which anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions are balanced by anthropogenic removals over a given period. For a company, SBTi’s Corporate Net-Zero Standard understands it as deep emission cuts across all scopes aligned with 1.5 °C, followed by neutralisation of residual emissions only through durable removals. Credits do not replace reductions.

See also: Carbon neutrality

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P

Paris Agreement Climate and energy

International treaty adopted at COP21 in December 2015 under the UNFCCC, in force since November 2016. It aims to hold warming well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels while pursuing efforts to limit it to 1.5 °C. Each Party submits a nationally determined contribution (NDC) every five years.

See also: 1.5 °C pathway

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Permanence (of carbon storage) Climate and energy

Length of time during which carbon removed from the atmosphere actually remains stored, and the risk of its release (fire, forest dieback, geological leakage). Regulation (EU) 2024/3012 (CRCF) distinguishes permanent removals (over several centuries) from temporary removals by carbon farming or storage in products, and requires liability mechanisms in case of reversal.

See also: Carbon sequestration

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R

Renewable energy Climate and energy

Energy from non-fossil sources that are naturally replenished: solar, wind, hydropower, geothermal, ambient energy, ocean energy, biomass and biogas. The EU framework is Directive (EU) 2018/2001 as amended by Directive (EU) 2023/2413 (RED III), which targets at least 42.5% renewables in EU gross final energy consumption by 2030.

See also: Energy mix

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S

SBTi (Science Based Targets initiative) Climate and energy

Organisation, born from a partnership between CDP, the UN Global Compact, WRI and WWF, that sets standards and validates companies’ emission reduction targets against climate science (1.5 °C alignment). A streamlined route exists for SMEs. Version 2.0 of its Corporate Net-Zero Standard was published in 2026.

See also: 1.5 °C pathway

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Scopes 1, 2 and 3 Climate and energy

GHG Protocol categories: direct emissions (scope 1), emissions from purchased energy (scope 2) and all other value-chain emissions, upstream and downstream (scope 3), often the largest.

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Sustainable mobility Climate and energy

Organisation of travel that reduces its environmental and social impacts: lowering travel needs, shifting to walking, cycling, public transport and carpooling, and electrifying vehicles. For a company it covers commuting, business travel and logistics. In France, the 2019 Mobility Orientation Law (LOM) sets the framework.

See also: Sustainable mobility allowance (FMD)

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Definitions checked in October 2026 against the sources cited. Spotted an error or a regulatory change? Report it in the Agora.

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