Arabic Sustainability Dictionary

AA1000 Assurance Standard (AA1000AS)

An assurance standard published by AccountAbility that evaluates adherence to principles of inclusivity, materiality, responsiveness and impact.

Activist investor

An investor who acquires a stake in a company to press for changes in strategy, governance or sustainability practice.

Activity data

The quantity of an activity that causes emissions, such as litres of fuel burned, kilowatt-hours consumed, tonne-kilometres transported or money spent.

Affected communities

People or groups living or working in the same area as a company's operations or value chain whose lives may be affected by them; covered by ESRS S3.

Afforestation

Planting trees on land that has not been forested for a long time.

Air quality

The condition of the air with respect to concentrations of pollutants that affect human health and ecosystems.

Annual general meeting (AGM)

The yearly meeting of a company's shareholders to approve the accounts, elect directors and vote on other resolutions.

Annual report

A comprehensive yearly report to shareholders containing financial statements, the board's report and, increasingly, sustainability information.

Anti-corruption

Policies, controls and practices that prevent, detect and respond to bribery, fraud and other forms of corruption.

Anti-money laundering (AML)

Laws, controls and procedures designed to prevent criminals from disguising illegally obtained funds as legitimate income.

Assurance

An engagement in which an independent practitioner obtains evidence and expresses a conclusion on whether sustainability information is free from material misstatement.

Assurance engagement

An engagement in which a practitioner obtains evidence to express a conclusion that increases users' confidence in subject matter information.

Assurance provider

An independent firm or practitioner that performs assurance engagements on sustainability information.

Attribution factor

In PCAF, the share of a borrower's or investee's emissions allocated to a financial institution: the outstanding amount divided by EVIC for listed companies, or by equity plus debt for unlisted ones.

Audit committee

A board committee that oversees financial reporting, internal control, internal audit and the relationship with external auditors.

Audit trail

A chronological record of who changed what and when, allowing every figure to be traced back to its source.

Auditor independence

Freedom of the assurance practitioner from relationships and interests that could compromise, or appear to compromise, their objectivity.