Home   >   Resources   >   Glossary & Measurements

Decipher abbreviations and get details on different ways of measuring water use; water disclosure; water tools for measuring risk; pollution standards; and high-level descriptions of technologies used in desalination, drinking water preparation and wastewater treatment. Select the tab below and start exploring.

Abbreviations

Cap Capitalization CDP Carbon Disclosure Project CEC China Electricity Council COD Chemical Oxygen Demand CSR Corporate Social Responsibility EIA Environmental…

The International Framework

Guidelines and framework by the IIRC for Integrated Reporting

Global Reporting Initiative G4 Guidelines on Sustainability Reporting

G4 is the latest generation of ESG reporting guidelines and performance indicators released by the Global Reporting Initiative.

CERES – Aqua Gauge

CERES Aqua Gauge is an Excel-based tool and associated methodology that provides companies with a means to assess their own…

World Business Council for Sustainable Development – Water for Business

WBCSD’s “Water for Business” is an online guide for business that provides them with an overview of water tools and…

World Business Council for Sustainable Development – Business Guide to Water Valuation

WBCSD’s “Business Guide to Water Valuation: An Introduction to Concepts & Techniques”, is an online guide to help companies better…

World Resources Institute – Aqueduct

The revised Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas was developed by the WRI and the Aqueduct Alliance (Bloomberg, Dow, DuPont, GE, Goldman Sachs,…

WWF and DEG Launch Water Risk Filter

WWF and DEG launch the Water Risk Filter, an online water risk tool with data sheets and interactive maps of…

GEMI Water Sustainability Tool

The Global Environmental Management Initiative’s tool was developed to help companies and other organisations better understand emerging water issues and how…

Global Water Partnership Toolbox – Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM)

According to the Global Water Partnership, the Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) provides a “process which promotes the coordinated development…

WBCSD – Global Water Tool

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) have created a tool for companies to map their water use as well…

ISO14040:2006 Life Cycle Assessment Environmental management, Principals and Framework

A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is the assessment of the environmental impact of a given product throughout its lifespan. The…

Carbon Disclosure Project’s (CDP) Water Disclosure

Following the success of the Carbon Disclosure Project, in 2010, 302 global companies were sent information requests regarding  water-related risks…

CEO Water Mandate

The CEO Water Mandate is working to map the tools and methods available, to minimize duplication of efforts and promote…

Coalition of Environmentally Responsible Economies (CERES)

In collaboration with UBS and Bloomberg, CERES released “Murky Waters? Corporate Reporting on Water Risk” in 2009. The water disclosure…

International Integrated Reporting Committee (IIRC)

Established in 2010 by the Prince’s Accounting for Sustainability Project (A4S) and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), IIRC aims to…

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

In 2010 the Commission issued Guidance Regarding Disclosure Related to Climate Change … find out how this might impact global…

Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) Initiative

This was established in 2009 by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the UN-backed Principles for Responsible…

United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI)

Established its Emerging Market Disclosure Project (EMDP) in 2008, to assess and improve corporate. ESG reporting in emerging markets. EMDP…

Water Brief for Business – The S.E.E. Change Initiative

Business Roundtable’s S.E.E. (Society, Environment and Economy) Change is “actively pursuing business strategies that combine traditional corporate goals of higher…

Global Reporting Initiatives – Reporting Guidelines

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is a network-based organisation that aims to mainstream a firm’s disclosure on environmental, social and…

Maximum Allowable Discharge Concentrations for Heavy Metals in China

Click on the link below for a list of heavy metals and their maximum allowable discharge concentrations according to the…

Desalination

Two main technologies are applied nowadays in desalination projects: I. Membrane Technologies (60%) Reverse osmosis is a process used to…

Drinking Water Preparation

Main stages in drinking water production: Water withdrawn from the natural environment will follow these three main processes to become…

Maximum Allowable Discharge Concentrations for Other Pollutants in China

Click on the link below for a list of other pollutants (non-heavy metal), their application and maximum allowable discharge concentrations…

Demineralisation Water Preparation

Demineralisation is the process of removing mineral contents in water. Water naturally contains dissolved mineral salts, these salts when present…

Water Poverty Mark

According to major International Organisations including UNEP, UNDP, World Bank and the World Resources Institute, when the renewable water resources…

Pure and Ultra Pure Water Systems

When Pure and Ultra Pure Water are used by different types of industries such like wafer plants, solar panel plants…

Municipal Water Quality Parameters

Click on the link below for an overview of the national standards used to measure the quality of municipal water…

Chemical Treatment of Cooling Water

The two objectives of proper cooling water system management are: 1. To extend the equipment life by avoiding corrosion or…

Industrial Waste Water Treatment – Phase 1

The industrial waste water treatment is separated into 3 main phases, each phase being more or less advanced and complex…

Industrial Waste Water Treatment – Phase 2

The industrial waste water treatment is separated into 3 main phases, each phase being more or less advanced and complex…

Measuring Water Resources – FAO Definitions

Renewable and non-renewable water resources In computing water resources on a country basis, a distinction is to be made between…

Industrial Waste Water Treatment – Phase 3

The industrial waste water treatment is separated into 3 main phases, each phase being more or less advanced and complex…

Water Reuse and Zero Liquid Discharge

Definition of Recycled Water by the WateReuse Association: “Recycled Water is the water that is used more than one time…

Water Footprinting

The water footprint (as defined by the Water Footprint Network) is an indicator of freshwater use that looks at both…

Virtual Water

What is Virtual Water? The virtual-water content of a product is the freshwater “embodied” in the product, not in real…