# Definitions | Embodied Emissions methodology
Source: https://greenpixie.com/docs/methodology/cloud-embodied-emissions/definitions

Key terms used throughout the methodology.

**Accelerator.** A specialised processor attached to a compute instance for parallel workloads, most commonly a graphics processing unit.

**Amortisation.** The division of a fixed quantity of emissions across the operating hours of the hardware that produced them.

**Chip Vendor.** The company that designs and sells a processor, an accelerator, a memory part, or a NAND flash part. Distinct from the cloud provider that buys the part and installs it in a server.

**Cloud Provider.** A company that offers cloud computing services and solutions to businesses and individuals. In this methodology, the term refers to AWS, Azure, and GCP.

**CO₂e.** Carbon dioxide equivalent. A metric that expresses the global warming potential of various greenhouse gases as the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide.

**Cradle-to-Gate.** The scope of a life cycle assessment covering raw material extraction through manufacture, ending at the point the finished product leaves the factory, and excluding transport to the customer, use, and end of life.

**Cradle-to-Grave.** The scope of a life cycle assessment covering every stage of a product's life, being raw material extraction, manufacture, transport, use, and end of life.

**Data Centre.** A facility composed of networked computers and storage used to process, store, and distribute data.

**Data Centre Shell.** The building that houses the IT equipment of a data centre, together with its fixed structure and the systems installed to support it.

**Die.** In semiconductor manufacturing, a small block of semiconducting material on which a functional circuit is fabricated.

**Die Area.** The surface area of the silicon in a finished package, expressed in square millimetres.

**Die Density.** The storage capacity a given area of memory or NAND flash die holds. It differs between the generations of each.

**Embodied Emissions.** The greenhouse gas emissions associated with the manufacturing and transport of physical server components, together with estimated allowances for end-of-life processing and for the data centre shell.

**Emissions.** The discharge of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, expressed in CO₂e.

**End of Life.** The treatment of hardware after it is withdrawn from service, covering collection, processing, material recovery, and disposal.

**GHG.** Greenhouse gases. Gases that trap heat in the atmosphere and contribute to the greenhouse effect and global warming.

**Instance.** In cloud computing, a virtual server used for running applications on the cloud.

**LCA.** Life Cycle Assessment. A method for assessing the environmental impacts associated with all stages of a product's life, from raw material extraction through manufacturing, use, and end of life.

**NAND Flash.** The non-volatile memory technology used in solid state drives, manufactured as a stack of storage layers on a single die.

**Process Node.** The semiconductor manufacturing generation a die is fabricated on, expressed in nanometres.

**Recycled Content Method.** The end-of-life accounting method of the GHG Protocol Product Life Cycle Accounting and Reporting Standard, under which a product is credited for the recycled material it is made from and not for the material recovered from it after use.

**Semiconductor.** A material with controllable electrical conductivity used in creating electronic components such as transistors and integrated circuits in computer hardware.

**Server.** A computer or system that provides resources, data, services, or programs to other computers over a network.

**SKU.** Stock Keeping Unit. In cloud billing, a distinct combination of service, resource type, region, and pricing tier that appears as a line item on a cloud usage report.

**Thermal Design Power.** The heat output a manufacturer specifies a cooling solution must dissipate for a processor or an accelerator, expressed in watts.

**vCPU.** Virtual central processing unit. The standard unit of compute capacity allocated to a cloud instance, representing a share of a physical processor core.