The following Green Glossary of Terms is offered to define and introduce special environmental and sustainability terms. It has been developed to help you understand the AHLA environmental guidelines along with its related business cases and best practices. It is by no means a complete list and we welcome your suggestions by sending your comments to the Green Guru.  

A

AAA Diamond – The American Automobile Association hotel rating program that rates hotels form one to five diamonds.

Acoustical Ceiling Tile – Ceiling tile designed to improve sound quality and block noise transmission. 

Active Solar Heating – Collection units absorb heat from the sun and transfer it through pumps or fans to a shortage unit for later use, or directly to the building interior.  The system requires controls to regulate its operation.

Active Solar Water Heater – Collection units absorb heat from the sun and transfer it  through pumps to a storage unit.  The fluid in the storage unit conveys its heat to the domestic hot water of the building through a heat hanger.  The system requires controls to regulate its operation.

Aerator – A device most installed on faucets to increase spray velocity, reduce splash, and save both water and energy.

Air Handling Unit – A heating and/or cooling distribution mechanism that channels warm or cool air to different parts of a building.  The equipment includes a blower or fan, heating and/or cooling coils, as well as related controls, condensate drain pans, and air filters.  The unit does not include ductwork, registers, grilles, boilers, or chillers.

Albedo – Also know as “solar reflectance,” this is the ratio of reflected solar energy to incoming solar energy over wavelengths of approximately 0.3 to 2.5 micrometers.

Alternative Use License (AUL) –In Brownfield redevelopment, AUL refers to a district’s capacity to be rezoned to an alternative acceptable use, taking into account the known contaminants of the site.

Ambient Air – Open air, surrounding air, or outside air.

ASHRAE – American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning.

ASHRAE 55-1992 –ASHRAE standard:  Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy.

ASHRAE 62-1999 –ASHRAE standard: Indoor Air Quality.

B

Bamboo flooring – Bamboo is a grass (not a wood) that annually produces new shoots.  Individual stems are harvested from controlled forests every three to five years.

Benchmarking – The process to measure the performance of energy, water and recycling for comparison with similar hotels. The result is often a business case for making environmental improvements.

Biodegradable – Capable of decomposing naturally within a relatively short period of time.

Broadloom – Originally denoted carpet produced in widths wider than six feet.  Today, carpet comes in 6-foot, 12-foot, and 15-foot widths.

Brownfields – Abandoned, idled, or under-used industrial and commercial facilities where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived environmental contamination.

Building Automation System (BAS) – A system that optimized the start up and performance of HVAC equipment and alarm systems.  A BAS system increases the interaction among the mechanical subsystems of a building, improves occupant comfort, lowers energy use, and allows off-site building control.

Building Related Illness (BRI) – BRI refers to a diagnosed illness of which the symptoms of are identified and can be attributed directly to airborne building contaminants.

Built Environment – Buildings and infrastructure constructed by human beings.

C

Carbon – An abundant chemical element on Earth. As the basis for all living things, carbon is present in particular abundance in a solid and a liquid form in trees, other plants, and soils, and in various forms in all fossil fuels, including coal (solid), petroleum (liquid), and methane (gas). Carbon bonds with oxygen in the atmosphere to form carbon dioxide.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) – A colorless, odorless, non-poisonous gas that exists in trace quantities (less than 400 parts per million) in ambient air.  Carbon dioxide is a product of fossil fuel combustion.  Although carbon dioxide does not directly impair human health, it is a greenhouse gas that traps terrestrial (I.e., infrared) radiation and contributes to the potential for global warming.

Carbon Footprint – A cumulative measure of the impact a product, service, activity, company, individual or other entity has on the environment, in terms of the amount of greenhouse gases produced, and measured in units of carbon dioxide. These impacts usually result from energy consumption, pollution, and other sources.

Carbon Neutral – A combination of efficiency improvements (resulting in reduced carbon dioxide emissions), and purchases of carbon offsets that balance 100% of a carbon footprint.

Carbon Offset – A reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by a project (such as rainforest preservation) that is sold to a purchaser to balance the purchaser’s own emissions. The funds generated by the sale of offsets support the development of additional reductions.

CERES – A coalition of investors and environmentalists formerly know as the Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies.

Certified or Certification – A process by which an independent agent verifies that the claims made by a product, service, etc. are valid. Many certification programs exist through which products meeting independent standards may use a label or logo to indicate their claims have been verified.

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) – A family of inert, nontoxic, and easily liquefied chemicals used in refrigeration, air conditioning, packaging, and insulation, or as solvents and aerosol propellants.  Because CFCs are not destroyed in the lower atmosphere, they drift into the upper atmosphere, where their chlorine components destroy ozone.

CO2 Sensor – A sensor for the measurement of gaseous carbon dioxide.  Used in combination with energy recovery units or demand controlled ventilation to promote energy efficiency.  Used to maintain appropriate indoor carbon dioxide levels.

Cogeneration – The generation of electricity and the capture and use of otherwise wasted heat energy byproducts.  Also referred to as a combined heat and power (CHP) system.

Combined Heat and Power (CHP) – The generation of electricity and the capture and use of otherwise wasted heat energy byproducts.  Also referred to as cogeneration.

Commissioning – The process of ensuring that a building’s complex array of systems is designed, installed, and tested to perform according to the design intent and the owner’s operational needs.  The commissioning of new buildings is most effective when considered throughout the planning stages, and as early as the schematic design phase.

Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) or Lighting – A type of fluorescent lamp.  Compared to incandescent lamps of the same luminous flux, CFLs use less energy and have a longer life.

Composite Material – Complex material made up of two or more complementary substances.  Composite materials can be difficult to recycle (e.g. plastic laminates).  They are best applied in situations where they can be removed for a reuse that does not require remanufacture.

Composting – A process whereby organic wastes, including food, paper, and yard wastes, decompose naturally and produce a material rich in minerals and ideal for gardening and farming as a soil conditioner or mulch, and  for resurfacing or covering a landfill.

Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) –  A substitute for gasoline (petrol) or diesel fuels.  CNG is considered to be an environmentally “clean” alternative.  It is made by compressing natural gas  (which is composed mainly of methane [CH4]) in a percentage range of 70% to 98%.

Conventional –  Indicates the usual method of production. Used in contrast to green or environmentally-friendly production methods.

D

Data-Tracking – The process of gathering energy, water and waste data for hotels to track there performance over periods of time.

Daylighting – A method of illuminating building interiors with natural light and minimizing the use of artificial lighting.  Common daylighting strategies include the proper orientation and placement of windows, the use of light wells, or light shafts.

Demand Control Ventilation (DCV) – Ventilation provided in response to the actual number of occupants and to occupant activity.

Demand Control Ventilation Using Carbon Dioxide Sensors – A combination of two technologies:  CO2 levels in the air inside a building, and an air-handling system that uses data from the sensors to regulate the amount of air admitted.

Density Bonus – A credit that allows developers to build more units than would normally be allowed in a certain zoning district by exchanging the excess units for other community benefits, such as affordable housing, historic preservation, and green building.

DEQ – Department of Environmental Quality (usually at the state level).

Digital Thermostat – Energy saving devices that are manually programmed to allow users to control temperature settings.  Digital thermostats are more accurate than conventional thermostats and can be programmed with high and low set points.  They can be used with most heating and cooling devices. 

Down-Cycling – The recycling of one material into another material of lesser quality.  One example is the recycling of high-grade plastics into lower grade plastics.

Dual Flush Toilet – A toilet that has two buttons to allow appropriate water usage, typically ranging from one to two gallons.

E

EA – Energy and Atmosphere section of the LEED rating system.

Eco-Friendly, Environmentally- Friendly – a loose term often used in marketing to inform consumers about an attribute of a product or service that has an environmental benefit. This term does not necessarily indicate all attributes of a product or service is environmentally benign.

Energy-Efficient – producing a high level of output or performance relative to the amount of energy consumed.

Emission – The release of any gas, particle, or vapor into the environment from a commercial, industrial, or residential source, including smokestacks, chimneys, and motor vehicles.

Emissivity – The ratio of energy radiated by a specific material to the energy related by a black body at the same temperature.  This is a measure of a material’s ability to absorb and radiate energy.

Energy Modeling – A computer model that analyzes a building’s energy related features in order to project the energy consumption of a given design.

Energy Recovery Units – Mechanisms that extract energy from the indoor air (warm air in winter, cool air in summer) and transfer it to the fresh incoming air.

Energy Star – A joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy helping individuals and businesses save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices.

Environmental Coordinator – An associate who leads the hotels environmental committee and is responsible for developing an environmental green plan for energy, water, and solid waste use.

Environmental Impact – Any change to the environment, good or bad, that wholly or partially results from industrial manufacturing activities, products or services.

EPA – The United States Environmental Protection Agency, charged with setting and enforcing environmental regulations nationwide.

EPP – Environmentally preferred product.

Exposed Aggregate – The component pieces of a composite material used to resist compressive stress and visible in the end product.

F

Fair Trade – A certification scheme that evaluates the economic, social and environmental impacts of the production and trade of agricultural products, in particular: coffee, sugar, tea, chocolate, and others. Fair Trade principles include: fair prices, fair labor conditions, direct trade, democratic and transparent organizations, community development and environmental sustainability.

Fan Coil Unit (FCU) – A small terminal HVAC unit often composed only of a blower and a heating and/or cooling coil (heat exchanger) and frequently used in hotels, condominiums, and apartments. 

Flashing – A type of weatherproofing.

Floor Area Ratio (FAR) – The ratio of the total floor area of a building to the size of the land of its location, or the limit imposed on such a ratio.

Fly Ash – The ash residue from high temperature combustion processes.  Electric generating plants using western coal produce a non-toxic fly ash that, because of its very high calcium content, can be a substitute for Portland cement (the common bonding material in concrete).

Formaldehyde – A colorless, pungent smelling, toxic material used as a component for the glues of many wood products.  It can cause respiratory problems, cancer, and chemical sensitivity. 

Fossil Fuels – Fuels, such as coal, oil and natural gas, produced by the decomposition of ancient (fossilized) plants and animals.

Foundation Mat Slab – Builders use mat-slab foundations to distribute heavy column and wall loads across an entire building area, and to lower the contact pressure as compared to conventional spread footing.  Mat-slab foundations can be constructed near the ground surface, or at the bottom of basements.  In high-rise buildings, mat-slab foundations can be several meters thick, with extensive reinforcement to ensure relatively uniform load transfer.

FSC Products – Forest Steward Council wood bearing the FSC logo guarantees that it was sustainably harvested from a certified, well managed forest.