| ACCPE | UK government Advisory Committee on Consumer Products and the Environment |
| avatar | three-dimensional virtual personality |
| B2B | business-to-business |
| B2C | business-to-consumer |
| BAT | best available technology |
| broadband | high speed data connection |
| C2B | consumer-to-business |
| C2C | consumer-to-consumer |
| CEO | chief executive officer |
| CO2 | carbon dioxide |
| DETR | Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions |
| digital divide | the gap between information ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ |
| DTI | Department of Trade and Industry |
| DTV | digital TV |
| ecobots | a search engine facility which uses environmental criteria |
| EDI | electronic data exchange |
| EIA | Energy Information Administration (US) |
| e-materialization | reducing material and energy inputs through information technologies |
| EU | European Union |
| G2C | government-to-consumer |
| GDP | Gross Domestic Product |
| GEM | guaranteed electronic markets |
| GHG | greenhouse gas(es) |
| GPS | global positioning satellites |
| GRI | Global Reporting Initiative |
| HGV | heavy goods vehicle |
| IAQ | infrequently asked question |
| ICT | information and communication technology |
| infomediary | intermediaries who exchange information online |
| inter-operability | ability to operate on a range of systems |
| intranet | internal computer network inaccessible from the internet |
| IPR | intellectual property rights |
| ISP | internet service provider |
| IT | information technology |
| LCA | life-cycle assessment |
| legacy system | out-of-date computer hardware still in use |
| LETS | local exchange and trading schemes |
| LGV | light goods vehicle |
| MtC | million tonnes of carbon |
| m-commerce | mobile commerce |
| MP3 | digital music format |
| natural capital | stocks or flows of environmental and natural resources |
| NEF | New Economics Foundation |
| NGO | non-governmental organizations |
| NIMBY | not in my back yard |
| OECD | Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development |
| open source | software with a publicly available programming code |
| PC | personal computer |
| PDA | personal digital assistant |
| RDA | regional development agency |
| RDC | regional distribution centre |
| rebound effect | a negative second-order effect |
| REEP | Regional Electronic Economy Programme |
| RPG | regional planning guidance |
| R&D | research and development |
| SME | small- to medium-sized enterprise |
| SPRU | Science and Technology Policy Research Unit (Sussex University) |
| STB | set-top box |
| t-commerce | commerce using time as a currency |
| TCPA | Town and Country Planning Association |
| telematics | transportation aids using internet and telecommunication technologies |
| UN | United Nations |
| virtualization | the provision of goods or services in a virtual format |
| walled garden | a closed internet environment with access only to certain websites |
| WTO | World Trade Organization |
