Unsustainable

An activity or process that cannot be maintained at its current rate for any length of time. An additional feature can be included in the description to state that it is the quality of the outcome that cannot also be maintained, not just the activity itself, and that overtime the quality will decline. Within the turf care industry an example of an unsustainable process has been that of a limited and a lack of investment in relevant education and training over the past quarter of a century, at least. This has resulted in a ‘skills shortage’ and heavy reliance on volunteers, rather than paid pro

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  Urban Heat Island

A built-up area that is warmer than the surrounding rural land due to its accumulation of heat. The consumption of energy by buildings and its 'waste' transfer to the environment, as well as heat generated by traffic, population size, the absorption, retention and conduction of heat from roads, pavings and buildings, all contribute to an increase in temperatures in the contained local environment, essentially creating an island of raised heat levels when compared with the surrounding land. The urban heat island effect can result in significant differences of temperatures arising between ur

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  Value for Money [2]

An Economic Sustainability Indicator. Brief Description: This is a subjective judgement on the benefits offered by a service in relation to the costs (actual and perceived) that are required to deliver the service. Relevance to sustainability: Consumers, communities and stakeholders will all have an opinion on what they consider is value for money. Providers will often use various efficiency ratios on which to judge services. The money aspect is usually objective; however, the value aspect is very subjective and difficult to quantify and qualify because it depends on a human judgement. W

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  Vandalism

A Social Sustainability Indicator. • Brief Description: An indicator of a negative social impact on the local community. By identifying the number and location of these occurrences, a more effective response can be made.

  Waste

This can be defined as “…any substance or object which the holder discards or intends or is required to discard;”. (2008 Waste Framework Directive (Directive 2008/98/EC, Article 3(1)), https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32008L0098&from=EN) This can be categorised in various ways, although for grounds management the use of Inorganic waste and Organic waste as categories is appropriate.

  Waste Disposal

The removal and processing of unwanted material. This can mean the processes in the waste hierarchy from waste minimisation to energy recovery, or just the least favoured option of disposal which typically results in the incineration or landfill burying of waste. Good practice in waste disposal should ensure that no harm or damage is caused to the environment, wildlife, operatives or others as part of the disposal process. See also ‘Hazardous Waste Disposal'.

  Waste Generated

An Environmental Sustainability Indicator. • Brief Description: This is a useful starting point for determining how much total waste is produced by a service. This indicator should be linked with the recycled / reused waste indicator.

  Waste Hierarchy

A programme of prioritised action to protect the environment and human health. The waste hierarchy is a form of integrated control of waste products, with waste prevention being its most favoured option. This would then be followed by waste minimisation; re-use; recycling; recovery; and then the least favoured option being that of disposal, which is typically into land-fill sites.

  Waste Management

The application of the waste hierarchy, which focuses on processing waste after it is created, concentrating on re-use, recycling, and energy recovery rather than eliminating the creation of waste in the initial phases of production, which is the focus of waste minimisation.

  Waste Minimisation

A process of elimination that involves reducing the amount of waste produced and eliminating the generation of harmful wastes. This can be achieved by the redesign or products or processes.