Accountability

State of being answerable for adapted decisions and activities to the interested parties  of an organization 

ISO 37101, Management system for sustainable development

Assessment

Combined processes of audit, review, and decision on a client’s conformity with the requirements of a standard (or of the assurance provider’s conformance with requirements for assurance)

ISEAL Assurance Code

Assurance

Demonstrable evidence that specified requirements relating to a product, process, system, person or body are fulfilled.

ISEAL Credibility Principles, adapted from ISO 17000 

Audit

Systematic, documented process for obtaining records, statements of fact or other relevant information and assessing them objectively to determine the extent to which specified requirements are fulfilled.

ISEAL Assurance Code, adapted from ISO 17000

Appeal

Formal request for the reconsideration of a decision.

SSCI Glossary of Terms

Auditor

Person who performs the audit

ISEAL Assurance Code

Benchmark

Benchmarking

Practice of comparing an organization’s sustainability processes and performance to best practices 

Biodiversity

Variability among living organisms from all sources, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and ecological complexes of which they are part, this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems

Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), 1994

Capacity Building (or Capacity development)

Process through which individuals, organizations and societies obtain, strengthen and maintain the capabilities to set and achieve their own development objectives over time.

UNDP, Capacity Development

Certificate

Generic expression used to include all means of communicating that fulfilment of specified requirements has been demonstrated

ISEAL Assurance Code, adapted from ISO 17000

Certification

Issuance of a third-party statement that fulfilment of specified conformance requirements have been demonstrated.

SSCI Glossary of Terms

Chain of custody 

Custodial sequence that occurs as ownership or control of the material supply is transferred from one custodian to another in the supply chain.

ISEAL Claims Good Practice Guide

Child labour

Refers to work which deprives children (any person under 18) of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, that is harmful to their physical and/or mental development, is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with their education

ILO Convention

Claim

Message used to set apart and promote a product, process, business or service with reference to one or more of the pillars of sustainability: social, economic and/or environmental

ISEAL Assurance Code

Code of Conduct (or Code of Ethics)

Voluntary expressions of commitment made by an organisation (private company, association of companies, NGOs, inter- government organizations) to influence its processes and activities for the benefit of the organisation itself and for the communities in which it operates, covering

sustainability issues.

Adapted from OECD Working Papers on International Investment Codes of Corporate Conduct

Community

Group of people with an arrangement of responsibilities, activities and relationships. In many, but not all, contexts, a community has a defined geographical boundary.

ISO 37101:2016, Management system for sustainable development

Competitiveness

Demonstrated ability to design, produce and commercialize an offer that fully, uniquely and continuously fulfils the needs of targeted market segments, while connecting with and drawing resources from the business environment, and achieving a sustainable return on the resources employed

ITC, SME Competitiveness Outlook

Complaint

Expression of dissatisfaction about the standard of service, actions, or lack of action

SSCI Glossary of Terms

Compliance

State of an organization that meets prescribed specifications, contract terms, regulations or standards. Compliance obligations can arise from mandatory requirements, such as applicable laws and regulations, or voluntary commitments

ASQ Quality Glossary, ISO 37101, Management system for sustainable development

Conformity Assessment

Process of determining whether someone or something meets the requirements of a standard. It can be done in one of three ways:

• first party (assessment by the organization itself),
• second party (assessment of organization by a user),
• third party (assessment of organization by an independent body).

Adapted from ISO, Glossary of Terms

Conformity Assessment Body

Third-party conformity assessment body operating certification schemes.

SSCI Glossary of Terms

Continuous Improvement

Ongoing effort of an organization to improve sustainability practices, products, services, and/or processes. 

Adapted from ISO 9001

Corrective action

Action to eliminate the (root) cause(s) of a detected non-conformance/ non-compliance and to prevent recurrence

Adapted from SSCI Glossary of Terms and ISO 37101

 Corporate Social Responsibility

Business’s contribution to sustainable development and response to societal and environmental concerns.

OECD, Partners for Progress

Data management

Measures using data technologies and resources to solve sustainability challenges, gathered for instance from surveys, mobile apps, sensors and crowd-sourced input and analysed with data science and visualisation. The collection and management of data can be used to detect, monitor, inform and improve sustainability processes and practices

Adapted from ISEAL Alliance excerpt on Data collection and technology innovation

Discrimination

Any distinction, exclusion or preference made on the basis of race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin (among other characteristics), which has the effect of nullifying or impairing equality of opportunity and treatment in employment or occupation

ILO Convention C111

Due Diligence

For a company or an organization, process of identifying, reviewing and mitigating potential environmental and social risks associated with the activities of business partners, suppliers and other third parties.

Adapted from OECD guidelines on Business and Human Rights

Environment

The naturally produced physical surroundings on which living organisms are dependent

Adapted from OECD Glossary of statistical terms

Ecosystem services

Benefits people obtain from ecosystems. These include provisioning services such as food and water; regulating services such as flood and disease control; cultural services such as spiritual, recreational, and cultural benefits; and supporting services such as nutrient cycling that maintain the conditions for life on Earth

Millennium Ecosystem Assessment

Forced (or compulsory) labour

Refers to situations in which persons are coerced to work through the use of violence or intimidation, or by more subtle means such as accumulated debt, retention of identity papers or threats of denunciation to immigration authorities.

ILO Conventions 29&105

Gender equality

Situation achieved when human being from all genders enjoy the same rights and opportunities across all sectors of society, including economic participation and decision-making, and when the different behaviours, aspirations and needs of women and men are equally valued and favoured

Adapted from European Institute for Gender Equality

Governance

Grievance mechanism

Channel of communication (and associated processes) available to individuals or organisations to report concerns or complaints and address them within a formal process that offers them protection from retribution       

SSCI Glossary

Group

Organized body of persons or enterprises that share similar characteristics are part of a shared internal management system and, for assessment purposes, are considered as a single client (e.g. groups of farmers, retail stores, or distributors). 

ISEAL Assurance Code Version 2.0

Human Rights

Basic international standards aimed at securing dignity and equality for all. Every human being is entitled to enjoy them without discrimination. They include the right to life and liberty, freedom from slavery and torture, freedom of opinion and expression, the right to work and education

Adapted from UNGP Guidelines on Business and Human Rights

Impacts

Positive and negative long-term effects resulting from the implementation of a standards system, either directly or indirectly, intended or unintended

ISEAL Impacts Code v2 Dec. 2014, adapted from OECD Glossary, 2002

Input

Resource mobilized by a standards system, an organization or a business to support activities to further desired long‐term impacts. Examples of inputs include physical, human, financial, and capital resources.

ISEAL Impacts Code v2, Dec. 2014

Internal Management System

Documented set of procedures and processes that a group will implement to ensure it can achieve its specified requirements.

Adapted from ISEAL Assurance Code Version 2.0

Labelling

Set of consumer information tools to provide information relating to sustainable consumption and production, allowing organizations to measure performance, communicate and market the sustainability credentials of a given product.

 Adapted from UNEP and Johannesburg Plan of Implementation

Labour rights

Fundamental and universal rights at work: Freedom of association, Collective bargaining, abolition of forced or compulsory labour, Equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation, Protection of children and young person

ILO Conventions

Landscape (and jurisdictional) approach

Strategy to achieve sustainable practices at scale, bringing regional stakeholders to agree on and implement a shared approach to more sustainable use of natural resources and land use management, across sectors and jurisdictions.

Adapted from ISEAL Alliance excerpt on Landscape approach

Living Wage

Remuneration or compensation for a standard 48-hour work week sufficient to pay a decent standard of living for the worker and his/her family, covering food, water, housing, education, medical care, transportation, clothing, and other essential needs, including the provision for unexpected events

IDH and Global Living Wage Coalition

Market Analysis

Activity of gathering information about the size, growth, profitability, target groups and existing products of a market, which is used to inform decision making at a strategic level.

 UNEP Glossary

Monitoring and Evaluation System 

Ongoing functions, processes and activities through which an organisation draws conclusions about its contribution to intended outcomes and impacts.

Outcome

Likely or achieved short-term and medium-term results from the implementation of a standards system’s strategies.

ISEAL Code of Good Practice Version 6.0 – December 2014, adapted from OECD Glossary                                                              

Oversight

Assessment of an assurance provider’s demonstration of competence to carry out specific assurance tasks  

ISEAL  Assurance Code

Policy

Intentions and direction of an organization , as formally expressed by its top management 

ISO 37101, Management system for sustainable development

Protected Areas

Clearly defined geographical space, recognised, dedicated and managed, through legal or other effective means, to achieve the long term conservation of nature with associated ecosystem services and cultural values.

IUCN Definition 2008   

Public Consultation   

Consultations with stakeholders to improve standards, policy or programme proposals.

Reporting

Act by an organization of giving an official report about its sustainability policy, activities, performance and results

Requirement

Need or expectation that is stated, generally implied or obligatory, describing a desired performance level or target to be achieved. It can make specific demands on how that level/target should be reached. A requirement can be based on practice, processes/systems, and outcome.

Adapted from ISO 37101:2016, Management system for sustainable development and from IISD report

Risk management

Process of risk identification, analysis and evaluation of the chance of something happening that will have an impact on objectives. It is measured in terms of a combination of the probability of an event and the severity of its consequences.

SSCI Glossary of Terms Version 1.0

Remediation/remedy

Process of providing remedy for a negative impact and the substantive outcomes that can counteract, or make good, the negative impact. These outcomes may take a range of forms such as apologies, restitution, rehabilitation, financial or non-financial compensation, and punitive sanctions as well as the prevention of harm through, for example, injunctions or guarantees of non-repetition.

Adapted from UNGP reporting Glossary

Scheme owner

Organisation that determines the objectives and scope of the standards system, as well as the rules for how the scheme will operate and the standards against which conformance will be assessed. It can be a voluntary standard-setting organisation, a company, a governmental authority, a trade association or other body

Scheme Management

Determines the objectives and scope of the scheme, as well as the rules for how the scheme will operate and the standards against which conformance will be assessed.

Adapted from the ISEAL Credibility Principles v1 June 2013

Self-assessment

Statement issued by an organization, on behalf of itself, and based on its own determination, that states its status against specified conformance requirements of a standard.

Adapted from ISO 14001

Small and Medium Enterprises

Non-subsidiary, independent firms which employ fewer than a given number of employees. SME’s integration in global supply chains can be a key driver for sustainable development.

Adapted from ITC SME Competitiveness Outlook 2015

Social impact

Direct or indirect business impacts on people: employees, workers in the value chain, customers and local communities

Adapted from UN Global Compact                                                                

Sourcing

Process of buying goods and services from the international market across geopolitical boundaries. Sustainable sourcing refers to the integration of social, ethical and environmental performance factors into the process of selecting suppliers, services and goods.

Adapted from OECD definition

Stakeholder

Person, group or organisation that has interest or concern (actual or perceived) in an organisation. Stakeholders can affect or be affected by the organisation’s actions, objectives and policies.

SSCI Glossary of Terms Version 1.0

Standard

Document that provides, for common and repeated use, rules, guidelines or characteristics for products or related processes and production methods, with which compliance is not necessarily legally mandatory, and which is dynamic and subject to change. A sustainability standard addresses the social, environmental or economic practices of a defined organization

Adapted from ISEAL Standard Setting Code,  SSCI Glossary of Terms and SAI Sustainable Sourcing Guide

Supply chain

Network between a company and its suppliers to produce and distribute a specific product to the final buyer. Sustainable supply chain management involves integrating sustainable practices into the complete supply chain lifecycle, from product design and development, to material selection, manufacturing, packaging, transportation, warehousing, distribution, consumption, return and disposal.

Adapted from Sustainable Supply Chain Foundation

Support

Set of strategies to build a group’s capacities, promote the rights of its individuals and foster its access and performance towards sustainable practices.

Sustainability

Operating practices that meet the needs of present users without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Sustainable practices support ecological, human, and economic health and vitality.

UCLA Sustainability Committee, adapted from definition of UN World Commission on Environment and Development

Theory of Change

Approach describing the intended logic of an intervention into its implementation context, the causal pathways from outputs through outcomes via intermediate states towards impact, and the external factors that influence change.

Adapted from UNEP

Third Party Assurance

Assurance activity that is performed by a person or body that is independent of the person or organization that provides the object of assurance and of user interests in that object

ISEAL Assurance Code, adapted from ISO 17000

Traceability

Completeness of the information about every step in a process chain which allows for verification of origin of the material.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        ISEAL  Claims Good Practice Guide

Transparency

Environment in which the objectives, framework, data and information of a policy are provided to stakeholders in a comprehensible, accessible, and timely manner.

Adapted from OECD Procurement ToolBox    

Value

Economic revenue that an organization gets in return for its goods or services in a way that creates positive outcomes for society, by addressing its needs and challenges, considering economic, environmental and social considerations

Adapted from Porter & Kramer, The Big idea creating shared value 2011

Verification

Confirmation, through the provision of objective evidence, that specified requirements have been fulfilled.

ISEAL Assurance Code

Worker

Individual performing work for an organization, regardless of the existence or nature of any contractual relationship with that company.

UNGP Reporting Glossary