ESG Investing Glossary

The principle used to determine which information or sustainability matters could reasonably influence decisions or require accountability.

A structured process to identify, evaluate and prioritise sustainability matters for management and disclosure.

A potent greenhouse gas emitted from fossil-fuel systems, agriculture, waste and natural sources.

A sequence for managing environmental and social impacts by first avoiding them, then minimising, restoring or rehabilitating, and finally addressing residual impacts.

An umbrella term covering severe exploitation such as forced labour, debt bondage, servitude, human trafficking and slavery-like practices.

A national climate plan submitted under the Paris Agreement describing a country's emissions targets and related actions.

The stock of renewable and non-renewable natural resources, such as air, water, soil, minerals and living systems, that provide benefits to people and the economy.

A goal of halting and reversing nature loss so that nature is measurably improving relative to a baseline.

A connected set of concepts describing how an organisation relies on nature, affects nature, and experiences resulting risks or opportunities.

The exclusion of sectors, issuers, activities or securities from an investment universe based on defined ESG, ethical or norms-based criteria.

The board's responsibility for supervising material sustainability impacts, risks, opportunities, strategy, controls and disclosure.

The degree to which directors can exercise objective judgement without relationships or interests that compromise their decisions.

Principles and systems guiding honest, fair, responsible and lawful organisational conduct.

The measurement, calculation and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions, removals and related information.

A policy that applies a carbon-related charge or certificate requirement to specified imported goods based on their embedded emissions.

The cumulative amount of carbon dioxide that can be emitted while retaining a stated probability of limiting warming to a specified temperature.