ESG Glossary

ESG Knowledge Centre

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Core terms

English term	Chinese	Definition
Carbon Neutrality	碳中和	A balance between carbon dioxide emitted and carbon dioxide removed (usually a narrower scope than net zero).
CSR	企業社會責任	Voluntary practice of integrating social and environmental considerations into operations and stakeholder relationships.
Double Materiality (ESRS / CSRD)	雙重重大性（ESRS / CSRD）	EU concept where a topic is material if it is financially material or has significant impacts on people or the environment (inside-out and outside-in).
Double Materiality (SSE / SZSE)	雙重重大性（上交所／深交所）	Mainland listing concept: a topic is material if it is financially important or if the company's impact on the economy, people or the environment is significant. A Hong Kong IFRS-style climate matrix does not automatically satisfy SSE or SZSE.
ESG	環境、社會與治理	A framework for assessing a company's environmental impact, social responsibility and corporate governance, used in investment decisions, risk management and reporting.
Greenwashing	漂綠 / 綠色粉飾	Misleading claims about environmental or social performance that overstate sustainability and can create regulatory and reputational risk.
Impact Investing	影響力投資	Investing for financial return while intentionally creating measurable positive social or environmental impact.
Materiality	重要性 / 實質性	Judging which ESG issues have a significant effect on financial performance or on stakeholders.
Net Zero	淨零排放	State where residual greenhouse gas emissions are balanced by removals, typically by a target year (for example, 2050) in line with climate goals.
Stakeholder	利害關係人	Groups affected by, or able to affect, a company's activities — including employees, customers, communities, investors and suppliers.
Sustainability	永續發展 / 可持續性	Development that meets present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (Brundtland definition).

Environment

English term	Chinese	Definition
Biodiversity	生物多樣性	Diversity of ecosystems, species and genes, essential to ecological balance and human well-being.
Carbon Credit / Offset	碳信用 / 碳抵銷	A tradable instrument representing one tonne of CO₂e reduced or removed, used to offset an organisation's own emissions.
Carbon Footprint	碳足跡	Total greenhouse gases, expressed as CO₂e, generated directly and indirectly by a person, organisation, product or activity.
Circular Economy	循環經濟	An economic model that maximises resource efficiency and minimises waste through design, reuse, recycling and regeneration.
Climate Risk	氣候風險	Financial impact of physical risks (such as extreme weather) and transition risks (policy, technology and market change).
Climate Scenario Analysis	氣候情景分析	Using multiple climate and transition scenarios (for example, 1.5°C and ≥3°C) to test how different futures could affect business, strategy and finances.
Decarbonisation	去碳化 / 脫碳	The systematic process of reducing or eliminating carbon emissions.
Greenhouse Gases (GHG)	溫室氣體	Gases that drive global warming, including CO₂, CH₄, N₂O, HFCs, PFCs and SF₆.
Internal Carbon Pricing	內部碳定價	A shadow or actual price per tonne of CO₂e used in investment, transfer pricing or scenario analysis. HKEX Part D asks whether the issuer uses one; if not, the report should say so.
IPCC	政府間氣候變化專門委員會	The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. UN scientific body that assesses climate science and publishes the SSP / RCP pathways used in scenario analysis.
Physical Climate Risk	氣候物理風險	Risk of acute events (storms, floods, heatwaves) and chronic changes (sea level rise, drought) impacting assets, operations and supply chains.
RCP	代表濃度路徑	Representative Concentration Pathways. Earlier IPCC radiative-forcing pathways (for example RCP2.6, RCP4.5, RCP8.5), still used and often paired with SSPs.
Scope 1 Emissions	範疇一排放	Direct emissions from sources owned or controlled by the company, such as fuel combustion and process emissions.
Scope 2 Emissions	範疇二排放	Indirect emissions from purchased electricity, heat, steam or cooling.
Scope 3 Emissions	範疇三排放	Other indirect value-chain emissions, including supply chain, employee commuting, product use and end-of-life.
SSP	共享社會經濟路徑	Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP1-1.9 to SSP5-8.5). IPCC storylines of how society, emissions and warming might develop this century.
TCFD	氣候相關財務揭露工作小組	Framework recommending climate-risk disclosure across governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics and targets (now largely absorbed into ISSB).
Transition Climate Risk	氣候轉型風險	Risk arising from the shift to a low-carbon economy, including new policies, carbon prices, technologies, market preferences and reputational pressure.

Social

English term	Chinese	Definition
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI / D&I)	多元、公平與包容	Promoting representation of people from different backgrounds, fair opportunity and an inclusive culture.
Human Rights Due Diligence	人權盡職調查	Identifying, preventing, mitigating and accounting for adverse human-rights impacts in operations and the value chain.
Just Transition	公正轉型	Ensuring workers and communities receive fair support in the shift to a low-carbon economy and are not left behind.
Labour Standards	勞動標準	Norms covering working hours, wages, health and safety, freedom of association, and prohibitions on forced labour and child labour.
Occupational Health and Safety (OHS)	職業健康與安全	Systems and practices to prevent work-related injury and illness and protect employee wellbeing.
Social Licence to Operate	社會營運許可	Informal acceptance of a company's activities by communities and stakeholders; loss of licence can affect projects and reputation.
Stakeholder Engagement	利害關係人議合	Meaningful dialogue with affected groups to understand needs and feed them into decisions.
Supply Chain Responsibility	供應鏈責任	Managing suppliers' environmental, labour and human-rights performance and risk.

Governance

English term	Chinese	Definition
Active Ownership / Engagement	積極所有權 / 議合	Investors influencing ESG performance through voting, dialogue and related stewardship tools.
Anti-Corruption / Bribery	反貪腐 / 反賄賂	Policies and measures to prevent abuse of power for private gain.
Board Diversity	董事會多元性	Diversity of the board in gender, experience, background and related dimensions.
Corporate Governance	公司治理	The systems, rules and processes that direct and control a company, supporting accountability, fairness and transparency.
Executive Compensation	高階主管薪酬	Pay design linked to performance, including ESG targets where relevant.
Internal Control over Financial Reporting (ICFR)	財務報告內部監控	Controls designed to ensure reliability of financial statements and related ESG / climate disclosures.
Risk Management Framework	風險管理框架	Structured approach to identifying, assessing and responding to risks, including ESG and climate-related risks, across the organisation.
Transparency & Disclosure	透明度與揭露	Publishing information on operations, risk and ESG performance.

Reporting frameworks and abbreviations

English term	Chinese	Notes
CDP	碳披露項目	Carbon Disclosure Project. Global disclosure system and scoring platform for climate, water and forests.
Climate-related Transition Plan (HKEX / IFRS S2)	氣候相關轉型計劃（港交所／IFRS S2）	Under IFRS S2, an aspect of overall strategy that names the targets, actions or resources for the transition to a lower-carbon economy. HKEX Appendix C2 Part D paragraph 22 requires the issuer to disclose that plan, including key assumptions and dependencies — or an explicit negative statement if there is no plan. A headline net-zero pledge is not a plan; AMMO drafts the plan or the negative statement for the board pack.
CSRD	企業可持續報告指令	Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive. EU directive requiring large companies to disclose under ESRS.
ESRS	歐洲可持續報告準則	European Sustainability Reporting Standards. The European sustainability reporting standards that accompany CSRD.
EU Taxonomy	歐盟分類法	Classification system defining which economic activities meet environmental sustainability criteria.
Green Bond / Sustainability-Linked Loan	綠色債券 / 永續連結貸款	Financing instruments where use of proceeds or pricing is linked to environmental or ESG performance targets.
GRI	全球報告倡議組織	Global Reporting Initiative. The most widely used sustainability reporting standards, focused on impact.
IFRS S1	IFRS S1 可持續相關財務資訊披露一般規定	IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information. ISSB standard requiring disclosure of sustainability-related risks and opportunities that could reasonably affect cash flows, access to finance or cost of capital.
IFRS S2	IFRS S2 氣候相關披露	IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures. ISSB standard specifying climate-related disclosure requirements across governance, strategy, risk management, metrics and targets.
ISSB	國際可持續準則理事會	International Sustainability Standards Board. Sets a global baseline for sustainability disclosure (IFRS S1 and S2).
Materiality (IFRS)	重大性（IFRS）	Information is material if omitting, misstating or obscuring it could reasonably influence investor decisions about the entity's prospects.
Negative Statement (HKEX)	否定陳述（港交所）	An explicit disclosure that the issuer does not yet have a required climate item — for example no transition plan, no internal carbon price, or no climate in remuneration. Part D expects the statement; omitting the topic is not the same as a negative answer.
NGFS	央行與監管機構綠色金融網絡	Network for Greening the Financial System. Network of central banks and supervisors that publishes climate scenarios (orderly, disorderly, hot-house) widely used in stress tests and HK listed-issuer disclosure.
SASB	可持續會計準則委員會	Sustainability Accounting Standards Board. Industry-specific financially material sustainability metrics, now integrated into ISSB.
SBTi	科學基礎減碳目標倡議	Science Based Targets initiative. Initiative for setting science-based emissions-reduction targets.
SFDR	可持續金融披露規例	Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation. EU sustainable-finance disclosure rules, including Article 6/8/9 product classification.