Glossary of Common Sustainability Terms (The H’s)

GreenBusinessOwner.com’s green glossary is an ever-growing list of constantly updated key sustainable business terms for sustainability professionals (so don’t mind the date and time stamp above).

If you feel that we’re missing something, we appreciate you letting us know by adding it as a comment at the bottom.

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P-Q | R | S | T | U-V-W-X-Y-Z

Habitat – the living space occupied by a plant or animal. For instance, grizzly bear habitat usually consists of forested and mountainous areas in the northwestern part of North America.

Hemp – one of the most versatile fibers in the world. Hemp can be a key component of books and other paper products, rope, jewelry, food products, bags, and clothing.

High Fructose Corn Syrup – a processed food product that’s come under fire from many in the health community in recent years. It’s used as a sweetener, but may create unhealthy insulin spikes that have become associated with unhealthy eating patterns.

Hybrid – a term used to describe the technology in which a car is capable of being run on gas or electricity from a battery. The best example and best-selling hybrid car in history is perhaps the Toyota Prius. This technology changed the automotive game, driving up fuel efficiency substantially.

Hydroelectricity – energy that is produced by turbines being turned with water that is passing through a them. Most commonly, hydroelectricity is produced by large dams that back rivers up and create artificial reservoirs, so that a municipality can use the water when electricity is needed. Hydroelectricity is not without its environmental challenges, however, as large lakes can destroy a lot of habitat and actually act as a large producer of methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

Hydrofluorocarbons – HFC’s are used in mainly in the semiconductor industry as a solvent or cleaner. They are potent greenhouse gases when released, with estimates by climate scientists that they may be thousands of times more capable of trapping heat than an equivalent amount of carbon dioxide.

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