Eco-Friendly Terminology

There are so many words and phrases related to the climate crisis and the environment being bandied about that it can be hard to keep track. I like to think that I know most of the terms, but quite often I’ll have to google an acronym or a word just so I can fully understand what’s being talked about. To help me, and you, I’ve created a list of all the eco-friendly terminology I’ve come across. Feel free to suggest additional terms I can add.

To get across the seriousness of our current situation, The Guardian now uses stronger terms when talking about the climate…

So let’s go through all the eco-friendly terminology currently in use, the ones we’ve known for years and the newer ones being used, as well as some of the acronyms that you might come across.

Eco-Friendly Terminology – Glossary of Green Words

The A-Z of Eco-Friendly Terminology

5 R’s – Most people know the 3 R’s, “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle”, but quite often these days it’s extended to the 5 R’s which are: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose, Recycle or sometimes; Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rot.

• Refuse – say no to new stuff or even to gifts from people.
• Reduce – reduce how much you buy, own and how much you waste, including water and energy.
• Reuse – reuse anything you can rather than throwing it away. (This also includes repairing things)
• Repurpose – if you can’t reuse it as it is then repurpose it and make something else useful.
• Recycle – to recycle means to convert waste materials into new materials and objects.
• Rot – anything that can’t be recycled should be able to rot.

Acidification – There’s a decrease in the pH of the oceans which is referred to as Ocean Acidification. This is being caused by the increase in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Higher acidity is thought to be the cause of reproductive problems in fish and has been proven to hinder shell growth in marine animals.

ACC / AGW – ACC = Anthropogenic Climate Change and AGW = Anthropogenic Global Warming – huh? Anthropogenic means “originating in human activity. (environmental pollution and pollutants).”

Aerial Litter – Something close to my heart and strangely something people don’t think about. A balloon release, sky lanterns and even fireworks are all forms of aerial litter, i.e. releasing things into the sky which will come back down to earth somewhere and end up being litter.

Biodegradable – a product or substance that can decompose naturally (by bacteria or living organisms). Meaning no waste to landfill!

Biodiversity – This term is being used a lot recently but many people don’t really understand it’s meaning. Some newspapers are saying wildlife instead which isn’t really a correct substitution. Biodiversity refers to the variety of plant and animal life on Earth or even in a certain region.

Biodiesel – Biodiesel is made from materials such as vegetable oils, animal fats and even soybean oil. Biodiesel can be used in an ordinary diesel engine.

Bioenergy – Is the energy produced from burning biomass.

Biofuel – Biofuel is made from natural materials, normally from recently harvested plants. Biogas, Biodiesel and Green Diesel are all biofuels. Biofuel can be gas, liquid or solid.

Biogas – Biogas is the gas (primarily methane and carbon dioxide) captured from the breakdown of organic matter (such as food waste, animal manure or even sewage) in an anaerobic environment (anaerobic means without oxygen).

Biomass – “Biomass is defined as all plants and plants-derived materials including feedstock such as vegetable oils, forestry residues, wastes from pulp and paper mills, urban wood wastes, animal manure, plants, grains, and animal-based oils.” – What’s The Difference Between Biofuel and Biomass?

Biosphere – The biosphere refers to all parts of Earth where life exists. (Bios = life in Greek).

Blackwater – Blackwater is the waste from toilets, it can contain faeces, urine, water and toilet paper.

Blue Water – When discussing ‘water footprints’, blue water refers to the surface and groundwater used for irrigation.

BPA – Most commonly used when talking about BPA free plastic, BPA, bisphenol A, is a chemical which is used to make polycarbonate plastics such as water bottles and food containers. All plastics have the potential to leach harmful toxins into the food or contents but BPA is known to be more harmful.

Carbon Credit – “A carbon credit is a permit or certificate allowing the holder, such as a company, to emit carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases. The credit limits the emission to a mass equal to one ton of carbon dioxide. The ultimate goal of carbon credits is to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.” – Investopedia

Carbon Emissions – CO2 emissions are increasing. Burning oil, coal and gas, as well as deforestation are the primary cause of the increased carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere.

Carbon Footprint – Your carbon footprint is the amount of carbon emitted as a result of your activities. A product can have a carbon footprint – for example a product flown to the UK from Thailand has a larger carbon footprint than something which has travelled within the UK.

Carbon Neutral – “Carbon neutrality, or climate neutrality or having a net zero carbon footprint, refers to achieving net zero carbon dioxide emissions by balancing carbon emissions with carbon removal (often through carbon offsetting) or simply eliminating carbon emissions altogether (the transition to a “post-carbon economy”).”

Carbon Offset – Quite a few companies, airlines mainly, offer you the chance to offset your carbon footprint. Most carbon offset schemes involve tree planting. Check out a carbon footprint calculator online and then contribute money to a relevant scheme to offset your own footprint.

Carbon Sequestration – Carbon sequestration = ‘the long-term storage of carbon in plants, soils, geologic formations, and the ocean.’ – Britannica

Carbon Tax – The UK is considering a carbon tax, something some other countries already have in place. “This measure would introduce a tax on carbon dioxide emissions (and other greenhouse gas emissions on a carbon equivalent basis) produced by UK stationary installations. The tax would be known as Carbon Emissions Tax and collected by HMRC annually, with the first payment due in 2020.” – Gov.uk

CFC’s – Chlorofluorocarbons are now banned as their use in aerosols and fridges, amongst other things, caused damage to the Earth’s ozone layer.

Clearcutting – “Clearcutting is the most common and economically profitable method of logging. However, it also may create detrimental side effects, such as the loss of topsoil, the costs of which are intensely debated by economic, environmental and other interests.”

Climate Action – Greta Thunberg and thousands of children around the world are demanding Climate Action, which basically means they want Governments to actually put policies in place to reverse the effects of climate change (or AGW).

Climate Activists – People who demonstrate, normally peacefully, and advocate for or work towards greater protections of the natural environment and pursue strong climate action by the World’s leaders.

Climate Change – When Earth’s climate demonstrates new weather patterns that last for a few decades, this is classed as climate change. Much of the recent climate change can be attributed to the increased use of fossil fuels resulting in increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Climate Crisis – Climate change has been known about for many years however it’s now believed that we have less than 12 years before the damage we’ve caused is irreversible so it’s commonly referred to as a climate crisis instead.

Climate Denier (Climate Science Denier) – A climate denier is someone who refuses to believe the overwhelming evidence of climate change. They believe that ‘climate change’ is a hoax. How to Change the Minds of Climate Deniers.

Climate Emergency – Many Governments are now declaring climate emergencies which should mean that climate action is taken as a priority. This, so far, is not really the case.

Compost – Compost is organic matter that has decomposed. See How to Compost at Home for more details.

Compostable – The official definition: “Something that is compostable can be used as compost when it decays”. The problem is that some items (like compostable plastics) can’t be home composted, you have to use an industrial composter. This term is often used but could sometimes be described as greenwashing.

Dead Zone – “Dead zones are low-oxygen, or hypoxic, areas in the world’s oceans and lakes. Because most organisms need oxygen to live, few organisms can survive in hypoxic conditions. That is why these areas are called dead zones. Dead zones occur because of a process called eutrophication, which happens when a body of water gets too many nutrients, such as phosphorus and nitrogen.” – The National Geographic. Human activity, such as using fertilizers or manure, is the main reason dead zones exist.

Decompose – Decomposition is the decaying or rotting process.

Deforestation – The clearance of woodland, commonly in rainforest areas. Trees, and especially the rainforests, are vital for all of us. Trees store carbon and provide oxygen as well as being a safe haven for wildlife. Deforestation can also increase the risk of floods.

Dioxins – Highly toxic chemicals found everywhere that are extremely harmful to health. Known as Persistent Environmental Pollutants (POP’s) because they remain in the soil, air and water for many years. They’re produced by waste incineration and the burning of fossil fuels.

Eco-Anxiety – Feeling overwhelmed by the state of the planet and feeling helpless can make people struggle with eco-anxiety.

Ecocide – A term to describe the destruction of the natural environment, particularly when the destruction is deliberate.

Eco-conscious – Showing concern for the environment.

Ecological Breakdown / Collapse – An ecological breakdown is when an ecosystem has been affected in such a way that it can no longer support all organisms, which can lead to mass extinctions.   “Earth ‘at risk of ecological breakdown’”

Ecosystem – An ecosystem describes a variety of different organisms living in conjunction with their non-living environment. The living and physical components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows.

Ecoterrorist – Merriam-Webster offers 2 definitions of ecoterrorism; 1 : sabotage intended to hinder activities that are considered damaging to the environment. 2 : political terrorism intended to damage an enemy’s natural environment.

Eco Tourism – Travelling is not particularly environmentally friendly especially if you’re travelling a long way by plane or by cruise ship. However eco tourism is a growing movement of tours, activities and accommodation that put the planet first. Eco-friendly hotels actively try to reduce their energy and water use, source food from local farmers and more.

Eco Warrior – An eco warrior is someone who actively tries to prevent damage to the environment.

Energy Vampires – One of the coolest sounding phrases in this list of eco-friendly terminology, an energy vampire is a device which still uses and drains energy even when it’s switched off. People can also be described as energy vampires. Also known as Phantom Load.

Environmentally Friendly (Eco-Friendly) – If something is environmentally friendly or eco-friendly it is not harmful to the environment.

Erosion – Erosion can refer to soil erosion, coastal erosion or more. In simple terms: “Erosion is the action of surface processes that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth’s crust and deposits it in another.”

Eutrophication – “Excessive richness of nutrients in a lake or other body of water, frequently due to run-off from the land, which causes a dense growth of plant life.” – Oxford English Dictionary

Fair Trade – To be Fair Trade Certified means a company ensures that there are decent working conditions and a fairer deal for farmers and workers in developing countries.

Fast Fashion – Inexpensive clothing that is mass-produced. As clothes can be produced so cheaply some people wear items just once before throwing it away. See also Slow Fashion.

Flexitarian – Someone has adopted a more flexible approach to a plant-based diet. A flexitarian will mainly eat plant based foods, but will still occasionally eat meat, fish or dairy.

Fossil Fuels – A fossil fuel is formed over millions of years from organic matter such as plants and other life forms. Fossil fuels include coal, natural gas, oil and petroleum. (More info). The burning of fossil fuels produces around 21.3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide per year so it’s a major contributor to climate change.

Fracking – Fracking involves injecting liquid at high pressure into subterranean rocks, boreholes, to force open existing fissures to be able to extract oil or gas. The process causes small earthquakes as well as water and air pollution. Fracking certainly doesn’t seem to be compatible with declaring a climate emergency!

Free Range – The definition of free range means livestock, especially poultry, is kept in natural conditions, with freedom of movement. This doesn’t often happen though as a hen can be kept inside for 12 weeks and still be classed as free range. – The Guardian. Your best option is to buy eggs from someone you know who keeps chickens or to give up eggs.

FSC – The Forest Stewardships Council is an independent, non-governmental, not for profit organisation established to promote the responsible management of the world’s forests. Look for FSC certification which guarantees that the FSC-labelled product has come from a forest and supply chain that is managed responsibly.

Global Heating – A term used instead of global warming to convey the more serious nature of the issue.

Global Warming – A gradual increase in the overall temperature of the earth’s atmosphere generally attributed to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide, CFCs, and other pollutants.

Glyphosate – Glyphosate is a toxic herbicide used to kill unwanted weeds. It’s extremely controversial.

GMO – Genetically Modified Organisms. The organisms are artificially manipulated (using bacteria or viruses) to create plants or animals that you wouldn’t find in nature. There are advantages to GMO’s and that’s that plants or animals can be created to be able to fight disease better. But it’s understandable why most people, including myself, are suspicious of them.

Green Build – Building using the most environmentally friendly materials from planning and construction right through to the end product. Will contain energy efficient heating, electricity and appliances.

Green Burial – A burial which doesn’t involve cremation or embalming fluids and uses a biodegradable coffin. A Green Burial keeps things simple and does much less harm to the environment than that traditional ways we’ve become used to. Read more about eco-friendly funerals.

Green Diesel –  Green Diesel is a clean, cost efficient and safe home heating oil. It could be used in cars, although not legally as the Government sees this as tax avoidance.

Green Living – A lifestyle which seeks to limit harm to the environment.

Green Tariff – A green supply tariff means that some or all of the electricity you buy is ‘matched’ by purchases of renewable energy that your energy supplier makes on your behalf (probably through REGO’s). These could come from a variety of renewable energy sources such as wind farms and hydroelectric power stations.

Green Technology (Environmental Technology / Clean Technology) – Technology designed to reverse or reduce the impact on the environment. Examples include vertical farming, LED lighting and green burials. (10 Green Technologies That Could Help Revolutionize Our Changing Planet)

Greenhouse Effect – “The greenhouse effect is the problem caused by increased quantities of gases such as carbon dioxide in the air. These gases trap the heat from the sun, and cause a gradual rise in the temperature of the Earth’s atmosphere.” – Collins Dictionary

Greenhouse Gas – This is a gas that contributes to the greenhouse effect. Carbon dioxide, methane and chlorofluorocarbons (CFC’s) are examples of greenhouse gases.

Greenwashing – Many companies take part in greenwashing, it’s when they claim, either explicitly or by clever marketing, that their product is environmentally friendly when it actually isn’t. Shell Energy and the recent Dettol adverts using a voiceover artist who sounds like David Attenborough are examples of greenwashing – or deceptive marketing as I prefer to call it. Read more about greenwashing and how to avoid it.

Green Water – When talking about the water footprint of products, green water refers to rainwater.

Greywater – Whereas blackwater is the waste from toilets, greywater is the waste from all other household water sources (laundry, kitchen and bathrooms sinks, baths and showers etc). Greywater can be reused in many instances. Grey water also refers to the freshwater used to disperse fertilizer and pesticides when talking about water footprints of products.

Herbicide – Herbicides are more commonly known as weedkillers. They’re toxic to plants and normally contain glyphosate.

HS2 – High Speed 2 is a railway planned to connect London, Birmingham, the East Midlands, Leeds and Manchester. The idea is to reduce journey times and maybe reduce pressure on London housing costs. The downside is the environmental devastation the construction of HS2 will cause. Over 130 wildlife sites will be affected, including 10 Sites of Special Scientific Interest, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and 50 ancient woodlands. – HS2 Action Alliance

IPCC – The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change.

Landfill – A landfill site is where all your household waste not composted or left in a recycling bin ends up. (Radical Ways to Tackle Waste)

LED – Light Emitting Diode. LED lights last longer and are more energy efficient, even though they are slightly more expensive to purchase initially. They’re not as eco-friendly as you think though.

Microplastics – Microbeads, which have now been banned in the UK, are a good example of microplastics, but microplastics can also be produced by larger plastics breaking down into smaller pieces. Microplastics are often mistaken as food by marine life.

Net Zero Carbon – see Carbon Neutral.

Nurdles – Lentil-sized pellets which are used during the manufacturing process for other plastics. Nurdles often end up in rivers and the sea. “A survey of 279 UK beaches has found that almost three quarters are littered with nurdles, while 230,000 tonnes are estimated to enter European seas every year.” – Express.co.uk

Organic – The production of food or farming methods that doesn’t use chemicals.

Ozone Layer – The ozone layer absorbs most of the harmful ultraviolet rays from the sun. It could be described as earth’s shield.

Peat – “a brown deposit resembling soil, formed by the partial decomposition of vegetable matter in the wet acidic conditions of bogs and fens, and often cut out and dried for use as fuel and in gardening.” Mining peat bogs destroys the unique habitat for many plants and animals that can’t survive elsewhere. Always try to buy peat-free compost.

Pesticide – A pesticide is a substance, normally chemical, which kills insects and organisms but which may also cause damage to crops or plants. Some pesticides are designed to deter ‘pests’, but many just wipe them out. Pesticides can cause damage to the soil and get into waterways. Pesticides are harmful to nearby ecosystems.

Plant Based – A plant based diet is one which avoids meat, fish and dairy. Often referred to as a vegan diet. Someone who eats a plant based diet is not necessarily vegan.

Phantom Load – see Energy Vampires.

Recycle – see 5 R’s at top of list

Reforestation – The planting of trees to restock forests or woodlands that have been affected by deforestation.

REGO – “The Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin (REGO) is a certification scheme to verify the origins of renewable electricity in the UK.” – Power Compare. Sounds good but the certificates can be transferred to other companies that are also registered users on the Renewable and Combined Heat and Power Register. This means that companies like Shell claim to provide 100% renewable energy to their customers when in fact they’ve just purchased REGO certificates. I, personally, see this as greenwashing.

Renewable Energy – Energy which is collected from renewable resources like the sun, wind, waves and geothermal heat.

Repurpose – see 5 R’s at top of list

Reuse – see 5 R’s at top of list

Rewilding – Probably my favourite green word of this whole list. Rewilding is all about restoring wild nature. There’s a lot of talk about tree planting in the UK, but the regimented planting of trees using plastic tubes is just ugly and wasteful. Rewilding is definitely the way forward! Check out https://www.rewildingbritain.org.uk/ for more information and how you can support this movement.

ROC – A Renewable Obligation Certificate is designed to encourage the generation of electricity from eligible renewable sources in the United Kingdom.

Silicone – A synthetic material often made out to be environmentally friendly, and to be fair it’s better than most other plastics. Often you’ll see ‘food grade silicone’ mentioned. It’s not biodegradable but can normally be recycled. “any of a class of synthetic materials which are polymers with a chemical structure based on chains of alternate silicon and oxygen atoms, with organic groups attached to the silicon atoms.” – Oxford Dictionaries

Single-Use Plastic – An extremely wasteful use of resources. Avoid single use plastic at all costs.

Slow Fashion – Slow fashion is about reducing your consumption of clothes and purchasing quality instead of quantity, i.e. clothing items that can last for years or even a lifetime.

Solar Energy – One of the best ways of using renewable energy is to have solar panels fitted to your property. Your bills, long term, should go down and they are much better for the planet than just using electricity generated from fossil fuels

Sustainable / Sustainability – Being sustainable means not depleting natural resources in order to maintain an ecological balance. In the simplest terms, if a tree is chopped down another is planted to replace it.

Topsoil – Topsoil contains a high concentration of microorganisms and organic matter. It is vital in supporting plant growth. Topsoil is lost through natural ways, e.g. wind erosion, or by human activity, such as poor land management. “The world grows 95% of its food in the uppermost layer of soil, making topsoil one of the most important components of our food system. But thanks to conventional farming practices, nearly half of the most productive soil has disappeared in the world in the last 150 years, threatening crop yields and contributing to nutrient pollution, dead zones and erosion.” – The Guardian

Ungardening – This is a term I’ve only just started seeing and I love it. It’s a bit like rewilding but rather than actively encouraging wild regrowth this seems a bit more passive. Just stop gardening, especially using pesticides, and give your garden back to nature to do its thing.

Upcycle – A term I hate which is often used in conjunction with ‘shabby chic’ which I hate even more! (Just my opinion, you do you!). Upcycling means to repurpose an item so as to create something of higher quality or value than the original.

Vegan – Being vegan doesn’t just mean not eating any animal products, it’s a whole lifestyle revolving around not using or purchasing anything that contains any animal products or has caused harm to an animal.

Vegan diet – A vegan diet is one which excludes all animal products from the diet. Adopting a vegan diet is the best thing you can do to help reduce the effects of climate change. Someone who eats a vegan diet but still wears wool or silk is not, technically, a vegan.

Vegan Friendly – Products that do not contain any animal products. This includes food and drink as well as any other product, but usually refers to clothing.

Waste Stream – A waste stream follows a product from its source to its disposal, whether that’s in landfill or recycling.

Water Footprint – “The water footprint measures the amount of water used to produce each of the goods and services we use.” – Waterfootprint.org

Zero Waste – A popular new movement where individuals and families try to create no waste which will end up in landfill. Often they try to limit the amount they send to be recycled as well.

Zoonosis (zoonoses or zoonotic diseases) – “an infection or disease that is transmissible from animals to humans under natural conditions” – Merriam Webster. One way to avoid zoonotic diseases is to treat animals better and not have live animal markets or to eat wild animals. COVID-19 is a zoonotic disease, as is ebola.

Have I missed out any eco-friendly terminology you think should be on this list? Or is there a term that you think could be explained in a simpler way? Let me know by making a comment below.

I hope you found this glossary of green words useful.

Any unattributed quotes on this page have come from Wikipedia.

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