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Carbon Neutral or
Carbon Offset
To offset or neutralize net green-
house gas emissions.
This can be achieved by planting
trees, using renewable energy, energy
conservation and emissions trading.
Critics contend there is no definitive
evidence that carbon offsets work
since there are no models or stan-
dards that clearly demonstrate the
equilibrium.
(Carbon) Sequestration
See Uptake
CERES (Coalition for
Environmentally Respon-
sible Economies)
CERES is a non-profit 501(c)
(3) group of investors, corporations
and public interest groups using
sustainable prosperity as a byline to
describe its work to promote change
through capital markets. Its mission
is “Mobilizing investor and business
leadership to build a thriving, sus-
tainable global economy.” Among
coalition group members are, the
AFL-CIO, CalPERS (California Pub-
lic Employees’ Retirement System),
Earth Island Institute, Friends of the
Earth, Natural Resources Defense
Council, Rocky Mountain Institute
(RMI), the Sierra Club, the Union of
Concerned Scientists, Walden Asset
Management, World Resources In-
stitute (WRI) and the World Wildlife
F
Compostable
The biodegradability of an organic
material, mostly to biomass, water
and carbon dioxide. Compostable
environments include industrial set-
tings and common garden or open
space locations. All standards agree
on a six-month period for the organic
matter to degrade. Most standards
support these tests:
• Does it biodegrade to carbon
dioxide, water, biomass at
the rate paper biodegrades?
• Does the material disintegrate
leaving no distinguishable
or visible residue?
• Are there any eco-toxic materials
left, and can the
remaining biomass support plant
growth?
American Society for Testing and
Materials (ASTM) D6400-99 says to
be considered compostable, materials
must undergo degradation by biologi-
cal processes during composting to
yield carbon dioxide (CO2), water,
inorganic compounds and biomass
at a rate consistent with other com-
postable materials, leaving no visible,
distinguishable or toxic residue.
The EN (European Committee for
Standardization or Comité Européen
de Normalisation) standard is even
more specific. EN13432 states that
a material is deemed compostable if
it will breakdown to the extent of at
least 90 percent to H2O and CO2
and biomass within six months.
There are other standards as well
with DIN V49000 from the German
Institute for Standardization being
the strictest in the allowance of heavy
metals. Many might be familiar with
DIN standards for their safe release
ski bindings.
Consumer Product
Safety Commission (CPSC)
The Consumer Product Safety
Commission is a U.S. Federal agency
in charge of public safety associated
with consumer products. The CPSC
Web site states “Deaths, injuries,
and property damage from consumer
product incidents cost the nation
more than $1 trillion annually. CPSC
is committed to protecting consum-
ers and families from products that
pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or
mechanical hazard.” For example,
the Consumer Product Safety Im-
provement Act of 2008 (CPSIA) was
enacted to protect children from lead
and phthalates 12 years of age or
younge
Cradle-to-cradle
The life cycle of a product from
manufacture to re-manufacture.
Cradle-to-gate
The life cycle of a product or pro-
cess from manufacture to end user.
Also known as environmental product
declarations (EPD).
Cradle-to-grave
The life cycle of a product from
manufacture to end-of-use disposal
(see table on page 41).
Degradable
A material that undergoes chemi-
cal change and a loss of original
characteristics due to environmental
conditions. There are no require-
ments for time, process or toxicity for
this method.
EmissionsTrading
(Cap andTrade)
A practice in which businesses are
given an emissions cap, in the form
of credits, that allows them to pollute
up to a si-
nesses that exceed their cap must
purchase (or trade) credits from a
company that has not exceeded its
cap or from trading platforms such as
the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX),
the European Climate Exchange
(ECX) and/or Montreal Climate Ex-
change (MCeX).
Problems with the Cap and Trade
concept include where to set the
initial levels of the caps, retiring old
credits, resetting caps and regulatory/
compliance standards.
Environmental Product
Declarations (EPD)
The life cycle of a product from
manufacture to end user. Also know
as cradle-to-gate.
Forest Stewardship
Council (FSC)
The FCS’s mission is to encour-
age sustainable development (see
Sustainable
among the w
ciples and 57 criteria define forests
certified by the FSC. There are two
certifications awarded by the Forest
Stewardship Council: a Forest Man-
agement and Chain of Custody certi-
fication. Both certifications use FSC’s
principles and criteria to obtain a
DataPoints
Direct Feed
DirectFeed
Outd orTextile
GreenGlossary
RetailReport
Outdoor Textile
Green Glossary
RetailReport
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