The Global Reporting Initiative is an international venture to develop and provide global Guidelines on Sustainability Reporting. GRI is promoted by CERES (Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies) and UNEP (United Nations Environmental Programme).

The phenomenon of rising terrestrial temperatures due to the excessive atmospheric presence of certain gases (mainly carbon dioxide and a number of nitrogen and ozone oxides) that prevents the dispersion of heat.

Organic substances containing, along with carbon and hydrogen, fluorine, chlorine, bromine and iodine. As well as actively contributing to the socalled greenhouse effect (see entry), they are also considered to be powerful ozone depleting agents.

Categories of waste of actual or potential danger to human health or the environment, classified on the basis of specific European norms (see entry).

Known as HCFCs, these organic substances contain chlorine and fluorine, along with hydrogen and carbon. Although they are ozone depleting substances, they are far less damaging than CFCs and halons (see entry). They are generally used as alternatives to CFCs.