ENV SP flashcards
ENV SP · Build recall with a focused review session.
25 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.
- Functional unit
- A defined service or performance basis used to compare alternatives consistently within an environmental assessment.
- System boundary
- The selected scope of processes, places and time periods included in an account or assessment and its stated limitations.
- Baseline
- A defined reference against which a result or proposed change is compared, rather than an unstated assumption about the past.
- Life-cycle assessment
- An assessment of environmental inputs and effects across defined life stages using a stated boundary and consistent comparison basis.
- Life-cycle cost
- An economic account including relevant costs over a defined period, distinguished from a direct measure of environmental effects.
- Commissioning
- A process connecting intended system performance with verification and operational readiness rather than simply collecting handover documents.
- Embodied impact
- An environmental burden associated with relevant material and production stages under a stated life-cycle boundary and method.
- Operational energy
- Energy used while a system delivers its service during the defined operating period, distinct from manufacturing-stage energy.
- Water balance
- An account of water inflows, outflows and change in storage for a defined system and time period.
- Stormwater runoff
- Water moving over surfaces after precipitation, which can transport sediment or contaminants depending on local conditions.
- Erosion
- Detachment and movement of soil or other surface material by processes such as flowing water or wind.
- Sedimentation
- Deposition of transported particles when conditions no longer keep them in motion within the relevant water or air flow.
- Brownfield
- Previously developed land whose suitability for a new use still requires attention to contamination, existing uses and local context.
- Biodiversity
- Variation in living organisms and ecological organization that cannot be fully represented by the area of planted greenery alone.
- Habitat connectivity
- The degree to which landscape conditions permit relevant movement and ecological interaction among habitat areas for the organisms considered.
- Climate mitigation
- Action intended to reduce contributions to climate change, distinguished from adapting a system to the effects of changing conditions.
- Climate adaptation
- Adjustment intended to reduce vulnerability to relevant climate conditions, evaluated with assumptions about future exposures and the service needed.
- Resilience
- The ability of a defined system to withstand, respond to or recover from disturbance while maintaining or restoring relevant functions.
- Indoor environmental quality
- Conditions experienced by occupants involving factors such as air quality, thermal conditions, lighting and acoustics in the actual setting.
- Source control
- Reducing a contaminant at its origin rather than relying exclusively on later dilution, capture or personal exposure protection.
- Environmental product declaration
- Structured environmental information about a product under a defined method, without an unconditional guarantee that it is the best option.
- Receptor
- A person, organism, community or environmental component that may be affected through a described exposure or impact pathway.
- Impact pathway
- The chain connecting a proposed activity and environmental change with a potential consequence for a specified receptor.
- Sensitivity analysis
- Examining how a model result changes when relevant inputs or assumptions vary within a justified range.
- Monitoring plan
- A defined arrangement for indicators, methods, locations, timing and the review or response associated with observed results.