Contents

The Aarhus Convention is an international agreement on access to environmental information, public participation in environmental decision-making and access to justice.

Accountability to affected populations is the practice of ensuring people affected by decisions or programmes can receive information, give feedback and influence outcomes.

Adaptation finance is funding directed toward reducing vulnerability and increasing resilience to actual or expected climate impacts.

The extent to which an intervention causes an outcome beyond what would reasonably have occurred under the applicable baseline, law, common practice or existing incentives.

Agenda 2030 is the United Nations sustainable development agenda that includes the Sustainable Development Goals and related commitments.

Aid effectiveness is the assessment of how well development assistance achieves intended results while respecting ownership, alignment, coordination and accountability principles.

Anti-bribery and corruption refers to policies, controls and practices intended to prevent, detect and respond to bribery, corruption and improper advantage.

Anti-money laundering is the set of controls used to prevent, detect and report attempts to disguise the proceeds of crime as legitimate funds.

Assurance mapping is the process of identifying what assurance, review or control activity covers which risks, processes, data or disclosures.

A causal judgement that an observed change was produced by an intervention, rather than by other influences or what would have occurred without it.

The Basel Convention is an international treaty addressing the control of transboundary movements of hazardous wastes and their disposal.

Beneficial ownership identifies the natural persons who ultimately own, control or benefit from a legal entity or arrangement.

A beneficiary is a person, group or organisation intended to receive benefit from a programme, policy, project or intervention.

Board independence is the degree to which board members can exercise objective judgment without undue influence from management, controlling shareholders or conflicts.

Board oversight is the board's monitoring and challenge of strategy, risk, controls, performance and accountability.

Bottom of the pyramid refers to lower-income populations considered in relation to markets, development needs or inclusive business models.

The Brundtland definition describes sustainable development as development that meets present needs while considering the ability of future generations to meet theirs.

Business continuity is an organisation's ability to keep critical operations running or restore them after disruption.

Business integrity is the practice of conducting business honestly, lawfully and consistently with ethical standards and commitments.

Capacity development is the process of strengthening the abilities of people, organisations or systems to perform functions and achieve objectives.

CITES is an international agreement regulating trade in specimens of wild animals and plants to help ensure such trade does not threaten their survival.

The Clean Industrial Deal is an EU policy framework linking industrial competitiveness and decarbonisation through measures for energy-intensive industry, clean technology and circularity.

Climate finance is funding intended to support climate mitigation, adaptation, resilience or related transition activities.

Climate justice is a framing that connects climate change to fairness, rights, responsibility and the unequal distribution of climate harms and capacities.

Climate litigation is legal action connected to climate change, emissions, adaptation, disclosure, duties or climate-related claims.

A code of ethics is a written statement of values, principles and expected conduct for an organisation or profession.

Common but differentiated responsibilities is the principle that states share responsibility for global environmental problems while recognising different circumstances and capacities.

A compliance function is a role or team responsible for helping an organisation meet legal, regulatory, policy and ethical obligations.

A Conference of the Parties is the formal meeting of parties to an international convention, often used in climate and biodiversity diplomacy to negotiate and review implementation.

Conflict Minerals Regulation refers to rules addressing due diligence for selected minerals and metals that may finance conflict or be linked to serious human rights risks.

A conflict of interest policy sets expectations for identifying, declaring and managing situations where personal or organisational interests could influence judgment.

Contribution analysis is an evaluation approach that assesses whether and how an intervention plausibly contributed to observed outcomes.

Corporate culture is the shared pattern of values, incentives, behaviours and informal norms that shapes how people in an organisation make decisions.

Corporate governance is the system of rules, roles, processes and relationships through which a company is directed, controlled and held accountable.

Corporate purpose is the stated reason an organisation exists beyond short-term financial performance, often linking strategy, stakeholders and long-term value.

An estimate of the condition or outcome that would have occurred for the same people, places or system in the absence of the intervention being assessed.

Country risk benchmarking is the classification or comparison of countries according to risk indicators used to guide due diligence, scrutiny or compliance expectations.

Country-by-country reporting is disclosure of tax, financial or operational information broken down by jurisdiction.

Crisis management is the preparation, coordination and response used to manage serious events that threaten people, operations, reputation or continuity.

CSDDD refers to the European Union corporate sustainability due diligence framework for certain companies in relation to human rights and environmental impacts.

Customs enforcement is the use of border-control powers to check, stop, release or restrict goods according to applicable trade, product or sustainability-related requirements.

Cybersecurity risk is the possibility of harm, disruption or loss arising from threats to digital systems, data, networks or information security.

The allocation of authority, accountability, rules and controls governing how data are created, accessed, changed, shared, retained and deleted across their lifecycle.

Data privacy is the protection and proper handling of personal data in line with rights, expectations and applicable rules.

Decolonizing development is the effort to challenge power imbalances, assumptions and institutional practices rooted in colonial histories within development work.

Deforestation-free means a commodity, product or supply chain is presented as not linked to deforestation within the relevant legal, methodological or sourcing boundary.

A delegated act is a secondary legal instrument that supplements or amends specific non-essential elements of a primary legislative act within an authorised scope.

A digital product passport is a structured digital record intended to carry product information such as composition, origin, sustainability attributes or compliance data.

Do no harm is a principle requiring action to avoid creating or worsening adverse effects for people, communities or environments.

Dodd-Frank Section 1502 is a United States conflict minerals disclosure provision focused on certain minerals associated with the Democratic Republic of the Congo and adjoining countries.

A due diligence statement is a formal submission or record stating that required due diligence has been carried out for a product, activity or transaction.

A duty bearer is an actor with responsibility to respect, protect or fulfil the rights or entitlements of others.

Duty of care is an obligation to take reasonable care to avoid foreseeable harm to people, assets, stakeholders or the environment within a defined relationship or context.

The Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation is a European framework for setting product sustainability and information requirements across selected product groups.

Empowerment is the process of increasing people's agency, capacity, resources or influence over decisions that affect their lives.

Enterprise risk management is an organisation-wide approach to identifying, assessing, managing and monitoring risks in relation to objectives.

Environmental justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of people in environmental decisions and the distribution of environmental benefits and burdens.

ESG-linked incentives are remuneration or reward mechanisms tied to environmental, social or governance targets or indicators.

An ethics hotline is a reporting channel for raising concerns about misconduct, legal breaches, ethics issues or policy violations.

The EU Batteries Regulation is a European framework addressing sustainability, safety, labelling, due diligence and end-of-life requirements for batteries.

EU ETS is the European Union emissions trading system, a cap-and-trade framework for regulating greenhouse gas emissions from covered sectors and installations.

The EU Forced Labour Regulation refers to European rules intended to restrict products made with forced labour from being placed on or exported from the EU market.

EUDR refers to the European Union deforestation regulation framework for placing certain commodities and products on the EU market or exporting them from the EU.

Executive remuneration linkage is the connection of executive pay or incentives to specified performance metrics, including sustainability or ESG metrics.

Extended producer responsibility is a policy approach that gives producers responsibility for products beyond sale, often including collection, recycling, treatment or end-of-life management.

Facilitation payments are small payments made to speed up or secure routine official actions, often treated as bribery risk or prohibited conduct.

FCPA refers to the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which addresses bribery of foreign officials and related accounting controls.

Fiduciary responsibility is an obligation to act with loyalty, care and prudence in the interests of the person or entity to whom the responsibility is owed.

Access to and effective use of affordable, appropriate and safe financial services that meet people's needs and support agency, resilience and opportunity.

The French Duty of Vigilance Law is a French framework requiring certain large companies to establish and implement vigilance measures for serious human rights, health, safety and environmental risks.

GDPR is the European Union General Data Protection Regulation, a legal framework governing the processing and protection of personal data.

Plot-level geolocation is location information identifying the land parcel or production area connected to a commodity, product or supply-chain record.

The German Supply Chain Act, or LkSG, is a German due diligence law addressing certain human rights and environmental risks in company operations and supply chains.

The Gini coefficient is a statistical measure of income or wealth inequality within a population.

Global North and Global South are broad political and economic groupings used to discuss unequal development, power and resource relationships.

The Green Climate Fund is an international fund established to support developing countries in climate mitigation and adaptation action.

Green public procurement is the use of environmental criteria by public authorities when purchasing goods, services or works.

The Human Development Index is a composite measure of health, education and income used to compare broad human development outcomes.

ILO core conventions are fundamental International Labour Organization conventions addressing basic labour rights such as forced labour, child labour, discrimination, freedom of association and collective bargaining.

Impact evaluation is the assessment of the changes attributable or plausibly linked to an intervention, policy or programme.

Inclusive growth is economic growth that expands opportunity and benefits across groups rather than concentrating gains narrowly.

Intergenerational equity is fairness between present and future generations in the use of resources, opportunities and environmental conditions.

Internal audit is an independent assurance and advisory function that evaluates governance, risk management and control processes.

Internal control is a process, policy or activity designed to provide reasonable assurance that objectives, reporting, compliance or operations are reliable.

Intragenerational equity is fairness among people and groups within the current generation.

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework is an international biodiversity framework setting goals and targets for halting and reversing biodiversity loss.

The Kyoto Protocol is an international climate agreement that set binding emissions-reduction commitments for certain industrialised countries under the climate convention framework.

The Lacey Act is a United States law that includes controls on trade in certain plants, wildlife and products taken, possessed, transported or sold in violation of applicable law.

Least developed countries are countries recognised by the United Nations as facing severe structural impediments to sustainable development.

Legal risk is the possibility of loss, liability, constraint or harm arising from laws, contracts, disputes or legal obligations.

Level 2 measures are detailed implementing or delegated rules that support a higher-level legislative framework.

Litigation risk is the possibility of legal proceedings, claims, costs or adverse judgments arising from disputes or alleged wrongdoing.

Lobbying transparency is disclosure about efforts to influence public policy, regulation or decision-makers.

Localization is the shift of authority, resources and decision-making closer to local actors, communities or institutions affected by an issue.

Loss and damage refers to harms from climate change that are not fully avoided through mitigation or adaptation.

Market surveillance is the monitoring and enforcement activity used by authorities to check whether products, claims or actors comply with applicable market rules.

A materiality threshold is the point at which information, impact, risk or error is considered significant enough to affect a decision, assessment or disclosure.

Microfinance is the provision of small-scale financial services, such as credit, savings or insurance, to people or businesses with limited access to conventional finance.

The Millennium Development Goals were global development goals used before the Sustainable Development Goals to guide international development priorities.

The Minamata Convention is an international treaty focused on protecting human health and the environment from mercury and mercury compounds.

Monitoring and evaluation is the systematic tracking and assessment of activities, outputs, outcomes and impact to support learning and accountability.

The Montreal Protocol is an international agreement controlling substances that deplete the ozone layer.

The Multidimensional Poverty Index is a measure of poverty that combines deprivations across areas such as health, education and living standards.

A non-compliance penalty is a sanction, fine or consequence applied when a person or organisation fails to meet a stated legal, contractual or scheme requirement.

The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises are government-backed recommendations for responsible business conduct by multinational enterprises.

Official development assistance is government-provided concessional finance and support intended to promote economic development and welfare in eligible countries.

Operator under EUDR is a role label for an actor that places relevant products on the EU market or exports them, subject to the framework's role-specific obligations.

The Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation is a European framework for reducing packaging impacts and setting requirements for packaging design, reuse, recycling and waste management.

Participation is the involvement of affected people or stakeholders in decisions, activities or processes that concern them.

People, planet, profit is a shorthand for considering social, environmental and economic dimensions of performance or value.

Political contributions are financial or in-kind support provided to political parties, candidates, campaigns or related organisations.

Pro-poor growth is economic growth that improves the conditions, incomes or opportunities of people living in poverty.

The Protect, Respect and Remedy framework is the three-pillar human rights framework covering the state duty to protect, the corporate responsibility to respect and access to remedy.

A randomized controlled trial is an evaluation method that randomly assigns participants or units to treatment and comparison groups to estimate causal effects.

REACH is the European Union chemicals framework for the registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemical substances.

Regulatory compliance is adherence to applicable laws, regulations, licences, permits and supervisory expectations.

Regulatory divergence is the difference that emerges when jurisdictions, authorities or regimes adopt different rules, interpretations or implementation timelines for similar subject matter.

Reputational risk is the possibility that stakeholder perceptions, trust or public standing are harmed by actions, events or claims.

Retaliation is adverse treatment of a person because they raised a concern, reported wrongdoing or participated in a protected process.

Right to repair is a policy and consumer-rights concept focused on making products easier to repair, maintain, access parts for and keep in use longer.