GLOSSARY

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC)

ACCC is an independent Commonwealth statutory authority. The ACCC’s role is to promote competition and fair trade in the marketplace to benefit consumers, business and the community. www.accc.gov.au

Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC)

The AFGC is the national body representing the nation’s food and grocery products manufacturers. The role of the Council is to help shape a business environment that encourages the food and grocery products industry to grow and remain profitable. The Council provides these manufacturers with a platform from which they can voice their views on a range of issues. www.afgc.org.au

Australian National Retailers Association (ANRA)

ANRA is a membership-based organisation that was established in 2006 to represent the interests of large national retailers across Australia. The founding Board members of the ANRA include Coles Group, Woolworths, Bunnings, David Jones and Best and Less. www.anra.com.au

Biodegradable

Biodegradable plastic bags are often made from farmed products such as cornstarch, which, in the right conditions, will break down into elements like carbon dioxide, water and methane. Biodegradable bags are generally best suited to composting and not suited for recycling. To meet international standards, bags need to compost within 12 weeks and biodegrade completely within six months. Standards Australia has developed Australian Standards for biodegradable plastics, AS 4736-2006.

Biofuels

Biofuels are renewable fuels made from biomass that can be used to supplement or replace the fossil fuels, including petroleum and diesel, used in transport. The two main biofuels currently used are ethanol and biodiesel. Ethanol is produced from the fermentation of sugar or starch in crops such as corn and sugar cane. Biodiesel is made from vegetable oils in crops such as soybean, or from animal fats.

Biofuels, First generation

First generation biofuels are mainly produced from plant derived sugars or vegetable oils. This requires the use of “food” crops such as sugar cane, corn, wheat, and sugar beet. These crops are also needed for food, so if too much biofuel is made from them, food prices could rise and shortages might be experienced in some countries.

Biofuels, Second generation

The goal of second generation biofuel processes is to extend the amount of biofuel that can be produced sustainably by using biomass comprised of the residual non-food parts of current crops, such as stems, leaves and husks that are left behind once the food crop has been extracted. Second generation biofuels can also be produced from other crops that are not used for food purposes (non food crops), such as switch grass, jatropha
and cereals that bear little grain, and also industry waste such as wood chips, animal fats, waste oils, etc.

Biomass

Biological material used as a fuel or source of energy. Biomass used as fuel may include plant or animal matter, as well as biodegradable wastes.

Cap and trade

A type of emissions trading system where total emissions are limited or “capped”. Permits are allocated or auctioned up to the set cap, and a market allows those participants emitting less than their quota to sell their excess permits to emitters needing to buy extra to meet their cap. The proposed Australian CPRS is a “cap and trade” system.

Carbon dioxide (CO2)

The greenhouse gas whose concentration is being most affected directly by human activities. CO2 also serves as the reference to compare all other greenhouse gases (see carbon dioxide equivalent). The major source of CO2-e emissions is fossil fuel combustion. CO2-e emissions are also a product of forest clearing, biomass burning, and non-energy production processes such as cement production.

Carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-e)

A standard measure used to compare the emissions from various greenhouse gases based upon their global warming potential (GWP). For example, one tonne of methane emissions is equivalent to 24.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.

Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP)

An independent not for profit organisation that acts as an intermediary between shareholders and corporations on all climate change related issues, providing primary climate change data from the world’s largest corporations to the global marketplace. The data is obtained from responses to CDP’s annual questionnaire, sent on behalf of institutional investors to corporations. www.cdproject.net

Carbon footprint

A carbon footprint is a measure of the impact human activities have on the environment in terms of the amount of greenhouse gases produced, measured in units of carbon dioxide equivalent. It is a useful tool for individuals, nations and organisations to conceptualise their personal or organisational impact in contributing to global warming.

Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS)

The Australian Government’s proposed emissions trading scheme. www.climatechange.gov.au/greenpaper/index.html

Climate change

The term “climate change” is sometimes used to refer to all forms of climatic inconsistency, but because the Earth’s climate is never static, the term is more properly used to imply a significant change from one climatic condition to another. In some cases, “climate change” has been used synonymously with the term, “global warming”; scientists however, tend to use the term in the wider sense to also include natural changes in climate.

CNG

CNG or compressed natural gas is the compressed form of the gas commonly used in homes throughout Australia for domestic cooking and heating appliances. It consists mainly of methane (80–95%), a colourless, odourless and tasteless gas. The distinctive smell associated with natural gas is in fact an additive which enables quick detection
of leaking gas.

CPI

A consumer price index (CPI) is a measure of the average price of consumer goods and services purchased by households. It is one of several price indices calculated by national statistical agencies. The percentage change in the CPI is a measure of inflation. The CPI can be used to index (i.e. adjust for the effects of inflation) wages, salaries, pensions, or regulated or contracted prices.

CSIRO

CSIRO, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, is Australia’s national science and research agency. www.csiro.au

E10

An alternative fuel, ethanol blended fuel E10 is a blend of 10% ethanol and 90% petrol.

EarthPower

EarthPower is a regional food waste to energy facility in Sydney, Australia. EarthPower accepts source segregated food wastes from the industrial, commercial and domestic sectors and converts them to green energy and nutrient rich fertilisers using state of the art technology. www.earthpower.com.au

EBIT

Earnings before interest and tax – total earnings before provisions are deducted. This measures a company’s performance and is often used in preference to net profit as it excludes the effects of borrowings and tax benefits and adjustments.

Ecological footprint

A resource accounting tool that can measure how much land and water area a person or a specific group – for example, an event, a business, a city or a country – requires to produce the resources it consumes and to absorb its waste. The footprint is measured in global hectares (gha).

EEO Act

The Energy Efficiency Opportunities Act 2006 (Australia) took effect on 1 July 2006 (with an amendment in March 2007). It aims to improve the identification, assessment and reporting of energy efficiency opportunities by large energy using businesses. www.energyefficiencyopportunities.gov.au

Environment Protection and Heritage Council (EPHC)

EPHC was formed following changes to natural resource and environment related Ministerial Councils agreed by the Council of Australian Governments in June 2001. EPHC was created by amalgamating the National Environment Protection Council (NEPC), the environment protection components of the Australian and New Zealand Environment and Conservation Council (ANZECC), and Heritage Ministers’ Meetings. The natural resource management components of ANZECC were transferred to the Natural Resource Management Ministerial Council. www.ephc.gov.au

Foodbank

Foodbank is a not for profit, non denominational organisation that sources and distributes food and grocery industry donations to welfare agencies that feed the hungry. Foodbank is Australia’s largest hunger relief organisation. A national organisation, with Distribution Centres in five states, Foodbank is endorsed by the Australian Food and Grocery Council as the food industry’s preferred means of disposal of surplus product. www.foodbank.com.au

Food miles

A calculation of the distance and mode of transport foodstuffs have travelled throughout the complete production process until they reach the consumer.

GL

Gigalitres or billion litres.

Global warming

Global warming refers to an increase in the near surface temperature of the Earth. Global warming has occurred in the distant past as the result of natural influences, but the term is most often used to refer to the warming predicted to occur as a result of increased emissions of greenhouse gases. Scientists generally agree that the Earth’s surface has warmed by about one degree Fahrenheit in the past 140 years. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recently concluded that increased concentrations of greenhouse gases are causing an increase in the Earth’s surface temperature and that increased concentrations of sulphate aerosols have led to relative cooling in some regions, generally over and downwind of heavily industrialised areas.

Global warming potential (GWP)

The index used to translate the level of emissions of various gases into a common measure in order to compare the relative radiative forcing of different gases without directly calculating the changes in atmospheric concentrations. GWPs are calculated as the ratio of the radiative forcing that would result from the emissions of one kilogram of a greenhouse gas to that from emissions of one kilogram of carbon dioxide over a period of time (usually 100 years).

Greenhouse gases

Gases that absorb infra-red radiation in the atmosphere. The six greenhouse gases under the Kyoto Protocol are: carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), halogenated fluorocarbons (HCFCs), ozone (O3), perfluorinated carbons (PFCs), and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).

Green power

Green power is renewable energy sourced from the sun, the wind, water and waste. www.greenpower.gov.au

HDPE

High density polyethylene or HDPE is a type of plastic used to make consumer packaging such as milk bottles, shampoo and detergent bottles. Plastic supermarket carry bags are typically made from HDPE film. The HDPE plastics identification code is 2.

kt

A kilotonne is equal to one million kilograms.

Kyoto Protocol

An international agreement, reached in 1997 in Kyoto, Japan, which extends the commitments of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). In particular it sets targets for future emissions in developed countries.

KWh/m2

Kilowatt hours per square metre. KWh is a unit of measurement for electricity use.

Light emitting diode (LED)

A Light Emitting Diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that converts electricity into light. LEDs last considerably longer than incandescent or fluorescent lighting but are more expensive. LEDs don’t typically burn out like traditional lighting, but rather gradually decrease in light output.

LNG

Liquefied natural gas. Natural gas (NG) is a mixture of hydrocarbons, mainly methane (CH4), and is produced either from gas wells or in conjunction with crude oil production. NG is consumed in the residential, commercial, industrial, and utility markets.

Lost Days

In calculating “Lost Days”, days equals scheduled work days and the “lost days” count begins the day after the accident.

Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR)

Injury or illness resulting in an employee or contractor being unable to work for a full scheduled shift (other than the shift on which the injury occurred). The frequency rate is calculated by dividing the total number of Lost Time Injuries (LTI) in a period by the number of hours worked in that same period, and multiplying it by 1,000,000 hours.

Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)

MSC is an independent non-profit organisation that promotes responsible fishing practices. Its role is to recognise, via a certification program, well-managed fisheries and to harness consumer preference for seafood products bearing the MSC label of approval. MSC has developed an environmental standard for sustainable and wellmanaged fisheries. It uses a product label to reward environmentally responsible fishery management and practices, allowing consumers concerned about over fishing and its environmental and social consequences to choose seafood products that have been independently assessed against the MSC Standard. www.msc.org

ML

Megalitres or million litres.

Mt

Megatonnes or million tonnes (equates to one billion kilograms).

MWh

Megawatt hours is a unit of measurement for electricity use.

National Packaging Covenant (NPC)

NPC is a voluntary initiative by Commonwealth Government and industry to reduce the effects of packaging on the environment. It is designed to minimise the environmental impacts arising from the disposal of used packaging, conserve resources through better design and production processes and facilitate the re-use and recycling of used packaging materials. www.packagingcovenant.org.au

National Packaging Covenant Council

The NPCC was formed to oversee the implementation of the National Packaging Covenant. The council is made up of State, Local and Commonwealth Government and industry and community representatives. The council meets quarterly to discuss packaging issues, covenant communication, procedures, reports and data collection as well as what each individual sector has been doing to support the Covenants objectives.

New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (NZETS)

The Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading) Amendment Act 2008 establishes the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme. NZETS has introduced a price on greenhouse gases that provides an incentive for New Zealanders to reduce emissions and enhance forest sinks. Emissions trading provides flexibility in how participants comply with their obligations, enabling a least-cost response. The scheme will support achievement of New Zealand’s international climate change obligations, shifting the cost of New Zealand’s emissions from taxpayers more broadly to the emitters and consumers who are best placed to take action to reduce emissions. www.climatechange.govt.nz

New Zealand Packaging Accord

The New Zealand Packaging Accord is a voluntary initiative to cut down on wasteful packaging. Those signing it – the packaging and packaged goods industry, local and central government and the recycling operators – are voluntarily committing to doing what they can to reduce the proportion of packaging in the total waste stream. www.packagingaccord.org.nz

NGER Act 2007

National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007 (Australia) took effect on 1 July 2008. NGER establishes a national framework for Australian corporations to report greenhouse gas emissions, reductions, removals and offsets, and energy consumption and production. www.climatechange.gov.au/reporting/publications/index.html

PPC

People & Policy Committee.

Product Stewardship Australia (PSA)

Product Stewardship Australia Limited (PSA) is a not for profit, industry led organisation working on permanent solutions to recover and recycle consumer electronics in an environmentally sound manner. PSA is membership based and is developing national solutions for end-of-life (or obsolete) electronic and electrical products on behalf of its members. Woolworths is a member of PSA. www.productstewardship.asn.au

Occupational disease

A disease arising from the work situation or activity (e.g. stress or regular exposure to harmful chemicals), or from a work-related injury.

OH&S

Occupational Health & Safety

Oxodegradable

Type of plastic used to make plastic carry bags. The oxodegradable plastic bag breaks down primarily through the reaction of a chemical additive to oxygen, light or heat. Best suited to landfill disposal, they are also likely to survive long enough to present a threat to animals if littered. It may take time for them to break down and, even when they do, it is into smaller pieces that may pose a threat to animals who mistake the pieces for food. www.cleanup.com.au/au/LivingGreener/faq1.html

Scope 1 emissions

Direct greenhouse gas emissions from sources owned or controlled by the company, such as combustion facilities (e.g. boilers, furnaces, turbines, heaters, incinerators, engines, flares, etc.), combustion of fuels in company owned or company controlled transportation (e.g. cars, buses, planes, ships, barges, trains, etc.), and physical or chemical processes (e.g. in cement manufacturing, catalytic cracking in petrochemical processing, aluminium smelting, etc.).

Scope 2 emissions

Indirect greenhouse gas emissions from the generation of purchased electricity, heat, cooling or steam. Purchased electricity is defined as electricity that is purchased or otherwise brought into the organisational boundary of the entity.

Scope 3 emissions

Other indirect greenhouse gas emissions that are a consequence of a company’s activities, but that arise from sources that are owned or controlled by others. Scope 3, like Scope 2, is a category of indirect emissions. However Scope 2 covers emissions that a company indirectly causes to be emitted through importation – and usually purchase – of electricity, heat, cooling and steam. By contrast, Scope 3 covers all other indirect emissions from sources that are not owned or controlled by a company, but that occur as a result of its activities. Examples include emissions as a result of the extraction, manufacture and production of materials it has purchased, the transportation of purchased fuels or goods, the use of products and services it has sold, and business travel and employee commuting in vehicles not owned or controlled by the company.

Serious Diseases

Occupational or non-occupational related impairment of health with serious consequences for employees, their families, and communities, such as HIV/AIDS, diabetes, RSI and stress.

SHEC

Safety & Health Executive Committee

SH&E

Safety, Health & Environment

TAFE NSW

TAFE NSW is Australia’s largest training provider, and it is among the largest in the world. The letters “TAFE” stand for Technical and Further Education. www.tafensw.edu.au/about/index.htm

T5 fluorescent light

T5 fluorescent lamps are the most efficient commercial fluorescent lamps. In most environments they offer energy savings of nearly 30% compared to other fluorescent lamps.

Vic EPA

Environment Protection Authority (EPA) Victoria, a statutory authority, was established under the Environment Protection Act 1970.