Acidification
The most important substances contributing to acidification are SO₂. and NO_x. They are emitted to the atmosphere when fossil fuels such as oil and coal are combusted. Emissions of these substances lead to acid deposition (acid rain) that can damage forests, lakes and rivers as well as buildings.

Bioethics
Bioethics is a discipline dealing with the ethical implications of biological research and its applications. It considers all living organisms and the environment, from the level of the individual to the biosphere.

BOD5
Biochemical Oxygen Demand after 5 days. An analytical biological method used to determine the content of biodegradable organic material in waste water.

CFCs
Chlorofluorocarbons. CFCs consist of a number of gases - best known under the trademark freon. Although they present no risk to human health or the environment while in contained use, if they escape to the atmosphere by leakage or incorrect disposal they can damage the stratospheric ozone layer as well as increase the greenhouse effect. The ozone layer protects the Earth from harmful UV rays.

Cloning
Simply stated a clone is a duplicate or copy. In the field of molecular genetics, cloning refers to a process whereby individual genes are asexually replicated in bacterial cultures or yeast cells. When it comes to animals, the aim of cloning is to develop genetically identical individuals. This can be achieved by embryonic cloning where a fertilized egg at a very early stage in the embryonic phase is divided into two or more parts. Somatic cloning is a very new technique that can create identical copies of individuals using cells from adult animals. The implications of what this technique may entail has created an enormous debate amongst scientists, legislators and laymen.

COD
Chemical Oxygen Demand. An analytical chemical method used to determine the amount of oxygen-demanding substances in waste water.

CO2
Carbon dioxide. CO₂ emissions arising from the combustion of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas increase the natural greenhouse effect, which in the longer term is feared to cause adverse climatic changes.

Environmental impact potentials
The purpose of calculating impact potentials is to compare the contributions made by different substances to a particular environmental impact - e.g. global warming. Global warming is calculated as carbon dioxide equivalents. 1 g CO₂ corresponds to 1 g CO₂-equivalent, while 1 g HCFC22 and CFC12 correspond to 1,700 and 8,500 g CO₂-equivalents respectively.

Enzymes
Enzymes are biological catalysts capable of speeding up biochemical reactions in the cells of living organisms or industrial processes. They are very specific, which means fewer unwanted side-effects. Because they can catalyze a specific reaction many thousands of times over, only very small quan- tities are needed. Enzymes can replace harsh chemicals and save energy and resources. Being proteins by nature, they are fully biodegradable after use.

Eutrophication
An increased load of nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus, in the aquatic environment supports the rapid growth of algae. Upon decaying the algae may cause the oxygen content of shallow waters to be depleted causing adverse effects particularly on sedentary organisms.

Halon
Halogenated hydrocarbons - a brandname for agents used to extinguish fires.

HCFCs
Hydrogen chlorofluorocarbons. A group of cooling agents which are used as alternatives to the ozone-depleting CFCs. HCFCs contribute to the greenhouse effect and to a lesser degree to the ozone depletion.1 kg HCFC22 = 0.04 kg CFC₁₁..

GJ
Giga Joule. Joule is a unit of energy. 1 GJ = 1,000,000,000 J.

Global warming/greenhouse effect
The atmosphere of the Earth with its content of e.g. CO₂, methane and water vapour creates a natural global warming or greenhouse effect, which delays the emission of the Sun's heat from the Earth. Without this global warming effect the mean temperature on Earth would be around -18 ºC.

GMO
Genetically Modified Organism. At Novo Nordisk, microorganisms such as bacteria (Bacillus, E. coli) and microfungi (yeast, Aspergillus) have been encoded with genes for enzymes or pharmaceutical proteins.

in vitro
in vitro is Latin for "in glass". The term refers to something taking place in an artificial environment such as in a test tube. In the context of animal testing it refers to the testing of compounds in cell cultures (from animals or humans) as opposed to testing in vivo, i.e. in live animals.

in vivo
in vivo is Latin for "in something alive". The term refers to a process taking place within a living organism, e.g. fertilization of an egg. In the context of animal testing it refers to the testing of compounds in live animals as opposed to in vitro testing in cell cultures.

Life-cycle assessment
(LCA) A management tool to appraise and quantify the environmental impact of a product during its entire lifetime. Life-cycle assessments have three complementary elements: inventory analysis where resource consumption and emissions of a product are accounted for, impact analysis, and the interpretation of results and conclusions.

NGO
Non Governmental Organization. A collective term for voluntary groups that are established for a particular cause or interest, e.g. the environment, human rights, green consumers, etc.

NO_x
Nitrogen oxides - a collective term for various compounds of nitrogen and oxygen. Emissions of NO_x arise from the combustion of fossil fuels. NO_x contributes to acidification (acid rain) and can together with organic solvents and UV-light radiation create photochemical smog.

Ozone depletion
The ozone layer in the stratosphere (10-50 km above the Earth) filters the Sun's hazardous ultraviolet radiation thereby protecting all life on Earth. Certain chemicals such as freon and halons can damage the ozone layer.

SO2
Sulphur dioxide. Combustion of fossil fuels leads to the emission of SO₂. which contributes to acidification (acid rain).

Suspended solids
Precipitated undissolved material that can be removed rom waste water by sedimentation or filtration.

Sustainable development
Sustainable development was defined in "Our Common Future" - the Brundtland report of the World Commission on Environment and Development (1987) - as "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs".

Ton
1000 kg.

Transgenic
Transgenics is a term used to describe organisms where copies of genes or gene constructs e.g. derived from other species have been purposely integrated into their chromosomes. The technology creates the opportunity of introducing novel characteristics into microorganisms, plants and animals in order to create commercial products.

Corporate Environmental Report