By-Product
An incidental product deriving from a manufacturing process or chemical reaction, and not the primary product or service being produced. A by-product can be useful and marketable, or it can have negative ecological consequences. [ Top ]
Carbon Footprint
Made up of the sum of two parts, the direct / primary footprint and the indirect / secondary footprint.
- The primary footprint is a measure of our direct emissions of CO2 from the burning of fossil fuels including domestic energy consumption and transportation (e.g. car and plane).
- The secondary footprint is a measure of the indirect CO2 emissions from the whole lifecycle of products we use - those associated with their manufacture and eventual breakdown. [ Top ]
CARE
Carpet America Recovery Effort (CARE) is a joint industry-government effort to increase the amount of recycling and reuse of post-consumer carpet and reduce the amount of waste carpet going to landfills. CARE was established as a result of a Memorandum of Understanding for Carpet Stewardship (MOU), a national agreement signed by members of the carpet industry, representatives of government agencies at the federal, state and local levels, and non-governmental organizations. [ Top ]Community
A unified body of individuals; society at large. [ Top ]
Cradle to Cradle
The idea that at the end of life, any product can be turned into something else to close the cycle so that ultimately there is no waste. [ Top ]
CRI
The Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) is a nonprofit trade association representing the manufacturers of more than 95 percent of all carpet made in the United States, as well as their suppliers and service providers. CRI coordinates with other segments of the industry, such as distributors, retailers and installers, to help increase consumers' satisfaction with carpet and to show them how carpet creates a better environment. [ Top ]
Eco-Friendly
Goods and services considered to inflict minimal harm on the environment. There is no international standard for this concept yet. (Also environmentally friendly, and nature friendly) [ Top ]
Energy Star Rating
One of the main goals of the ENERGY STAR program is to develop performance-based specifications that determine the most efficient products in a particular category. Products that meet these specifications earn the ENERGY STAR label. To develop ENERGY STAR product specifications, EPA and DOE use a systematic process that relies on rigorous market, engineering, and pollution savings analyses as well as input from industry stakeholders. This process ensures that the ENERGY STAR identifies products where large gains in energy efficiency and pollution reduction can be cost-effectively realized and can play an influential role to expand the market for these products. [ Top ]
Ecological footprint
A metaphor used to depict the amount of land and water area a human population would hypothetically need to provide the resources required to support it and to absorb its wastes, given prevailing technology. Pioneered by William Rees and Mathis Wackernagle in 1996, it has become one of the most widely referenced sustainability analysis tools. Footprinting can be used to measure and manage the use of resources throughout the economy and is commonly used to explore the sustainability of individual lifestyles, goods and services, organizations, industry sectors, neighborhoods, cities, regions and nations. [ Top ]
Environment
The circumstances, objects, or conditions by which one is surrounded; the complex of physical, chemical, and biotic factors (as climate, soil, and living things) that act upon an organism or an ecological community and ultimately determine its form and survival. [ Top ]
Environmental Aspects
Elements of a business' products, actions, or activities that may interact with the environment. [ Top ]
Floor Score Program
Developed in conjunction with the Scientific Certification Systems (SCS), the Floor Score Program is a certification system that is specifically for hard surface flooring and flooring adhesives that meet California's VOC requirements. Floor Score certification requires independent testing and verification by SCS. [ Top ]
FSC Certified (Wood)
Products bearing the FSC logo, which guarantees that the wood from a certified well-managed forest, are available across the world from a variety of mills, manufacturers, and distributors. [ Top ]
Green Guard
The GREENGUARD Environmental Institute (GEI) is an industry-independent, non-profit organization that oversees the GREENGUARD Certification Program. As an ANSI Authorized Standards Developer, GEI establishes acceptable indoor air standards for indoor products, environments, and buildings. GEI's mission is to improve public health and quality of life through programs that improve indoor air. [ Top ]
Green Label and Green Label Plus Program
The Carpet and Rug Institute offers certification through the Green Label and Green Label Plus Program of carpeting products (e.g. carpet, adhesives and cushions) that are low emitting. A carpet manufacturer may use the Green Label seal if the product is independently tested and the test results do not exceed the CRI's emission criteria. [ Top ]
Green Technology
A technology that offers a more environmentally benign approach compared to an existing technology. [ Top ]
Greenhouse gases
Greenhouse gases are gases in an atmosphere that absorb and emit radiation within the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect. The main greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone. [ Top ]
Greenwashing
A term that is used to describe the act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service. [ Top ]
LEED
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is an internationally recognized green building certification system, providing third-party verification that a building or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at improving performance across all the metrics that matter most: energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts. LEED for homes is a green home rating system for assuring that homes are designed and built to be energy and resource efficient and healthy for occupants. [ Top ]
Life Cycle
Stages in the life of a material or product from resource extraction through processing, manufacturing, use, and disposal or recycling. [ Top ]
Life Cycle Assessment
A cradle-to-grave approach for assessing industrial systems that evaluates all stages of a product's life. It provides a comprehensive view of the environmental aspects of the product or process. [ Top ]
NSF-140
Created by the Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) with the assistance of NSF International. The purpose is to provide a method of identifying carpeting that offers environmental, economic, and social benefits and reduce adverse impacts over its entire commercial life cycle. [ Top ]
National Green Building Standard
This standard will provide criteria for assessing the environmental impact of the design, construction and renovation of residential buildings. According to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) the standard will reflect regional characteristics where possible. [ Top ]
Natural resources
Economically referred to as land or raw materials, natural resources occur naturally within environments that exist relatively undisturbed by mankind, in a natural form. A natural resource is often characterized by amounts of biodiversity existent in various ecosystems. [ Top ]
Post Consumer Waste
A waste type produced by the end consumer of a material stream; that is, where the waste producing use did not involve the production of another product. Quite commonly, it is simply the garbage that individuals routinely discard, either in a waste receptacle or a dump, or by littering, incinerating, pouring down the drain, or washing into the gutter. Post-consumer waste is distinguished from pre-consumer waste, which is the reintroduction of manufacturing scrap (such as trimmings from paper production, defective aluminum cans, etc.), back into the manufacturing process. Pre-consumer waste is commonly used in manufacturing industries, and is often not considered recycling in the traditional sense. [ Top ]
Product Life Cycle
The life cycle of a product system begins with the acquisition of raw materials and includes bulk material processing, engineered materials production, manufacture and assembly, use, retirement, and disposal of residuals produced in each stage. [ Top ]
Renewable Resource
A natural resource qualifies as a renewable resource if it is replenished by natural processes at a rate comparable or faster than its rate of consumption by humans or other users. Resources such as solar radiation, tides, and winds are perpetual resources that are in no danger of being used in excess of their long-term availability. [ Top ]
Safety
The condition of being safe; freedom from danger, risk, or injury. the condition of being safe from undergoing or causing hurt, injury, or loss. [ Top ]
Scientific Certification Systems (SCS)
A leading third-party provider of certification, auditing and testing services, and standards, founded in 1984. Their goal is to recognize the highest levels of performance in food safety and quality, environmental protection and social responsibility in the private and public sectors, and to stimulate continuous improvement in sustainable development. [ Top ]
Sustainable Design
Also referred to as "green design", "eco-design", or "design for environment," sustainable design is the art of designing physical objects and the built environment to comply with the principles of economic, social, and ecological sustainability. The needed aim of sustainable design is to produce places, products and services in a way that reduces use of non-renewable resources, minimizes environmental impact, and relates people with the natural environment. [ Top ]
Sustainable Development
Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (WCED 1987). Sustainable development integrates a variety of subjects: environmental quality, economic constraints in addition to social equity and cultural issues (Hajek 2002). SD implies changes and should lead to an improvement in the quality of life for humanity. SD involves the transformation of natural resources into productive output and the balance between economic progress and environmental conservation, given that both are imperative to our future survival. [ Top ]
Value engineering (VE)
A systematic method to improve the "value" of goods or products and services by using an examination of function. Value can be increased by either improving the function or reducing the cost. It is a primary tenet of value engineering that basic functions be preserved and not be reduced as a consequence of pursuing value improvements.The systematic application of recognized techniques which identify the function of a product or service, and provide the necessary function reliably at lowest overall cost. [ Top ]
