Global Terms

As you’re educating yourself on all things green, you may run across some words you’ve never heard before. Here’s a guide to some greener verbiage:

Cradle to cradle: Architect William McDonough came up with this concept, which means that at the end of a product’s lifespan, it will decompose, having no negative impact on the environment. Otherwise, it can be recycled into a new product.

Energy efficient: This term refers to machines and products that use less energy than their more traditional counterparts.

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC): A nonprofit organization that oversees a forestry-certification program to ensure that businesses supply trees and wood from a forest managed in an environmentally sustainable way. Try to look for FSC-certified woods when purchasing new pieces of furniture.

Greywater: This term refers to wastewater that comes from places like showers and sinks that can be collected and treated for certain types of reuse, like toilets or outdoor watering.

LEED-certified: The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) sets “green” standards for building design. There are different levels depending on how “green” one goes.

Off-gassing: The evaporation of volatile chemicals from building materials—everything from paints to particleboard—that can continue for years after the products are initially installed, which means you continue to breathe these chemicals day after day.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs): These air pollutants like formaldehyde, a suspected carcinogen. Acetone and toluene are found in things like paints, inks and cleaning products.