Terms |
Definition |
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Absenteeism |
Scheduled or unscheduled time an employee spends away from work |
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Behavioral economics |
A field which studies the effects of social, psychological, cognitive, and emotional factors on the economic decisions of individuals and institutions and the consequences for market prices, returns, and resource allocation |
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Benefit (B) corporation |
A for-profit corporate entity, now authorized by 30 U.S. states and the District of Columbia that includes positive impact on society and the environment in addition to shareholder returns on equity |
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Chemicals of concern list |
A list compiled and updated by the Environmental Protection Agency which identifies chemical substances in which the manufacture, processing, distribution in commerce, use, or disposal, or any combination of such activities, presents or may present an unreasonable risk of injury to human or environmental health |
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Chronic disease |
An adverse human health condition that develops over time and is persistent or otherwise long-lasting in its effects |
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C-O-A-C-H approach |
curiosity, openness, appreciation, compassion, honesty |
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Cognitive decline |
A response to the aging of neurons and the decreased speed at which the brain functions |
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Collaborative leadership |
A practice is focused on leadership skills across functional and organizational boundaries |
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Collective impact |
Organizations from different sectors working together to solve a specific social problem using a common agenda, align their efforts, and common measures of success |
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Company town |
Towns built and operated by a single business owner, for example, IBM, Hershey, Kodak, and Kohler |
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Corporate sustainability |
A business approach which creates long-term shareholder value by embracing opportunities and managing risks stemming from economic, social, and environmental developments |
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Culture |
Shared assumptions, values, attitudes, and patterns of behavior that you see in organizations |
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Culture of Health |
A culture which encourages everyone, including businesses, to maximize good health and well-being for themselves, for others with whom they live and work, for their communities, and for the environment |
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Design Thinking |
Keeping the end user in mind when creating and testing solutions |
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Diaphragmatic Breathing |
Breathing that is done by contracting the diaphragm, a muscle located horizontally between the thoracic cavity and abdominal cavity, with air entering the lungs and expanding the belly |
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Environmental health |
Protecting human health and well-being from exposure to harmful pollution or toxic chemicals |
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Environmental justice |
The fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all persons regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws |
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ESG |
Environmental, social, and governance indicators |
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ESGs |
Environmental, social and governance criteria are a set of standards used by socially conscious investors to screen investments |
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Espoused theory |
The world view and values people believe their behavior is based upon |
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Eustress |
A state of moderate or normal psychological stress that is beneficial to the experiencer |
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Financial performance measures |
A subjective measure used to determine how well a business can use its assets to generate revenue; often expressed in monetary terms |
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Five dimensions of health |
Emotional, physical, mental, quality of life, and reaching your full potential |
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Footprints |
Adverse impacts, intentional and unintentional, that businesses have on their workers, their customers, their communities, and the environment |
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Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) |
An independent international organization that pioneered sustainability reporting |
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Gold standard |
An object of superior quality that is used as a point of reference against which other things may be compared |
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Greenhouse gas emissions |
The release of carbon dioxide, particularly co2, methane, nitrous oxide and different halogenated hydrocarbons, to the atmosphere |
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Growth mindset |
A belief that our most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work, with brains and talent as the starting point |
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Handprints |
Beneficial environmental and social impacts that we can achieve for consumers, workers, communities, and the environment |
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Health |
A state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity |
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Healthcare |
Medical care services you receive from medical professionals when you are sick, injured, or in need of a clinical preventive service |
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Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) |
A type of performance measurement which evaluates the success of an organization or of a particular activity in which it engages |
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Leadership |
Establishing direction and coping with change |
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LEAN |
A customer-centric methodology to continuously improve processes by eliminating waste, based on the principles of ‘continuous incremental improvement’ and ‘respect for persons |
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Life Expectancy at Birth |
Average number of years that a newborn is expected to live |
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Lifestyle Medicine |
A branch of medicine dealing with research, prevention and treatment of disorders caused by lifestyle factors such as nutrition, physical inactivity, and chronic stress |
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Management |
Predictability and delivering results |
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Meaning-making |
Establishing why an organization should engage in a change journey |
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Metrics |
Measurement of indicators that are of value to a particular person or group within an organization |
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Mindfulness based stress reduction |
A method of using meditation to cultivate awareness and reduce stress |
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Non-financial performance measures |
Quantitative measures that cannot be expressed in monetary terms such as environmental, social or health indicators |
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Nutrition |
The process of providing or obtaining the food necessary for health and growth |
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Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) |
An agency of the US Department of Labor that oversees the development and implementation of laws related to workplace health and safety |
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Physical environment |
The tangible workplace environment comprising employee’s working conditions including safe drinking water, clean indoor air, ergonomic workstation designs, violence and aggression-free work environment, available technologies, and design/construction of the workplace |
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Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle |
A systematic process to gain learning and knowledge to continuously improve a process, product, or service |
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Presenteeism |
How much health symptoms, conditions, and diseases adversely impact the work productivity of individuals who come to work |
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Psychological safety |
A shared belief that team members feel accepted and respected to take interpersonal risks |
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Psycho-social environment |
The interpersonal and social interactions that influence behavior and development in the workplace |
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Root cause |
A factor that caused an outcome or effect of interest and that should be eliminated or ameliorated through process improvement |
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Sedentary lifestyle |
A type of lifestyle with little or no physical activity, in which a person is often sitting or lying down while engaged in an activity like reading, socializing, watching television, playing video games, or using a mobile phone/computer for much of the day |
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Shared value capitalism |
An approach to creating value for all stakeholders, not just shareholders, including clients, customers, employees, owners and investors, plus local governments and communities, driven by globalization and the idea that corporations should make the world a better place |
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Six Sigma |
A set of techniques and process improvement tools to improve process output quality by identifying and removing the causes of defects and minimizing variability in business and manufacturing processes |
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Social ecological model |
A theory-based framework to understand the complex and interactive effects of personal and environmental factors that determine behaviors, and to identify behavioral and organizational leverage points to promote health within organizations |
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Stress |
A state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances |
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Superfund site |
Any United States land which has been contaminated by hazardous waste and identified by the Environmental Protection Agency as a candidate for cleanup because it poses a risk to human or environmental health |
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Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) |
: An independent standards setting organizations that develops and maintains sustainability accounting standards for disclosing financially material information |
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Team |
A stable, bounded group, interdependent on achieving a shared goal |
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Teaming |
Teamwork on the fly |
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Theory-in-use |
The world view and values implied by people’s behavior |
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Total Worker Health |
Policies, programs, and practices that integrate protection from work-related safety and health hazards with promotion of injury and illness prevention efforts to advance worker well-being |
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Toxic release inventory |
A list compiled and updated by the Environmental Protection Agency which tracks the management of some toxic chemicals which may pose a threat to human and environmental health |
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Value chain |
A set of activities that an organization operating in a specific industry performs in order to deliver a valuable service or product for the market |
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Well-being |
A state characterized by health, happiness, and prosperity |