Explore these eco language essentials, and why translating the terminology is so essential in pushing the movement forward
Have you ever struggled to join in a conversation about a subject you’re not well-versed in? Perhaps your nurse friend relayed a story from work, and the medical terms meant you could barely follow the gist of it. Or your history teacher sibling was outraged telling you about the inaccuracies of a TV show, but you didn’t understand the context. Maybe you wanted to upgrade your phone, but the tech lingo left you lost and confused.
It can be incredibly isolating when language excludes us from a discussion, with the result being that not only can people feel embarrassed, stupid, or left out, but also less likely to engage with the matter again. And when it comes to the environment and climate change, this can have long-lasting, real world effects. With results from a survey released earlier this year highlighting that many people are excluded from environmental conversations for this very reason, ensuring that eco language is accessible is of paramount importance.
A study by insights company Trajectory and communications agency Fleet Street reviewed Britons’ understanding of common environmental terms, and discovered that the majority of us struggle with some key ones. It found that only 25% of those surveyed were able to define ‘green’, and a similar number ‘sustainability’, while 47% were confident describing ‘single-use plastics’, but a mere 11% believed they really got ‘carbon offsetting’.
The findings go further to highlight a potentially generational issue at play, suggesting that 18 to 24-year-olds are most confident with the meaning of key climate terms – for example, ‘sustainability’ was understood by 24% more (nearly a quarter) of those in this age group than over 65s.
And while not all of us have a comprehensive understanding of climate-based language, it remains important to us, and sways our shopping habits. The same study found that 68% of people were more likely to make a purchase from a brand with a clear environmental strategy. Additionally, a PwC 2024 Voice of the Consumer Survey revealed that customers are, on average, willing to spend 9.7% more for sustainably produced or sourced products. But, if the majority of us struggle to follow environmental terminology, how do we know we’re getting our money’s worth? Or, in fact, how do we hold companies accountable for commitments they’ve made in order to win our business?
There’s a clear disparity between companies utilising language around sustainability to further their business goals, and actually educating the wider public on environmental phrases and causes, in order for them to make informed decisions about what’s being promised.
No one should feel excluded from the environmental protection narrative, or embarrassed to not fully understand dialogue on the subject. So, with that in mind, here we’re breaking down some of the 15 most essential terms you’re likely to hear in environmental discussions.
Biodegradable
Products that can be broken down naturally by microorganisms (e.g. bacteria), therefore not harming the environment by adding to pollution.
Biodiversity
The variety of all living things in an area and how they interact with each other, which includes everything from microorganisms to animals and plants, that, together, form ecosystems. Biodiversity supports essential survival elements – food, water, shelter – with a delicate balance of these living things working together.
Carbon footprint
This is the amount of carbon produced by a person, business, or item. For individuals, this can include things such as your home energy usage, transportation, food choices, and what you buy. Globally, the average person’s carbon footprint is around 4 tons, but it’s recommended that we all aim to reduce this to below 2 tons by 2050 to help prevent global warming.
Carbon neutral
Ensuring that the scales are balanced in terms of carbon emissions created and removed from the atmosphere. For the most part, this involves ‘carbon offsetting’.
Carbon offsetting
Counteracting the carbon emissions created by a person, event, product, business, or other entity by paying or contributing towards initiatives that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This can include paying towards third party projects, such as those supporting renewable energy, or reforestation.
Eco-anxiety
Also known as ‘climate anxiety’, this is the emotional response you might experience to the climate crisis, with ongoing feelings of fear, worry, and stress about the situation and planet. It’s often associated with grief, feelings of doom, and guilt. It’s also increasingly common, with the Woodland Trust reporting in 2023 that 65% of people are worried about climate change, with 25% considering themselves ‘very worried’.
Fossil fuels
Gas, coal, and oil, formed underground over millions of years and which have limited supply. Creating energy from these produces pollutants, including carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and methane, which are harmful to our environment.
Global warming
This is the consequence of the additional pollutants and emissions released into our atmosphere, which gradually increase the planet’s heat, and has knock-on effects across the globe. As the planet heats, it affects the delicate ecosystem like a chain reaction – changing weather patterns, causing more volatile weather, affecting habitats, crops, displacing people, and impacting the economy, to name but a few.
Greenhouse effect
The layer of ‘greenhouse gases’ (e.g. carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide) which surround our planet, trap heat inside. They essentially act like the glass walls of a greenhouse, and without any of these the Earth’s temperature would drop too low for life to be sustainable at night. However, since the industrial revolution, humans have been producing more and more of these gases, and as these increase in the atmosphere, more heat is trapped too, causing the planet’s temperature to rise.
Net zero
A goal for the UK by 2050, this is the achievement of removing as much pollution as you create, thereby essentially becoming carbon neutral. It’s often used in reference to goals for larger entities, such as companies and countries.
Ozone layer
Part of the Earth’s stratosphere, this is the layer of natural gases around the planet which protects it (and us) from the harmful UV rays of the sun. It’s between 15km and 30km above the surface, and acts like a filter, allowing some of the sun’s radiation through (that we need to live), while absorbing the rest.
Plant-based
Most often used in reference to diets, essentially featuring food that isn’t derived from animal products. Those who are vegetarian or vegan consume a plant-based diet, which will feature primarily vegetables, fruits, grains, pulses, nuts etc. However, you don’t have to be 100% plant-based, meaning it’s not necessary to exclude animal products from your diet completely, just try to reduce them.
Renewable energy
Whether solar, wind, hydroelectric (created by waves), or bioenergy (organic matter burned as fuel), it’s a form of energy which doesn’t take away from its source when acquired – essentially making it limitless, and therefore sustainable, energy.
Sustainability
Environmental sustainability is all about being responsible with our planet’s resources, ensuring longevity of them for future generations, while meeting the needs of today. Over-consumption, waste, pollution, lack of biodiversity, food production, climate change, and deforestation are just a few of the issues that negatively impact sustainability, and need to be addressed to ensure the planet doesn’t reach a breaking point.
Zero waste
Producing no waste materials. In real-life terms, this could be a family which has a zero waste kitchen, by being strict on food items bought, utilises leftovers, and finds ways to repurpose anything else, such as through composting.
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