A voluntary program developed by the chemical industry that helps it to raise its standards and win greater trust from the public. Under Responsible Care, the worldwide chemical industry is committed to continual improvement in all aspects of health, safety and environmental performance and to open communication about its activities and achievement [..]

The report Our common future (1987), put forward by the World Commission on Environment and Development, popularized the notion of sustainable development. The Commission was at that time chaired by the Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland.

Glossary

Acidification is caused by acid depositions of three main pollutants: sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and ammonia (NH3). Acid depositions have negative impacts on water, forests, and soil as well as causing damage to buildings and monuments. The main sources of emissions of acidifying substances are fossil fuel combustion used for ener [..]

A metric measure used to compare the emissions from various greenhouse gases based upon their global warming potential (GWP). Carbon dioxide equivalents are commonly expressed as 'million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents (MMTCDE)'. The carbon dioxide equivalent for a gas is derived by multiplying the tonnes of the gas by the as [..]

Gas naturally produced by animals during respiration and through decay of biomass, and used by plants during photosynthesis. Although it only constitutes 0.04 percent of the atmosphere, it is one of the most important greenhouse gases. The combustion of fossil fuels is increasing carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere, which is believed to [..]

A "Cradle-to-grave" assessment considers impacts at each stage of a product's life-cycle, from the time natural resources are extracted from the ground and processed through each subsequent stage of manufacturing, transportation, product use, and ultimately, disposal.

DANTES is an acronym for Demonstrate and Assess New Tools for Environmental Sustainability

Design for Environment (DfE) or Ecodesign are methods supporting product developers in reducing the total environmental impact of a product early in the product development process. This include reducing resource consumption as well as emissions and waste.

This means choosing the method for production, service, disposal or recovery that makes most ecological and economic sense, ensuring optimum conservation of resources, minimum emissions and waste and low overall costs. In summary: doing more with less.