Sustainable Vocabulary | Use the right terminologies in the legal sector

We welcome your additions:

B Corp: B Corps are for-profit companies certified by the nonprofit BLab to meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency.

CDP: Carbon Disclosure Project.  Multi-funded organizations working to transform the way the world does business to prevent dangerous climate change and protect our natural resources.


CERES: Nonprofit organization for sustainability leadership. Partners with GISR to create generally accepted sustainability rating standards.

ESG: Environmental, Social, and Governance Integration.  Investment practices that actively identify sustainability factors when building portfolios.

FTSE4Good Index Series: Benchmark indices designed to reflect a broad consensus on what constitutes good corporate responsibly practice globally.

G&A Institute: Governance & Accountability Institute (G&A Institute),

GEMS: The study uses the application of an environmental rating methodology, the Governance and Environmental Management Strength (GEMS) Rating, to create the listing. The analysis is the brainchild and creation of Soyka & Company. The rating has been created to help evaluate companies’ ability to predict and cope with environmental issues that have an impact on operations. It assesses the presence or absence of 43 indicators. The data for this rating is provided by IW Financial.

Gender Lens: Investing in companies with a gender equality aspiration, where women hold key leadership positions and are full participants in decision making.

GIIN: Global Impact Investing Network

GRI: Global Reporting Initiative. World leader in engaging thought leaders and creating sustainability reporting guidelines.

GISR: Global Initiative for Sustainability Ratings

Impact Investing: Investing with the specific objective of achieving both a financial return and a positive economic, social, and/or environmental impact.

INCR: Investor Initiative on Climate Risk

IRIS: Catalog of generally accepted performance metrics for measuring social, environmental, and financial performance.

ISO 26000: Guidance for businesses and organizations to translate principles into effective actions including best practices relating to corporate responsibility globally. This standard was launched in 2010 after five years of negotiations between many different stakeholders around the world.

NGO: Non-governmental organization

SASB: Sustainability Accounting Standards Board.

SMEs: Small Middle Enterprises. Business owners that are typically profitable enough to get past the start-up phase, but are not big enough to close financing with banks, or access debt capital markets. IE; issue bonds.

Shakti Leadership:  Spiritual Sanskrit term, modern application referring to embracing feminine and masculine business practices.

Sustainable: A commitment to best practices for the economic, social, and environmental well–being of affected stakeholders.

SSE: Sustainable Stock Exchanges

USCI: U.S. Community Investing

US SIF: A forum for sustainable and responsible investment

UN PRI: United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment

WFE Sustainability Group: World Federation of Exchanges chaired by  NASDAQ QMX and JSE.

Thinking