Term |
Definition |
| Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) |
Standards for farm-raised seafood sources. |
| Building Automation System (BAS) |
Optimizes the start-up and performance of HVAC equipment
and alarm systems, increasing the interaction of mechanical
subsystems within a building, improving occupant comfort,
lowering energy use and allowing off-site building control. |
| Canada Safety Council |
A national, non-government, charitable organization dedicated
to safety. |
| Canadian Council of Food and Nutrition (CCFN) |
A national, non-profit, multi-sectoral, science-based organization
committed to evidence-based nutrition communication and
advocacy work. |
| Canadian Green Building
Council |
National and regional advocate for the design and development
of environmentally friendly buildings, homes and communities. |
| Carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) |
The measure used to compare the emissions from various greenhouse gases based on their global warming potential in relation to carbon dioxide. |
| Carbon footprint |
The total CO2e emitted over a given time frame in the entire value chain (company) or over the full life cycle (product) from raw materials to manufacture, distribution, consumer use and disposal. |
| Consumer Goods Forum |
A global trade and industry association representing
the world's leading consumer goods retailers and manufacturers, regional
specialists and independents with a mandate on developing common positions
on key issues affecting the consumer goods industry. |
|
Demand Response Program |
A resource created by the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) to
provide benefits for participants, for system reliability and for all
electricity customers by reducing system demand and eventually
building capacity. |
| Earth Day |
International event observed annually on April 22nd promoting
environmentalism and good stewardship of the planet. |
| Energy Code for Buildings (MNECB) standards |
Establishes minimum standards of construction for
building components and features that affect a building’s
energy efficiency. |
| Energy consumption |
Energy consumed during the consumer use stage of a product's life. |
| Environmental footprint |
The environmental impact of an organization’s buildings and
infrastructure, transportation, processes and operations. |
| Foodland Ontario |
A consumer promotion program of the Ontario Ministry of
Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, communicating the various
benefits of buying Ontario food. |
| Food Marketing
Institute (FMI) |
American-based organization providing leadership and advocacy for the food distribution industry worldwide; develops and promotes policies, programs and forums to support its members. |
| Forest Stewardship
Council (FSC) |
An independent, non-governmental, not-for-profit organization
to promote the responsible management of the world’s forests. |
| FSC chain-of-custody
certification |
Tracks FSC-certified material from the forest to the consumer,
including all successive stages of processing, transformation,
manufacturing and distribution. |
| Global Food Safety
Initiative (GFSI) |
Collaboration amongst some of the world's leading food safety
experts to enhance food safety, ensure consumer protection
and to strengthen consumer confidence through a benchmarking
process to improve cost efficiency throughout the food
supply chain. |
| Global Reporting
Initiative (GRI) |
A network-based organization, creator and promoter of a widely
used sustainability reporting framework. |
| Global Social Compliance Programme (GSCP) |
A business-driven program for companies to harmonize existing
efforts to deliver a shared, consistent and global approach for
the improvement of working conditions in global supply chains. |
| Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions |
The release of gases that trap heat within the earth's atmosphere, including carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N20), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) |
| Greenhouse Gas
(GHG) Protocol |
A partnership between the WRI and the WBCSD, it is the most
widely used international accounting tool for government
and business leaders to understand, quantify and manage
greenhouse gas emissions. |
|
Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) |
A preventative approach to physical, biological and chemical
hazards in food safety. |
| High-intensity Discharge
(HID) lighting |
A high-efficiency, power-saving lighting system for where high
light levels are desired for large areas, such as industrial and
street lighting. |
| HVAC |
Heating ventilating and air conditioning. |
| Leadership in Energy
and Environmental
Design (LEED®) |
A third-party certification program and an internationally
accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation
of high performance green buildings. |
| Marine Stewardship
Council (MSC) |
A global organization working to promote the best environmental
choice in seafood. |
| National Food Safety
Training Program (NFSTP) |
Created by the Canadian Restaurant and Food Association
(CRFA) to provide food safety training that meets the needs of
foodservice operators. |
| Natural refrigerants |
Naturally occurring substances, such as hydrocarbons (propane, isobutane), carbon dioxide, ammonia, water and air that are used as cooling agents in refrigerators and air conditioners, and are preferred over hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) as a replacement for prohibited chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) and hydro-chlorofluorocarbon (HCFC), based on their ozone depletion and climate change impacts. |
| Ocean Wise |
A Vancouver Aquarium conservation program to educate and empower consumers about issues surrounding sustainable seafood. |
| Packaging Association of
Canada (PAC) |
A membership organization providing access to a network of
resources for the packaging community, committed to providing
Sustainable Packaging Leadership. |
| Power Smart projects |
Program created by BC Hydro to promote the efficient use of
power and conservation of energy. |
| Quality Assurance
International (QAI) |
A private, professional service corporation to verify and certify
that organic integrity is maintained. |
| R-value insulation |
Measurement of insulation’s ability to resist heat flow; the higher
the value, the more effective it is. |
| Retail Council of Canada (RCC) |
RCC is a not-for-profit, industry-funded association representing more than 43,000 store fronts of all retail formats across Canada, including department, specialty, discount, and independent stores, and online merchants. |
| Resource Recovery Fund
Board (RRFB) |
A non-profit corporation working in partnership with Nova
Scotians to improve the province’s environment, economy,
and quality of life by reducing, reusing, recycling and
recovering resources. |
| Sustainable Seafood
Working Group |
Created by FMI to develop guidelines, best practices, case studies
and other resources to help the supermarket industry address
seafood sustainability issues. |
|
T5 lighting |
Linear fluorescent lamps with a diameter of 5/8 inches, for
design applications requiring indirect lighting, and an alternative
to HID lamps for high mounting heights in large retail or
industrial applications. |
| T8 fluorescent lighting |
Slim, high-efficiency fluorescent lamps that generate more light
per watt than conventional lighting. |
| Trailer fairings |
Vehicle attachment designed to reduce drag and increase
aerodynamics, which may reduce fuel consumption. |
| U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency’s
SmartWay Transport
Partnership |
Identifies products and services that reduce transportation-related
emissions to protect the environment, reduce fuel
consumption and improve air quality. |
| U.S. Green Building
Council (USGBC) |
Non-profit organization dedicated to sustainable building design
and construction; developers of the LEED® building rating system. |
| Volatile organic
compounds (VOCs) |
Organic compounds that evaporate readily into the atmosphere;
a main cause of smog. |
| World Business Council
for Sustainable
Development (WBCSD) |
A CEO-led, global association of approximately 200 companies
dealing exclusively with business and sustainable development. |
| World Resources
Institute (WRI) |
An environmental think tank seeking practical ways to both
protect the earth and improve people’s lives. |
