Building fabric - The components and materials that the building itself is made of, such as the walls, floors, roof, windows and doors.
Carbon footprint - The amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere as a result of the activities of a particular individual, organisation or community.
Carbon neutral - Where some emissions are still being generated by an organisation after carbon reductions. These emissions are being offset making the overall net emissions zero.
Climate change - A large-scale, long-term shift in the planet's weather patterns and average temperatures.
Climate emergency - The intention to take immediate action and develop policy to lesson climate change beyond current government targets and international agreements.
Embodied carbon - The amount of greenhouse gas emissions released during the life cycle of a building or infrastructure, from the extraction of raw materials to the disposal of waste.
Energy efficiency - The act of using less energy to perform the same task – that is, eliminating energy waste.
Global warming - The concentration of greenhouse gases rising and more of the heat radiated off the earth’s surface becoming trapped in the atmosphere heating up the earth.
Green economy - Defined by The United Nations as "one that results in improved human well- being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities. It is low carbon, resource efficient, and socially inclusive”.
Greenhouse gas - Greenhouse gas (GHG) is any gas that has the property of absorbing infrared radiation emitted from Earth's surface and reradiating it back to Earth's surface, and so contributing to the greenhouse effect. There are seven main GHGs that contribute to climate change including carbon dioxide.
Low carbon heating - Heating which does not require combustion to operate, and so does not release carbon dioxide. For example, solar thermal heating, air, ground, or water source heat pumps or electrical-only systems.
PAS-2035 - A nationally accepted standard of retrofit that offers a framework for the application of energy retrofit measures to existing buildings in the UK and provides best practices for their implementation.
Party wall notice - When proposing works which may affect the wall or roof adjoining another property, party wall notices must be granted. This may include asking for freeholder permission to make the proposed changes, if you are a leaseholder.
Produced emissions - Emissions associated with the production of a given good and or service at the point of manufacture.
Retrofit - The process of making changes to existing buildings so that energy consumption and emissions are reduced.