Glossary

L

land degradation:

the loss of biological or economic productivity and complexity in croplands, pastures and woodlands; mainly due to climate variability and unsustainable human activity.

land drainage:

water, or a very dilute solution, that leaves the soil as a result of excess rainfall or irrigation.

leaching:

the washing out of nutrients (especially nitrates) from the soil root zone.

life cycle assessment (LCA):

a methodology for assessing the environmental impacts associated with a product, process or activity by identifying, quantifying and evaluating all the resources consumed, and all emissions and wastes released into a solution containing contaminants the environment throughout the life-cycle of the system investigated.

LTI rate:

(lost-time injury rate) an indicator of the safety performance of a company, defined as the number of injuries per million worked hours leading to absence from work of one day or more.

M

materiality:

an approach in sustainability reporting designed to focus on a company’s most significant economic, environmental and social impacts, or topics that will have the greatest business impact and/or substantial influence on the decisions of stakeholders.

mega-city:

a city (urban area) of more than 10 million inhabitants.

micronutrients:

nutrients required by plants in very small quantities (B, Cl, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, Zn).

millennium development goals:

a set of eight development goals established at the United Nations Millennium Summit in 2000, formulated as an international action plan aimed at fighting poverty and promoting economic and social development.

mineral fertilizer:

a manufactured fertilizer containing one or more major nutrients in inorganic form or as urea or cyanamide (or rarely in the form of other synthetic organic compounds).

mitigation:

structural and non-structural measures undertaken to limit the adverse impact of natural hazards, environmental degradation and technological hazards.

monoculture:

growing the same crop in the same field year after year.

N

nutrition:

the intake of food, considered in relation to the body’s dietary needs. Good nutrition – an adequate, well balanced diet – is a cornerstone of good health. Poor nutrition can lead to reduced immunity, increased susceptibility to disease, impaired physical and mental development, and reduced productivity.

O

organic farming:

agricultural practices which promote biodiversity, biological cycles and biological activity within the soil, accompanied by using, where possible, agronomic, biological and mechanical methods, as opposed to using synthetic materials.

organic fertilizer:

material of animal or plant origin containing one or more fertilizer nutrients, usually not all immediately available to plants (e.g. in the form of dried blood, guano, industrial wastes).