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The timely and affordable ability to choose and obtain quality, appropriate production resources and services needed for a farming system.

The capability to reach and participate in markets on informed, reliable and fair terms, with realistic choice over buyers, products and conditions of exchange.

A relationship in which an actor must explain and justify decisions or performance to others who can question the account and trigger correction, consequence or remedy.

Active ownership is the use of investor rights and influence, including engagement and voting, to affect company behaviour or stewardship outcomes.

AI governance is the set of policies, roles, controls and review processes used to manage the responsible use of artificial intelligence systems.

Algorithmic bias is a systematic distortion in automated outputs that can arise from data, design choices, assumptions or deployment context.

Anomaly detection is the identification of data points, events or patterns that differ materially from expected behaviour or normal ranges.

The transformation of data so that no individual is identifiable by means reasonably likely to be used, taking the data, available auxiliary information and context into account.

An anti-greenwashing rule is a regulatory or supervisory requirement intended to prevent misleading sustainability claims in financial products, services or communications.

API integration is the connection of systems through application programming interfaces so data or functions can be exchanged in a controlled way.

An independent engagement designed to increase intended users' confidence in defined sustainability information by evaluating it against suitable criteria and reporting a conclusion.

Assurance-ready data is information prepared with enough structure, evidence, controls and traceability to support independent review.

A systematic, independent and documented process for obtaining objective evidence and evaluating it against defined criteria to determine the extent to which requirements are fulfilled.

Audit evidence is information used by an auditor or reviewer to support conclusions about whether a claim, control or disclosure is reliable.

Automated decision-making is the use of software or algorithms to make or materially influence decisions without full manual determination.

A defined reference point or comparative standard used to interpret performance, set expectations or assess whether a result is stronger, weaker or different from an appropriate comparator.

Best-in-class is an investment approach that favours issuers or companies with stronger sustainability performance relative to peers in the same sector or category.

A systematic tendency in how evidence is selected, measured, interpreted or used that pushes conclusions away from the reality they are intended to describe.

Blended finance is the use of public, philanthropic or concessional capital to mobilise additional private investment for development or sustainability outcomes.

Blockchain traceability is the use of a distributed ledger to record supply-chain events, transactions or attributes for later verification.

The obligation placed on the person making a claim, taking a decision or seeking an exception to provide evidence sufficient for that position to be accepted.

Catalytic capital is capital designed to mobilise additional investment or enable impact by accepting higher risk, lower return, longer timeframes or flexible terms.

A third-party attestation that a product, process, service, system or person fulfils specified requirements within a defined scope.

Change detection is the comparison of data from different points in time to identify where and how conditions have changed.

A climate transition plan is a time-bound plan describing how an organisation intends to align strategy, operations, capital allocation and governance with climate goals.

A positive effect on an objective or group beyond the primary purpose of an intervention, demonstrated separately rather than assumed from the intervention's intention.

An ongoing two-way process through which an organisation builds relationships, shares information, understands impacts, enables affected communities to influence decisions and supports access to remedy.

A complaint expresses dissatisfaction about a body, process or service, while an appeal asks for reconsideration of a specific decision made within the assurance system.

Concessional capital is finance offered on terms more favourable than market terms, such as lower returns, longer tenor or higher risk tolerance.

A freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous indication of a person's wishes, expressed through clear affirmative action and capable of being withdrawn.

Continuous monitoring is the regular or near-real-time observation of data, controls, risks or performance indicators over time.

A substantiated causal role played by an intervention within a wider set of influences, supported by a credible theory of change and evidence that expected mechanisms operated.

A controlled vocabulary is an approved list of terms used to reduce ambiguity and keep naming consistent across data, documents or systems.

A coupon step-up is an increase in bond interest payable when specified conditions are met or missed, commonly linked to sustainability performance in sustainability-linked bonds.

A data gap is a missing, incomplete or insufficient data point that limits analysis, reporting or decision-making.

Data lineage is the record of where data came from, how it moved and how it changed before being used or reported.

The principle that personal data collected and processed should be adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary for a specified purpose.

A documented process carried out before high-risk processing to assess necessity, proportionality and risks to people, and to determine measures that reduce those risks.

Data provenance is the documented origin and custody of data, including the source, collection method and relevant handling history.

The degree to which data are fit for their intended use across dimensions such as relevance, accuracy, completeness, consistency, timeliness, coherence and interpretability.

Data sovereignty is the principle that data is subject to the laws, governance expectations and control rights of the place or community connected to it.

A data standard is an agreed structure, definition or rule set for recording and exchanging data consistently.

Productive work carried out in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity, supported by employment opportunity, rights at work, social protection and social dialogue.

A development finance institution is a public or publicly backed institution that provides finance to support development objectives, often in emerging or underserved markets.

A digital twin is a digital representation of a physical asset, process or system that is updated with data to support analysis or decisions.

Digital verification is the use of digital records, systems or tools to check whether a claim, activity or data point is supported by evidence.

A distributed ledger is a shared record system maintained across multiple participants or nodes rather than by a single central database.

Divestment is the sale or withdrawal of investment from a company, asset, sector or activity.

An ongoing, risk-based process through which an organisation identifies, prevents, mitigates, tracks and communicates how it addresses adverse impacts, and supports remediation where appropriate.

The unimpeded movement of species and the flow of natural processes that sustain life across landscapes, freshwater systems and seascapes.

The capacity of an ecosystem to maintain its characteristic composition, structure, functions and processes, and to remain resilient within its environmental context.

The process of halting and reversing ecosystem degradation so that biodiversity, ecological function and benefits to people can recover.

A statement, symbol or representation that communicates or implies that a product, service, organisation or activity has a particular environmental characteristic, performance or effect.

The fair distribution of rights, resources, opportunities, risks and benefits, taking account of unequal starting conditions while preserving equal dignity and entitlement.

An ESG data platform is a software system used to collect, organise, analyse and report environmental, social and governance information.

ESG investing is an investment approach that considers environmental, social and governance information in analysis, selection, ownership or risk management.

An estimation methodology is the documented method used to calculate or approximate a value when direct measurement is unavailable or incomplete.

The EU Green Bond Standard is a European framework for bonds marketed as European green bonds under specified alignment and disclosure requirements.

A systematic and objective assessment of an intervention, policy, programme or strategy to understand its design, implementation, results, value, explanation and lessons for decision-making.

Information, observations, records or analyses of sufficient relevance, quality and transparency to support or challenge a proposition.

Explainability is the ability to understand and communicate how a model, system or decision process produced a particular output.

The range of advisory, facilitation and learning activities that enable rural people and organisations to access, co-create and apply knowledge, services and innovation.

The development and recognition of technical, organisational, financial and decision-making capabilities that enable farmers to manage agriculture as a skilled livelihood and enterprise on terms appropriate...

Fiduciary duty is a legal or governance obligation to act in the interests of beneficiaries, clients or other parties to whom the duty is owed.

Financed emissions are greenhouse gas emissions associated with lending, investment, underwriting or other financial activities attributed to a financial institution.

Fund labelling is the classification or naming of investment funds according to sustainability characteristics, objectives or regulatory categories.

The equal rights, responsibilities, opportunities and ability of people to participate in and benefit from social, economic and political life, regardless of gender.

Geospatial analysis is the examination of data linked to location in order to understand patterns, relationships or changes across space.

GFANZ is the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, a coalition focused on mobilising financial institutions around net-zero transition commitments and guidance.

GIS, or geographic information system, is software and data infrastructure for storing, analysing and displaying location-based information.

Green asset ratio is a banking disclosure metric that compares taxonomy-aligned assets with eligible assets or total covered assets under a specified framework.

A green bond is a bond whose proceeds are intended to finance or refinance eligible environmental projects or assets.

The Green Bond Principles are voluntary process guidelines for issuing green bonds, including use of proceeds, project evaluation, proceeds management and reporting.

Greenium is the pricing difference sometimes observed when green or sustainable debt receives more favourable pricing than comparable conventional debt.

Ground-truthing is the verification of remote, modelled or desk-based information against observations or evidence from the actual location.

The place or type of site in which an organism or population naturally occurs and finds the resources and conditions required to survive and reproduce.

The universal and inherent rights and freedoms held by every person because they are human, without discrimination.

Human-in-the-loop describes a process in which a person reviews, guides or approves automated outputs before they are relied on.

Impact investing is investing with the intention to generate positive, measurable social or environmental impact alongside financial return.

Impact measurement and management is the process of defining, measuring, managing and improving social or environmental effects connected to an investment or activity.

Implied temperature rise is a metric that translates portfolio or company emissions pathways into an estimated global warming outcome.

The process of improving the ability, opportunity, dignity and agency of people and groups to participate in markets, services, institutions and decisions.

A quantitative or qualitative variable used to signal, describe or track a condition or change relevant to a defined result, objective or decision.

Peoples with historical continuity, distinct social, cultural or political institutions and enduring relationships with lands and territories, for whom self-identification and community recognition are...

Coherence between an organisation's stated values, claims, evidence, decisions, incentives and consequences, maintained when inconsistency is exposed and corrected.

The Internet of Things is a network of connected devices or sensors that collect and exchange data about physical conditions or activities.

The ability of organisations and systems to exchange data and use it consistently toward agreed goals while preserving meaning, rules and accountability across boundaries.

International guidance on audit principles, audit-programme management, conducting management-system audits and evaluating auditor competence.

A finance key performance indicator is a selected metric used to track sustainability performance for a financial instrument, target or investment strategy.

Land cover classification is the process of assigning observed land areas to categories such as forest, cropland, grassland, water or settlement.

A large language model is an AI model trained on large text datasets to generate, classify, summarise or transform language-based content.

The justified and perceived standing of an authority, process or decision as appropriate, fair and acceptable within relevant rights, norms and relationships.

A legal basis for necessary processing that pursues a lawful, precise and present interest only where the rights and freedoms of affected people do not override it.

A machine learning model is a computational model trained on data to identify patterns, make predictions or classify information.

Machine-readable disclosure is reported information formatted so software can identify, extract and process the data with limited manual interpretation.

Margin of error is a statistical expression of the likely range within which an estimate may differ from the true value.

Metadata is data that describes other data, such as its source, format, date, owner, method, scope or quality attributes.

A defined method of quantification or calculation, including its unit, formula, boundary and data rules, used to express an aspect of performance or condition.

Model risk is the possibility that a model produces inaccurate, biased, unsuitable or misunderstood outputs that affect decisions or reporting.

Modelled data is information produced through calculations, assumptions or statistical models rather than direct measurement alone.

The continuous or periodic collection, analysis and use of information to track implementation, conditions, risks and progress against defined expectations.

Negative screening is the exclusion of companies, sectors, issuers or activities from an investment universe based on defined criteria.

The Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance is an investor initiative of asset owners committed to transitioning investment portfolios toward net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by a stated horizon.

Norms-based screening is investment screening based on alignment with selected international norms, standards, conventions or principles.

An ontology is a formal model of concepts and relationships within a domain, used to make data meaning more explicit and interoperable.

Open data is data made available for use, reuse or redistribution under clear access, licensing and format conditions.

PCAF is the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials, an initiative that develops methods for measuring and disclosing financed emissions.

The transfer of pollen within or between flowers that enables fertilisation and reproduction in flowering plants.

Portfolio alignment is an assessment of how an investment, lending or asset portfolio compares with a climate, sustainability or transition pathway.

Positive screening is the selection or weighting of investments based on favourable sustainability characteristics or performance.

PRI refers to the Principles for Responsible Investment, an investor-supported initiative promoting responsible investment practices across environmental, social and governance issues.

Primary data collection is the gathering of information directly from the original source, activity, site or respondent for a defined purpose.

The practice of embedding data-protection principles and effective safeguards into architecture, workflow and default settings before and throughout processing.

Proxy voting is the exercise of shareholder voting rights, often by an investor or adviser voting on resolutions at company meetings.

Processing personal data so they cannot be attributed to a specific person without additional information that is kept separately and protected by technical and organisational measures.

The formal release of defined information to external users under stated boundaries, methods, timing and reporting requirements.

Real-time reporting is the presentation or transmission of information soon after it is generated or received, with limited delay.

The reduction in expected environmental savings when an efficiency improvement lowers effective cost or changes behaviour in ways that increase use, production or consumption.

Regulatory technology is software or data infrastructure used to support regulatory compliance, monitoring, reporting or risk management.

Remote sensing is the collection of information about land, water, vegetation or infrastructure without direct physical contact, often using aircraft or satellites.