Glossaire

| A | B | C | E | H | K | L | M | N | P | R | S |

A

Action plan

Specific actions set to achieve certain objectives in which resource commitments time horizons for accomplishment of these actions are detailed.

B

Benchmarking

A technique that involves comparing the organisation's results against best practices, performance of similar activities or historical performance of competitors and business leaders, with the objective of achieving improvement.

C

Checklist

A list of actions that can be implemented to meet an enterprise's environmental challenges in targeted domains (water, energy, wastes, etc.). It is not claimed that the list is exhaustive. It functions as an aide-mémoire.

Cleaner Production

Cleaner production is the adoption by an enterprise of production practices and technologies that respect the environment and that consume fewer resources so that they generate less waste.

Continuous improvement

The process of progressively enhancing the environmental management system to achieve improvements in the overall environmental performance in line with the hotel's environmental policy.

E

Eco-efficiency

A concept that consists in offering competitive goods and services that meet human needs and guarantee quality of life, while at the same time progressively reducing the whole-life ecological impacts and resource demands of the products, until a level at least compatible with the earth's estimated capacity is reached.

Employee satisfaction

The degree to which an employee's expectations are fulfilled or exceeded by the organisation.

Environmental aspect

That element of the activities, products or services of an enterprise which may interact with the environment.

Environmental impact

Any modification of the environment whether negative or positive, total or partial, resulting from the activities, products or services of an enterprise.

Environmental management system

Structure, organisation and management methods implemented to meet the enterprise's environmental policy. The goal is continuous improvement.

Environmental policy

An enterprise's commitments, orientations, and general objectives with respect to the environment as decided by management. Observing existing laws and regulations is an integral part of this policy, and so is the environmental improvement strategy.

Excellence

Outstanding practice in managing the organisation and achieving best results based on a set of Fundamental Concepts which include: sustainable development, leadership & management commitment, employees' motivation, pollution prevention, recycling reusing and recuperation, energy efficiency, economic sustainability, social responsibility and continuous improvement.

H

Hazardous waste

Any waste containing significant quantities of substances which are especially dangerous to the life or health of living organisms (including humans) when discharged into the environment. Dangerous properties include toxicity, carcinogenicity, or mutagenicity as well as chemical reactivity and other biologically harmful properties.

K

Key Performance Indicator

A specific expression, quantitative or qualitative, which provides information on the performance of a company

L

Leadership

The art of influencing people while operating to meet organisational requirements and improving the organisation.

Life cycle analysis

A method for assessing the impacts of a product, service or activity on the environment and on natural resources, from “cradle” (extraction of natural resources) to “grave” (waste disposal, including the product having reached the end of its life) via product use. This evaluation is also called ecobalance.

M

Mass tourism

A mode of tourism that appeared in the 1960s, resulting from the general provision of paid vacations in many industrialised countries, which allowed most people to travel and support the tourism industry.

N

Non-hazardous waste

Any waste having a nature and composition that are similar to those of household wastes, and comprise items whose longest dimension does not exceed 60 cm. Furthermore, the handling and storage of such wastes present no particular risks. Such wastes many be generated by industry, commerce, workshops or agricultural activities.

P

Philosophy

It is set of ideas or concepts that someone has about how to deal with a particular situation.

Procedure

Written organisational rule describing responsibilities and sequence of tasks or activities necessary for the realisation of a product or a service.

Production process

The group of related unit operations, means and activities, which transform inputs (raw materials and resources) into outputs (intermediate products, sub-products, final products).

Productivity

Productivity refers to measures of the efficiency of resources use. It is calculated as the ratio of outputs to inputs.

R

Recycling

Recuperation of materials or products to reuse them either in their original form or as an input material in a manufacturing process.

Risk

The probability of an undesirable occurrence associated with the activities of an industrial site taking place during the application of a production process, storage, use and/or transport of inputs and outputs.

S

Stakeholders

An individual or a group concerned with or affected by the performance of a company (employees, governmental authorities, ONG's, clients, neighbours, research centres, chambers of industry, suppliers, etc.)

Supplier

The provider of a product or service to the organisation.

Sustainable Development

It is a concept that means adopting strategies and activities that meet the present needs of the enterprise and all of its stakeholders while protecting, sustaining and enhancing the human natural resources that will be needed in the future. Sustainable Development is a journey, not a destination.

Sustainable tourism

Management of all resources associated with tourism activities in such a way that economic, social, and aesthetic needs are met in a way that respects the cultural and environmental integrity, biological diversity, and lifestyle of the receiving area.