| Acceptance (transfer of carbon) | The process in which a CarbonSig attestation is transferred from one entity to another and is acknowledged by the receiving party and recorded into the CarbonSig registry. |
| Allocation method (economic value) | A method of distributing CO2e emissions based on the economic value of different products or services within a company. |
| Allocation method (mass based) | An approach to assign emissions to products or services based on the mass or physical output of the production process. |
| Allocation method (other) | Any non-standard method of allocating emissions that does not strictly follow mass or economic value criteria. |
| AR1, AR2, AR3, AR4, AR5, AR6… | Assessment Reports provided by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for evaluating risks and effects of climate change. These reports are released sequentially with the latest report assumed to reflect the best scientific understanding. CarbonSig supports CO2e factors derived form various reports. |
| API (application programming interface) | A set of protocols and tools for building software applications that allow different software systems to communicate. |
| Assignment "to" | The act of designating Carbon emissions to a discrete real world quantity or batch. This creates a digital twin. |
| Attachment (type: Credit) | Linking and assigning a carbon credit to a particular action, project, or inventory item within the system. |
| Attachment (type: Certificate) | Associating a book and claim Environmental Attribute certificate with a particular product or inventory object to support a CO2e claim. This is done using a certificate that has been retired by the owner with its "claim" rights assigned to CarbonSig |
| Attribute (type: defined) | A characteristic or quality of an object (product or service) in CarbonSig that is set and characterized within the system. |
| Attribute (type: undefined) | A characteristic or quality of data that is not pre-set within the system and can be specified by the user. |
| Archived (type: inventory object) | The status of an inventory item that is no longer active but is stored for historical reference. |
| Billing system | The section of CarbonSig dealing with billing and accounts |
| Blockchain (type: Hash repository) | A decentralized digital ledger that records transactions across many computers securely and immutably. a Hash is a cryptographic fingerprint of a document which can be used to verify its integrity. |
| <CarML> Carbon Messaging Language | A structured data format for communicating carbon-related information between systems. |
| <CarML> compliant attribute/value/fact | A piece of data in the <CarML> format that adheres to the standards for carbon messaging. |
| <CarML> compliant Message_Type (type: data structure) | A standardized structure for messages in <CarML> that facilitates consistent data exchange. |
| Carbon | Carbon Dioxide |
| Carbon Allocation method | Techniques used to assign emissions to specific activities or processes. |
| Carbon Avoidance | The reduction of emissions by not performing an action or altering a process. |
| Carbon Credit (Project based) | A certificated representing 1 ton of carbon that has been avoided or removed using a baseline accounting technique. |
| Carbon Credit Allowance (type: environmental instrument) | A permit or |
| CarbonSig Attestation Certificate (type: paper) | A physical or digital certificate issued by CarbonSig software that verifies a company’s carbon accounting data for a particular amount of a product or service. An assignable attestation confirming the successful completion of a third-party audited emissions statement pertaining to a real product or service delivered or transferred to another party. |
| CarbonSig Attestation Certificate (type: digital) | A digital version of the attestation certificate confirming carbon accounting data authenticity. An encrypted digital certificate stored in the cloud as proof of carbon compliance. |
| Carbon Credit (type: attachment) | A carbon credit that is linked or 'attached' to a specific product or service in CarbonSig. Note: once attached the credit can not be detached. Once attached the credit tracks the underlying products process and supplychain journey. Credit attachments may be fractional (i.e. less than 1 Ton) |
| Carbon Default (also referred to as reversal) | A situation where sequestered carbon is released back into the atmosphere, negating the benefits of a carbon offset. |
| Carbon Offset | A reduction in emissions or increase in carbon storage to compensate for emissions occurring elsewhere. Offsets are part of the voluntary carbon market. |
| Carbon Removal | The process of actively removing CO2 from the atmosphere and sequestering it. This fact is then 3rd party verified booked into a 3rd party registry system and then converted into an environmental claim right that can be assigned to another entity or product. |
| Carbon Removal Credit | A credit representing the removal of a certain amount of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. |
| CO2e | Carbon dioxide equivalent, a measure used to compare the emissions from various greenhouse gases and normalizing them to CO2 in terms of GreenHouse Warming Potential for a given period. |
| CO2e data point | A piece of data representing the CO2 equivalent (CO2e) emissions for a particular activity or period. |
| CO2e declaration | An official or legally binding statement or document that specifies the amount of CO2e emissions associated with a product or service. |
| Consume (object as in input into a process) | The act of using up a resource or input in the process of producing something else. |
| Conversion | The act of changing one form of measurement to another, often used for different types of energy or emissions units. These conversion may be SI (scientific international) standards or local i.e. Pallets to Kg in a warehouse. |
| Conversion library | A collection of formulas and factors used for converting various emissions-related data. |
| Data (see reference data or primary data) | Information used as a basis for analysis, including both collected (primary) and standard (reference) data. |
| Defensible fact | A piece of information that can be supported with evidence and is robust against scrutiny by independent or critical parties. |
| Dimension (type: data) | A perspective or aspect of data used for categorization in analysis. |
| Embodied Carbon | The total greenhouse gas emissions generated to produce a product or service at a declared point in time. |
| Environmental Green guides | Manuals or guidelines that suggest best practices for environmental sustainability declarations. |
| EPD (Environmental Product Declaration) | A standardized document outlining the environmental impact of a product across multiple dimensions including Carbon, Land Use, water and other impact categories. EPDs often follow ISO series 14040. |
| Explorer View (Genealogy diagram) | A visual representation of relationships and lineage in products and processes from input to terminal output. |
| Facts | Verifiable pieces of information relevant to carbon accounting. |
| Functional Unit | A quantified description of a product’s performance to assess its environmental impact. |
| GHG (greenhouse gas) | Gases that trap heat in the atmosphere, contributing to the greenhouse effect. CO2, Nitrogen and Methane are major contributors. There are hundreds of gases tracked by the IPCC. |
| Globally Unique Identifier (GUID) | A unique reference number used to identify information in a system. |
| Global Warming Potential | A measure of how much a given mass of greenhouse gas contributes to global warming. |
| Hash | A function that converts one value to another to encrypt data or ensure data integrity. |
| IPCC | Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which provides scientific assessments on climate change. |
| Life Cycle Analysis | Assessment of a product’s environmental impact from creation to disposal. |
| LCI (Life Cycle Inventory) | A database with information on the materials and energy used during a product’s life cycle. |
| LCI Author | The entity responsible for creating and documenting a Life Cycle Inventory. |
| LCI Inventory | The compiled list of all inputs and outputs in a product’s life cycle. |
| LCI Publisher | The entity that publishes the LCI data, making it available for use. |
| LCI reference database | A database used as a standard reference for life cycle inventories. |
| Lifecycle Inventory Assessment | The phase in Life Cycle Assessment where data is collected and evaluated. |
| Ledger | A book or other collection of financial accounts of a particular type. |
| Net declared carbon | The total reported carbon emissions accounting for any offsets or reductions. |
| Obfuscate | To deliberately make something unclear or difficult to understand. |
| Object | A distinct item with properties, used in programming and data structures. |
| Object attributed | An object that has been given characteristics or information about it. |
| Object inspector panel | A user interface component that allows users to view and edit the properties of an object. |
| Object inventory | A comprehensive list of objects and their attributes within a system. |
| Primary Data | Data collected directly from the source for a specific purpose. |
| Principles & Guidelines | The foundational rules and recommendations for a field of practice. |
| Process Logical | The conceptual flow and operations of a system. |
| Process Output | The result or product of a process. |
| Process Physical | The tangible actions and stages in a production or operational process. |
| Provenance | The origin or source of something, or the history of the ownership or location. |
| Publishing | The act of making information available to the public. |
| Reference Data | Data that is used as a standard measure or to provide context for comparison and analysis. |
| Reference Object | An object in a system that serves as a standard or benchmark for other objects. |
| Reseller | An entity or business that purchases goods or services with the intention of selling them to others. |
| Reseller Users | Users who are authorized by a reseller to access or use services or products. |
| Super Admin | A user with the highest level of access rights to manage and configure software systems. |
| System of Record | The authoritative data source for a given piece of information. |
| Tenant | A customer or organization that occupies or uses a software system's resources or services. |
| Tenant Admin | A user with administrative privileges within a tenant's organization in a software system. |
| Tenant organization | The entire hierarchy or structure of a tenant's presence within a system. |
| Tenant Site | A physical location or operation site specific to a tenant within a system. |
| Tenant User LCI specialists/engineers | Users within a tenant organization specialized in life cycle inventory and environmental engineering. |
| Tenant User Sales/admin/RFI/Other | Users with roles pertaining to sales, administration, requests for information, or other functions. |
| Transfer | The act of changing ownership or control of data or credits within the software system. |
| Transfer (pending) | A transfer action that is initiated but not yet completed. |
| Transfer (received) | A transfer action that has been completed and the recipient has gained control or ownership. |
| Transferred Object | An item or entity that has been moved from one owner/user to another within the system. |
| Transfer Notification | A message or alert that informs relevant parties of a transfer action. |
| Transferred Data (via carbonSig report) | Information that has been moved and reported within the CarbonSig system. |
| Two Phase commit (transfer confirmation) | A protocol that ensures a transfer is completed fully or not at all, to maintain data integrity. |
| Value (type: Optional) | A data field in the system where input is not required but can be provided if available. |
| Value (type: Required) | A data field in the system that must be filled in for the process to continue. |
| Verification (type: 3rd party) | The process of having an external independent entity review and validate information. |
| Waiver and assignment | Legal terms used to denote the relinquishment of a right or the transfer of an interest in property. |
| Waste product | A product that has zero or negligible economic value in a production process. |
| Workspace | Canvas |
| Site | A physical location or a virtual area where business processes occur or are managed. |
| Process | A series of actions or steps taken in order to achieve a particular end. |
| Service | An intangible commodity that involves providing assistance or activities. |
| Overhead | The ongoing operational costs not directly attributed to a specific function or product. |
| System | A set of interrelated elements or parts that function together as a whole. |
