Sustainable Offshore Dictionary
A compendium of key definitions and acronyms for a sustainable offshore industry
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Key Definitions
> What is Sustainability?
A commonly used interpretation is the Brundtland definition: "Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." This definition is also adhered to by the United Nations.
A slightly more tangible definition is "the Triple Bottom line", or the balance between People, Planet and Profit. This is a commonly used definition for business and makes it less abstract for most people.
> What is Circularity?
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation coined the most well-known definition of a Circular Economy: “an industrial economy that is restorative or regenerative by intention and design”. It reshapes a linear model into a circular model, by closing the cycle and keeping resources in it.
This Framework is aligned to the EU Green Deal’s Transition to a Circular Economy Statement by 2050 . At the global level, the UN SDGs and in particular, SDG12 on responsible consumption and production reinforces the importance of circularity as advocated in the EU Green Deal. Regarding waste management, MARPOL mandates vessel-specific legal requirements on waste management.
> What is a Lifecycle Assesment? (LCA)
The term "life cycle assessment" is used to evaluate a product for everything involved in the entire life of the product, from manufacturing, transportation, usage, removal fuel consumption and all the materials used in that process and their ongoing environmental impacts.
Suppose you buy a car. "A life cycle analysis looks not only at the former owner and the previous use of the car, but also at the entire process around it, from manufacture to scrapping", says Gordon Telling, policy director at the transport consultancy Sustainable Freight Solutions.
Another factor is the energy required to run a car. Then you are talking about another aspect of the life cycle impact. In this way you can ultimately compare different mobility solutions.
While owning a vehicle can only take a few years, much more time and effort goes into manufacturing and, of course, dismantling the car, which also has an impact on the environment. The same goes for the choice of the car's energy source, which ranges from conventional liquid fossil fuels to the more futuristic hydrogen cell technology. However, it is not just about climate emissions through the exhaust, but about the product's holistic impact on the planet throughout its life cycle, hence the term Life Cycle Assessment.
> GreenHouse Gas (GHG)
Gases that absorb infrared radiation, trap heat in the atmosphere, and contribute to climate change. These include carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PCFs), sulphur hexafluoride (SF6), and nitrogen trifluoride (NF3).
> Scope 1 GHG Emissions
Direct GHG emissions that occur from sources that are owned or controlled by the company (e.g., fuel the company purchases).
> Scope 2 GHG Emissions
GHG emissions from the generation of purchased electricity, heat, or steam consumed by the company. The emissions physically occur at the facility where electricity, heat, or steam is generated.
> Scope 3 GHG Emissions
GHG emissions that are a consequence of company activities but occur from sources not owned or controlled by the company (not including Scope 2). They are also called value chain emissions and can be upstream or downstream of a company’s operations.
> Carbon Footprint
The total amount of greenhouse gases, or GHG emissions produced to support a company or product activities. Greenhouse gases are often measured in carbon dioxide equivalents, based on the global warming potential of each gas.
> What is Carbon Offsetting?
Carbon offsetting is a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions to compensate for emissions made somewhere else. Purchasing a carbon offset enables people and businesses, then, to reduce their carbon footprints.
Carbon offsetting projects should meet rigorous standards as carbon offsetting can be contentious. For example, Conservation International proposes that “Carbon offsetting programs should meet widely recognized and rigorous voluntary carbon market standards to ensure that the projects deliver strong social and environmental benefits.”
> Well-To-Tank Emissions
The total amount of emissions produced from the extraction of raw material, to the production and transportation of the fuel to a vessel.
> Tank-To-Propeller Emissions
The total amount of emissions produced by combustion of a fuel on-board of a vessel.
> Well-To-Propeller Emissions
The total amount of emissions produced from the extraction of raw material, to the production and transportation of the fuel to a vessel as well as during combustion of the fuel on-board a cessel.
> Hotel Load
The power required to accomodate life support on board a vessel. It is the minimum amount of power that is required on a continuous basis while the ship is not sailing or performing any operational activities.
Acronyms
> CDP
Climate Disclosure Program - a not-for-profit charity that runs a standardized global disclosure system for organisations to manage their environmental impacts. Companies respond to its annual questionnaires (e.g. on climate change and supply chain) and are scored which aids in identifying best practices and benchmarking.
> GRI
Global Reporting Initiative - The GRI Standards are an internation set of standards for reporting the positive or negative impact towards sustainable development on universal and material topics for an organization.
> HFO
Heavy Fuel Oil is a category of fuel oils of a tar-like consistency. Also known as bunker fuel, or residual fuel oil, HFO is the result or remnant from the distillation and cracking process of petroleum.
> IMCA
International Maritime Contractors Association - An association for contractors in the maritime and offshore industry with its roots in diving. It safeguards contractors' interests in IMO and other legislative bodies.
> LNG
Liquefied Natural Gas is natural gas (predominantly methane, CH4, with some mixture of ethane, C2H6) that has been cooled down to liquid form for ease and safety of non-pressurized storage or transport.
> LSB
Leaders of Sustainable Biofuels is an industry coalition of leading advance biofuel producers and technology developers driving development of advanced biofuels in Europe.
> MGO
Marine Gas Oil (MGO) describes marine fuels that consist exclusively of distillates. Distillates are all those components of crude oil that evaporate in fractional distillation and are then condensed from the gas phase into liquid fractions. It is commonly compared to land-based diesel.
> UNGC
The United Nations Global Compact supports companies to do business responsibly by aligning their strategies and operations with its Ten Principles, and to take strategic action to advance broader societal goals (e.g., the SDGs) through innovation and collaboration.