Glossary
| Term | Explanation |
|---|---|
| AC fan | A fan operated with alternating current. |
| Artificial Intelligence (AI) | Algorithms and systems capable of performing human abilities such as logical thinking, learning, and planning. |
| Capital Allocation | In a financial context, capital allocation is the process of distributing financial resources among various investments or business areas to maximize returns and minimize risk. This process is crucial for the efficient use of capital within a company or an investment portfolio. |
| Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) | An international non-profit organization that encourages companies and cities to publish their environmental data to promote transparency in climate protection. |
| Climate Protection Companies/Klimaschutz-Unternehmen e. V. | A cross-industry network of companies in the German economy that is committed to achieving Germany’s climate policy goals using innovative solutions. |
| Climate Risk Analysis | A process for identifying and assessing the impacts of climate change on a company. It helps identify risks early on and develop measures to adapt to and strengthen climate resilience (the ability to cope with these risks). |
| Cloud Computing | Cloud computing refers to the use of IT resources such as storage space, computing power, or software via the Internet. The required services are not run on the user's own computer or server, but are provided by external data centers. |
| Cloud connection | Access to IT resources such as storage space, computing power, and software that are made available via the Internet. |
| CO2 equivalents (CO2e) | A unit of measurement to summarize the effect of the different greenhouse gases in one value and make it comparable, based on their respective contribution to the greenhouse effect compared to carbon dioxide (CO2). |
| CO2e-Hotspots | Areas with particularly high greenhouse gas emissions. They indicate the areas of the greatest potential for reducing emissions. |
| Code of Conduct | A set of behavioral expectations that applies to a company’s employees and business partners. It contains guidelines that the company voluntarily imposes on itself and provides information on legally correct, ethical, and social behavior. |
| Code of conduct of the Responsible Business Alliance | The Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) Code of Conduct is an internationally recognized standard for responsible business practices in global supply chains. It stipulates that companies should create safe working conditions, respect human rights, act in an environmentally responsible manner, and conduct their business ethically. |
| Compliance | Adherence to applicable laws, regulations, internal policies, and ethical standards. Compliance helps ensure lawful, responsible, and ethical conduct throughout the organization. |
| Compliance culture | A term for a corporate climate in which all employees at a company comply with the applicable legal regulations and internal company rules. |
| Connectivity | The ability of machines, devices, and computers to connect to one another. |
| Corporate Governance | The framework for the responsible, transparent, and compliant direction and oversight of a company. Corporate governance includes the structures, processes, and principles that support sustainable and ethical business management. |
| Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) | The EU Directive that obliges companies to disclose their sustainability information. |
| Corporate-Venturing | Corporate-venturing refers to the process by which established companies invest in and collaborate with startups to tap into new innovations and market opportunities. |
| Cradle-to-Cradle | A comprehensive design concept. The goal is to design products and processes from the outset to be suitable for an infinite biological or technical cycle, i.e. to produce no waste. At the end of the product's useful life, all materials used are either completely biodegradable and can be returned to the natural cycle, or can be efficiently recycled into a new production cycle without loss of value. |
| Decarbonization | Industrial and economic procedures and processes that are designed in such a way to use as few fossil fuels as possible and not release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. |
| Diversity | Refers to variety among a group of people regarding their age, physical and mental abilities, ethnic origin and nationality, sexual orientation, social background, gender and gender identity, religion, and worldview. |
| EAC | Abbreviation for "Energy Attribute Certificates." These are Tradable Certificates of Origin for Electricity from Renewable Energy Sources. |
| EC fan | A fan driven by a brushless DC motor; operates more quietly and efficiently than an AC fan. |
| EcoVadis | A provider of sustainability ratings, which evaluates the performance of companies in the areas of environment, labor and human rights, ethics, and sustainable procurement. |
| End-of-life test | A reliability test that determines the technological limits of a product by subjecting it to sustained stress until total failure. |
| Energy Efficiency Award | An award presented by the German Energy Agency (dena) in recognition of energy and CO2e-saving projects and concepts that promote climate neutrality and the transformation of industry. |
| Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) | The term used to refer to the criteria used to measure the sustainability and social impacts of a company. |
| ESRS | European Sustainability Reporting Standards |
| Facility management (FM) | The administration and management of buildings and their technical installations. |
| Fan-Grid | Fan-Grid is a network of multiple fans that work together to generate the required airflow. This allows ventilation and air conditioning systems to operate more efficiently, flexibly, and reliably. |
| Front End | The front end is the part of a website or software application that users see and interact with. This includes, for example, page content, menus, and input fields. |
| Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) | An independent organization that sets globally recognized standards for company sustainability reporting. |
| Greenhouse gases | These trace gases in the Earth’s atmosphere, such as carbon dioxide and methane, capture part of the heat radiation in the Earth’s atmosphere, reflect it to the Earth, and increase the temperature of the planet's surface (greenhouse effect). |
| HVAC Systems | HVAC systems (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems) are technical systems used for ventilating and climate-controlling buildings. They supply fresh air and can filter, heat, cool, humidify, or dehumidify the air. |
| Internet of Things (IoT) | A network of physical objects (“things”) that are connected via communication networks (telephone and mobile networks, WLAN, Bluetooth, etc.), and exchange data with one another. |
| ISAE | Abbreviation for "International Standard for Assurance Engagements." This is a set of internationally recognized standards issued by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) for independent assurance engagements. In the context of sustainability reporting, ISAE 3000 (Revised) is commonly used to provide limited or reasonable assurance on ESG information. |
| ISO 50001 | An international standard that defines the requirements for an energy management system to improve energy efficiency. |
| KPI | Abbreviation for "Key Performance Indicator," a measurable metric used to assess progress toward defined business goals. |
| Lego Serious Play | Innovative problem-solving, communication, and creative methods using Lego bricks to encourage idea generation. |
| Liquid Cooling | A cooling method in which liquids remove heat directly from high-performance components. This technology is becoming increasingly important, particularly in data centers and AI applications, as conventional air cooling is increasingly reaching its limits at high power densities. |
| Local for Local | A business strategy in which products and services are produced and consumed locally to reduce transport distances and strengthen local economies. |
| Machine learning | A branch of artificial intelligence in which computers are trained to learn from data and experience, and to constantly improve themselves. |
| Materiality analysis | A method for determining which sustainability issues are relevant for a company, based on an assessment that combines several internal and external factors. |
| Natural language processing | A branch of artificial intelligence designed to enable computers to understand and interpret human language. |
| Next Level Mittelstand | A task force of medium-sized companies that deal with the (current) topics of digital transformation and promote them through mutual exchange and cooperation; originated from the “Plattform Industrie 4.0” (Engl. Platform Industry 4.0) initiative of the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection |
| Original equipment manufacturer (OEM) | A manufacturer of components or products that relies on external retailers for the sale of said products. |
| PCF | Abbreviation for "Product Carbon Footprint," the greenhouse gas emissions associated with a product throughout its entire life cycle, expressed in carbon dioxide equivalents (CO₂e). |
| PFAS | A group of synthetic chemicals used in many industrial processes and consumer goods that can be damaging to health and the environment. |
| Plus-energy building | A building with an energy concept that produces more energy than it consumes. |
| Policy / Policies | Formal company guideline(s) that define principles, requirements, and responsibilities for specific topics. Policies provide guidance for consistent, compliant, and responsible conduct across the organization. |
| PPA | A long-term electricity supply agreement between a power producer and an electricity purchaser. PPAs are commonly used for electricity generated from renewable energy sources such as wind or solar power and define key terms including the volume of electricity supplied, pricing, and contract duration. They help companies secure their energy supply and support the expansion of renewable energy. |
| Product lifecycle management (PLM) | The process from the market launch or completion of a marketable product to its discontinuation. |
| Prompt Gym | Prompt Gym is a learning format in which employees practice working with AI systems. Through hands-on exercises, they learn to formulate better instructions (prompts) and use AI applications more effectively. |
| Prompting | Prompting is the process of providing specific instructions to an AI to solve problems or generate content. |
| Refurbishing process | The restoration, repair, or renovation of used products or appliances to bring them back to a functional and almost new condition. |
| RESET | The world’s first sensor-based air quality standard; also, a certification program for buildings and their interiors. |
| Retrofit | The process of upgrading and modernizing older ventilation systems with more efficient EC fans to increase energy efficiency. |
| Risk Profile | A risk profile provides an overview of a company’s key risks. It describes the nature of the risks, their likelihood of occurrence, and their potential impact, for example in the form of lower revenue or higher costs. In addition, it helps assess the conditions under which the company’s long-term performance could be jeopardized. |
| R-strategies | Circular economy approaches that focus on reducing, reusing, repairing, recycling, and other measures to reduce the consumption of primary resources and promote the use of secondary raw materials. |
| Scaleup | A high-growth company that has successfully progressed beyond the start-up stage and is expanding its business activities at scale. |
| Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) | A climate protection organization that enables companies and financial institutions worldwide to help combat the climate crisis. Submitted emission targets are scientifically evaluated by SBTi based on the Paris Climate Agreement, to limit global warming to a maximum of 1.5°C. |
| SCOP/SEER | "The SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio) and SCOP (Seasonal Coefficient of Performance) are important metrics for the energy efficiency of air conditioners. SEER: Describes the cooling capacity of an air conditioner in cooling mode over an entire cooling season. SCOP: Describes seasonal energy efficiency in heating mode over an entire heating season. Both metrics take into account realistic operating conditions throughout the year." |
| Scope | A company’s GHG emissions are divided into three areas, also known as scopes. Scope 1 refers to direct emissions from the company’s own sources or sources under the company’s control. Scope 2 refers to indirect emissions resulting from the generation of energy purchased by the company. Scope 3 refers to all indirect emissions (not included in Scope 2) that arise at some point along the company’s value chain, including upstream and downstream emissions. |
| Scope of Consolidation | The scope of consolidation refers to all companies and subsidiaries included in a group’s consolidated financial statements. This allows the results and key financial metrics of all relevant companies to be aggregated and presented as a group. |
| Stakeholders | The individuals or groups who have an interest in the activities and decisions of a company and may be affected by these actions, such as employees, customers, suppliers, and investors. |
| Supply Chain Due Diligence Act (LkSG) | German legislation obliging companies to fulfill human rights and environmental due diligence obligations throughout their global supply chains. |
| Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) | Seventeen interlinked goals adopted by all United Nations member states in 2015. These goals form a common foundation for peace, prosperity, and ecological sustainability. |
| United Nations Global Compact / UN Global Compact | A United Nations initiative promoting sustainable and responsible business practices. Participating companies commit to ten principles covering human rights, labour, environment, and anti-corruption. |
| Value chain | The chain of all the processes required to manufacture and deliver a product, from the raw materials to the end consumer. |