Glossary
Biomass combined heat and power (CHP) plant: Generates electrical energy by burning solid biomass such as wood chips. A biomass CHP plant also provides heat which can be used as district heat, local heat, or process heat. A systematic representation of a biomass CHP plant can be found in the story “Energy for the future” in the sustainability report.
ChatGPT: Computer program which uses artificial intelligence to communicate with users via text-based messages and images. It can understand questions/prompts and generate answers and interacts with a human via a dialog window.
Common parts: Components that can be used unchanged in different products but are not standard parts. A high proportion of common parts is at the heart of the platform concept.
Cyclone separator: A device used in process engineering and industry to separate solid particles from a gas stream. The cyclone uses centrifugal force to achieve this separation. The term “separator” refers to the primary function of removing particles from the gas.
DEFRA – Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs: The British Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs is responsible for environmental protection, landscape development, landscape and nature protection, sustainable development, agriculture and various aspects of animal protection.
Digital twin: A digital representative of a material or immaterial object from the real world in the digital world. Digital twins enable comprehensive data exchange. They are more than pure data – they consist of models of the represented object and can contain simulations, algorithms and services that describe characteristics of the represented object.
EcoVadis: The platform provides holistic assessments in the area of sustainability (environment, labour and human rights, ethics and sustainable procurement). On the one hand, this gives companies a better understanding of their own performance in these areas. On the other hand, companies can also see assessments of their suppliers through this platform and thereby obtain a more comprehensive picture of their supply chains.
EHPA – European Heat Pump Association: This seal of approval was created to ensure a sustainable, high quality level for heat pumps. It defines technical, planning-related, as well as service-specific quality guidelines for heat pumps in order to ensure high energy efficiency and operational safety.
EUTR – European Timber Regulation: This regulation requires all European market participants to accept their responsibility in the worldwide procurement of timber and timber products.
Feed water: Water that is specifically treated and made available for use in steam generators or boilers. It is heated in a boiler in order to produce steam.
FSC – Forest Stewardship Council: An international certification system for more sustainable forestry. The wood of furniture, toys, books, notebooks and pencils with the FSC symbol comes from forests that are sustainably managed.
Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol Initiative: A partnership of different companies, NGOs and governments. The initiative is coordinated by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). The goal of the initiative is to develop internationally recognised standards for greenhouse gas accounting.
Green energy: Electrical energy that is generated without the climate-damaging greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) is called green energy or eco-power. It is generated in an environmentally friendly manner; for example, with hydroelectric plants, wind turbines, or solar cells.
GRI – Global Reporting Initiative: The GRI standards for creating sustainability reports were developed to provide organisations with guidelines for creating reports on their economic, environmental and/or social impacts.
Heat exchanger: A device used to transfer thermal energy from one material flow to another. The two elements do not come into direct contact with each other; they are conveyed past each other.
IEA – International Energy Agency: A cooperation platform in the area of research, development, market introduction and application of energy technologies.
ISO – International Organization for Standardization: The International Organization for Standardization develops international standards that help to improve the quality and safety of goods and services as well as simplifying trade between countries and companies.
Lean manufacturing: Corporate philosophy involving effective and efficient production design. The design of the value-added chain focuses on the areas of customer orientation and avoidance of waste, which reduces costs at a company.
LkSG – Supply Chain Due Diligence Act: The German federal law controls the economic action of companies based in the Federal Republic of Germany – generally with 3 000 or more domestic employees – by subjecting them to duties of care with respect to human rights within their supply chains.
NDR (network detection and response): Describes security solutions that continuously monitor and analyse network traffic in order to identify and automatically react to suspicious data traffic. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) methods are used to analyse network traffic and identify anomalies.
PEFC – Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes: Certification system for larger and smaller forest owners as well as wood-processing and wood-selling companies that are committed to sustainable management and fair as well as transparent trade.
quinquies: This Latin word is often used in legal texts to indicate that a particular article, section, or paragraph has been amended or supplemented five times.
SASB – Sustainability Accounting Standards Board: The purpose of the SASB is to develop and disseminate standards for sustainability accounting that help public companies to disclose essential, decision-relevant information for investors. It is an independent, non-profit organisation.
SBTi – Science Based Targets initiative: An initiative of different organisations that specifies reduction targets for greenhouse gas emissions. It specifies how much and how quickly a company has to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to limit global warming to less than 1.5 °C in line with the Paris Agreement.
Scopes: To distinguish between direct and indirect emission sources, the GHG Protocol defines three areas of validity for reporting and accounting greenhouse gases.
Scope 1: All emissions that we cause directly.
Scope 2: Indirect CO2 emissions from purchased energy such as electricity, steam, district heating, or cooling.
Scope 3: All indirect emissions that occur along our value-added chain.
SDGs – Sustainable Development Goals: The 17 goals for sustainable development are political objectives of the United Nations (UN) which aim to ensure sustainable development on an economic, social, as well as ecological level. With the Agenda 2030, all UN member states – including Switzerland – have committed to achieving these goals by 2030. The basic principle of the agenda is “Leave no one behind”, because sustainable development can only be successful and efficient when the poorest and most neglected populations are reached first.
Shop floor management: This term refers to the work and management tasks at a manufacturing facility. It covers the organisational and management practices that can be implemented directly in the production area; i.e., on the “shop floor”.
SIEM – Security Information and Event Management: Performs a real-time analysis of security alarms from various sources, applications and network components and thereby contributes to the IT security of an organisation.
Six Sigma: A management system for process improvement, a statistical quality objective and at the same time a method of quality management. Primarily a procedure model for eliminating deviations. Sigma stands for the Greek letter used to represent the standard deviation in a statistical normal distribution.
Social engineering: Interpersonal influencing with the goal of provoking certain behaviours in people; for example, motivating them to reveal personal information, buy a product, or release financial resources.
Sonitus mid-layer: The inside of a door is also called the mid-layer and is enclosed by the frame and cover plates. Sonitus mid-layers are primarily used with sound insulated doors. The residue of the relatively soft material is also well suited to protecting doors from scratches during transport. This reduces the need for other protective material and means that residue can be reused instead of disposed of.
UN Global Compact: A worldwide compact concluded between companies and the UN to make globalisation more social and ecological. These companies commit to observing certain social and ecological minimum standards.