Glossary

A

B

  • Biocide: According to Article 3, paragraph 1 of the Biocidal Products Regulation (EU) No 528/2012, a biocide is defined as “any substance or mixture in the form in which it is supplied to the user and which consists of, contains or produces one or more active substances intended to destroy, deter, render harmless, prevent the action of, or otherwise exert a controlling effect on any harmful organism by means other than mere physical or mechanical action” and

    “any substance or mixture produced from substances or mixtures which are not themselves covered by the first indent and which is intended to destroy, deter, render harmless, prevent the action of, or otherwise exert a controlling effect on any harmful organism by means other than mere physical or mechanical action.”

C

D

E

  • EfficiencyEfficiency in this standard means achieving a desired result with the least possible effort (resources) and the greatest possible benefit.

F

  • Fair CompanyThe Fair Company initiative has developed criteria for dealing with internships to ensure fair treatment of interns and prevent exploitation:
    • The internship offered serves as an orientation for students and is not a substitute for permanent employment.
    • Clearly defined tasks and objectives are assigned.
    • The period of the internship is adapted and reasonable.
    • No putting off university graduates who have applied for a permanent position.
    • Interns are paid an appropriate expense allowance.
    • There is transparency about the task, contact person and objectives of the internship.
  • Foreign materials: Other material composition than the basic packaging – e.g. for sleeves or labels

G

  • GHG: Greenhouse Gas Protocol(https://ghgprotocol.org/)
  • Green ITSimilar to the area of “green chemistry”, there are still no verifiable criteria or even a standard for the sustainable use of IT and technology. In the CSE standard, green IT is understood to mean the environmentally friendly and resource-saving use of information and communication technologies. In terms of implementation, the CSE standard follows the guidelines “Sustainable IT infrastructure, guidelines for implementation in SMEs” from Kaneo and Unternehmensgrün(https://www.kaneo-gmbh.de/green-it/leitfaden-zur-umsetzung-einer-nachhaltigen-it-infrastruktur/) :
    • 1. Green IT operation of the IT infrastructure:
      Minimize resource and energy requirements in the use of IT. (e.g. reducing energy requirements by consolidating several servers into one). Minimize resource and energy consumption through the use of IT. (e.g. optimized control processes in production, replacing desktop PCs with mini-computers, adapted handling of data storage)
    • 2. sustainable IT procurement: Environmental and social labels can provide guidance here. Environmental and social labels include TCO, the Blue Angel and Ecolabel.
    • 3. system design and IT infrastructure: automation and standardization to save resources, structured data storage, use of open source and free software
    • 4. corporate responsibility for sustainable IT: When purchasing, pay attention to repairability and upgradability, exert influence by asking manufacturers or becoming a member of relevant associations or initiatives

  • Green chemistry: The type of chemistry that tries to reduce pollution, save energy and produce in the most environmentally friendly way possible. At the same time, production and product hazards should be avoided. To achieve these goals, the development and use of new technologies is necessary. Paul Anastas of the Environmental Protection Agency and John C. Warner developed the basic principles of Green Chemistry. The following seven of these twelve principles are relevant for the CSE standard with regard to the chemical reactions and auxiliary substances in accordance with the natural cosmetics and care products standards listed in point 6 (Production):
    • Avoid environmental pollution: Design chemical syntheses, processes and reactors in such a way that pollution and contamination are avoided.
    • Intensive use of renewable raw materials.
    • Use safe solvents and reaction conditions; avoid the use of additives if possible.
    • Increase energy efficiency: if possible, carry out reactions at room temperature
    • Production of chemicals and products that can be degraded naturally after use without harming the environment.
    • Real-time monitoring, control and management of all processes to prevent soiling and contamination and thus waste.
    • Minimize the risk of accidents.
  • GMO: Genetically modified organisms

H

I

  • Indicators: In this standard, indicators are understood as hints. Ideally, these indications consist of key figures. Where it is not yet possible to collect key figures or figures are not useful, a change in the desired direction is considered an indicator
  • Ingredients: Components of a product, both the end product and the packaging.

J

  • Young companies: We see young companies as companies in the process of being established. As a rule, these companies do not exist on the market for more than five years. Depending on the business model, however, the development can extend far beyond this 5-year limit, especially if it is a sustainable business model with organic growth without outside capital. The CSE standard therefore defines “young companies” as companies that were founded within the last 10 years and have a sustainable business model with organic growth.

K

  • organic: controlled organic cultivation. This refers to all plant products that have been produced in accordance with the EU Organic Regulation or USDA or the specifications of the IFOAM family.
  • kbTcontrolled organic animal husbandry. This refers to all animal products that have been produced in accordance with the EU Organic Regulation or USDA or the specifications of the IFOAM family.
  • Climate-neutral company: Scope 1, 2 and company-relevant parts of Scope 3 according to GHG were calculated, the savings potential exhausted and offset.
  • ConsistencyIn this standard, “consistency” means the cycle of materials. There is no waste, only products. Consistent products are therefore products that can be easily broken down into their components, from which new products can then be created.
  • Cosmetics: Substances or mixtures intended to come into external contact with parts of the human body or with the teeth and mucous membranes of the oral cavity for the sole purpose of cleansing, perfuming, altering the appearance of, protecting, maintaining in good condition or affecting body odor.

L

  • Supplier: Organization that supplies raw materials or finished products.
  • Contract manufacturer: Companies that manufacture products on a contract basis.
  • SubcontractingActivity within a production process that takes place on commission.

M

  • Multi-component packagingPackaging consisting of various individual components such as paper, aluminum, plastic, etc.
  • Indirect suppliers within the meaning of this law is any company that is not a direct supplier and whose supplies are necessary for the manufacture of the company’s product or for the provision and use of the relevant service. (§ 2 para. 8 LkSG)

N

  • Sustainable bank: A sustainable bank fulfills the criteria according to 6.1. A2
  • Sustainable building according to the DGNB systemThe German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB) awards graded (bronze, silver, gold, platinum) awards for sustainable building projects. Criteria for process quality, technical quality, socio-cultural and functional quality and economic quality are assessed. The CSE standard defines “sustainable construction” as the planning and implementation of construction projects in accordance with the DGNB criteria.
  • Sustainability management systemThe system that organizes all activities relating to sustainability.
  • NaturalThis standard defines “natural” as anything of non-fossil plant, fungal or animal origin.
  • True to nature: according to nature. In the understanding of the standard, this means that products made from either natural substances or/and modified natural substances or/and nature-identical substances according to the definition of this standard are collectively referred to as “true to nature”. The molecular structures of the substances are found in nature, but the origin of individual ingredients may be of synthetic origin.
  • Nature-identical: A nature-identical substance occurs in nature in its molecular composition and form, but has been produced synthetically.
  • NATURE THANX: an abbreviated form of the standard name “Standard for natural therapy supportive care”
  • NIR: Near infrared. NIR (near-infrared) refers to a spectrum in a range between 760 and 2,500 nm that is not visible to humans. In this wavelength range, typical material patterns based on molecular vibrations can be detected after excitation with light. This technology is used to sort packaging.

O

  • Green electricity: Electricity from renewable energy sources

P

  • Product: Product or service provided for the market.
  • Production companies: Companies that manufacture their own products for the market.

Q

  • Quality: Based on the more general definition of “quality” as the correspondence between aspirations and performance, quality in relation to sustainable management is understood here. The claim is therefore to implement sustainable management, the performance, the way of doing business that the companies actually provide. In this understanding, a quality management system therefore not only includes the classic attributes such as documentation, traceability, continuous improvement, etc. in accordance with ISO 9001, but also includes the sustainability topics of this standard, including ISO 14001:2015.

R

  • Raw materials: Working materials and raw materials for products and services.
  • Recyclability: Recyclability is the individual gradual suitability of packaging or a product to actually
    product to actually substitute material-identical virgin material in the post-consumer phase
    “actually” means that collection and recycling structures on an industrial scale are a prerequisite.
    industrial scale are a prerequisite.
  • Recycling share: Proportion of recycled raw materials in relation to all raw materials.

S

  • Start-up: A start-up was recently founded, offers innovative, predominantly technical solutions and is designed for rapid, steep growth.
  • Impurities: Substances that disrupt or prevent the recycling process according to the current state of the art.
  • Subcontractors: A company that carries out activities on behalf of a customer. Subcontractors are not suppliers.
  • SufficiencySufficiency in economic activity means the right level of consumption, renunciation of consumption and decommercialization. In the CSE standard, sufficiency also takes into account the natural limits of resources and thus the lowest possible consumption of raw materials.
  • Synthetic: This standard defines “synthetic” as anything resulting from a chemical process that would not occur in nature and/or is of petrochemical origin.

T

  • Therapy supportive: Supporting a form of therapy, a treatment or a medicinal product, but not acting as a medicinal product.

U

  • Direct supplier within the meaning of the Supply Chain Act is a party to a contract for the supply of goods or the provision of services whose supplies are necessary for the manufacture of the company’s product or for the provision and use of the service in question.

V

  • Composite packagingPackaging consisting of different, manually inseparable types of material, none of which exceeds 95% by mass of the total packaging.

W

X

Y

Z

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