Glossary

We've provided a glossary of commonly used terminology throughout the site. Whether you're new to water stewardship, restoration science, or blockchain technology, these definitions will help you understand how Orenna makes water benefits credible and auditable.

Water Stewardship & Accounting

Baseline Assessment
The initial measurement of a watershed's condition before restoration work begins. Used as the comparison point to calculate the water benefits generated by the project.

Context-Based Target
A water stewardship goal that accounts for local watershed conditions, water stress levels, and community needs—rather than applying the same target everywhere. Example: Meta's commitment to restore 200% of water consumed in high-stress regions.

Double-Counting
The problematic practice of multiple parties claiming credit for the same environmental outcome. Example: Both the project funder and the landowner claiming the same restored wetland toward their goals. Orenna's retirement system prevents this.

Million Gallons per Year (MG/year)
The standard unit of measurement for volumetric water benefits. Represents the annual volume of water replenished or made available through a restoration project.

Volumetric Water Benefit Accounting (VWBA 2.0)
The standardized methodology, released in September 2025, for quantifying the volume of water made available through restoration projects. Provides a six-step framework for measuring, verifying, and reporting water benefits. This is the primary methodology Orenna's platform is built around.

Water Positive
A corporate commitment to replenish or restore more water to nature than the company consumes. Example: Microsoft's goal to be water positive by 2030.

Water Quality Benefit Accounting (WQBA)
The standardized methodology, released in September 2025, for quantifying improvements in water quality—such as reductions in nitrogen, phosphorus, sediment, or other pollutants—achieved through restoration projects.

Water Stewardship
The responsible use and protection of water resources through conservation, efficiency improvements, restoration projects, and engagement with local communities and watersheds.

Watershed
A geographic area where all water drains to a common outlet—such as a river, lake, or ocean. The fundamental unit for understanding water resources and restoration impacts.

Orenna Platform & Process

Audit Trail
A permanent, chronological record of all actions taken on a piece of evidence or water benefit claim—from initial submission through verification, issuance, and retirement. Orenna's blockchain-backed audit trails provide cryptographic proof that records haven't been altered.

Chain-of-Custody
The documented sequence of control and possession of evidence or water benefit units—from project implementation through verification to final retirement by a corporate buyer.

Corporate Buyer
A company that funds water restoration projects and retires water benefit units to meet sustainability commitments. Examples: Google, Microsoft, Cargill.

Evidence Package
A standardized collection of all documentation supporting a water benefit claim—including scientific studies, engineering reports, monitoring data, photographs, and project details. Organized according to VWBA 2.0 or WQBA methodologies.

Independent Verification
Third-party review of a water benefit claim by qualified experts who are not hired by the company making the claim. Verifiers assess whether the project methodology, evidence, and calculations support the stated benefits.

Issuance
The process of creating official water benefit units after independent verification confirms a project has delivered measurable outcomes. Units are serialized and recorded in the Orenna registry.

Restoration Company
An organization that implements water restoration projects—such as wetland creation, river restoration, infiltration basin construction, or watershed improvements. Example: Resource Environmental Solutions (RES).

Retirement
The permanent attribution of water benefit units to a specific corporate buyer, preventing anyone else from claiming credit for the same water benefits. When units are retired, they cannot be traded or claimed again.

Serialization
The assignment of unique identifiers to water benefit units—similar to serial numbers on currency. Each unit is tagged with project ID, vintage year, volume, location, and methodology, ensuring clear tracking and preventing double-counting.

System-of-Record
The authoritative, official database for tracking water benefit claims. Orenna serves as the neutral system-of-record where all parties—restoration companies, verifiers, and corporate buyers—access the same trusted information.

Verifier
An independent scientific expert or engineering firm qualified to review water benefit evidence packages and confirm that claimed outcomes are accurate and comply with established methodologies.

Water Benefit Unit
A standardized, serialized unit representing a verified water benefit. Typically measured in MG/year (million gallons per year) for volumetric benefits or in pounds of pollutant removed for water quality benefits.

Blockchain & Technology

Blockchain
A distributed ledger technology that creates permanent, tamper-proof records through cryptographic linking of data blocks. Orenna uses blockchain not for cryptocurrency speculation, but to ensure evidence integrity, prevent double-counting, and create audit-ready records that can't be altered without detection.

Cryptographic Hash
A unique digital fingerprint of a document or file. Orenna stores hashes on the blockchain to create tamper-evident records—if a document is altered, its hash changes, proving tampering occurred.

Digital Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (dMRV)
The use of IoT sensors, satellite imagery, AI analytics, and blockchain to automate and enhance the monitoring and verification of environmental outcomes in near-real-time.

Hash-on-Chain, Evidence-Off-Chain
Orenna's data architecture: sensitive documents stay in encrypted storage (off-chain) while cryptographic hashes are recorded on the blockchain (on-chain). This ensures data integrity while protecting proprietary information.

Immutability
The property of blockchain records that, once written, cannot be altered or deleted. Provides the foundation for tamper-proof audit trails.

On-Chain
Information or transactions recorded directly on a blockchain, making them permanent and publicly verifiable. At Orenna, document hashes, verification signatures, and unit retirements are stored on-chain.

Smart Contracts
Self-executing code on a blockchain that automatically enforces the terms of an agreement. Orenna uses smart contracts to manage evidence commitments, unit issuance, and retirements without requiring manual intervention.

Tamper-Evident Record
A record stored in a way that any alteration can be detected. Orenna uses blockchain to create tamper-evident records—once evidence is logged, changes are cryptographically impossible to hide.

Verifiable Credentials (VC)
A W3C standard for creating machine-readable, cryptographically-signed digital attestations. Orenna uses VCs to issue verifications that can be automatically validated by auditing software.

Standards & Organizations

Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS)
An international organization that developed the AWS International Water Stewardship Standard—a framework for responsible site-based and catchment-based water management.

CDP Water Security
A global disclosure system where companies report their water risks, impacts, and stewardship activities to investors and stakeholders. Formerly known as the Carbon Disclosure Project.

CEO Water Mandate
A UN Global Compact initiative that mobilizes business leaders to advance water stewardship, sanitation, and sustainable development goals.

Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)
European Union regulation requiring companies to report environmental and social impacts with the same rigor as financial disclosures. Emphasizes "double materiality"—how companies affect the environment and how environmental risks affect companies.

Double Materiality
The concept that companies must report both (1) how environmental issues affect their financial performance and (2) how their operations impact the environment and society.

Priority Basins
The 100 watersheds identified by the CEO Water Mandate and Water Resilience Coalition where water stress, business risk, and social need are most acute. Target areas for collective action.

SCS Global Services
An independent third-party certification body that launched Water Positive™ Verification Services in May 2025, specifically aligned with the VWBA 2.0 methodology.

Water Resilience Coalition (WRC)
A CEO-led initiative with the goal of achieving Positive Water Impact in 100 priority basins by 2030, supporting over 3 billion people.

Restoration & Ecology

Biodiverse Ecosystems
Natural environments containing a wide variety of plant and animal species.

Conservation Bank
A site where habitats are protected and restored to generate credits that offset impacts to endangered species elsewhere—similar to mitigation banks but focused on species protection.

Ecosystem Services
The benefits that healthy ecosystems provide to people and communities—such as clean water, flood protection, habitat for species, carbon sequestration, and recreational opportunities.

Infiltration Basin
A constructed landscape feature designed to capture stormwater or floodwater and allow it to slowly soak into underground aquifers, replenishing groundwater supplies.

Mitigation Bank
A site where wetlands, streams, or habitats are restored or preserved, generating credits that can offset environmental impacts elsewhere. Typically used for regulatory compliance.

Nature-Based Solutions (NbS)
Restoration approaches that work with natural processes—such as wetland creation, riparian restoration, and floodplain reconnection—to address water, climate, and ecosystem challenges.

Riparian Restoration
The improvement of vegetation, stream channels, and floodplains along rivers and streams to improve habitat, reduce erosion, filter pollutants, and support watershed health.

Wetland Restoration
The process of returning a degraded or destroyed wetland to a healthy, functioning state—improving water storage, filtration, habitat, and flood protection.

Business & Legal

Attribution Plan
A documented agreement specifying how water benefits from a collective action project will be distributed among multiple funding parties. Ensures that each participant receives proportional credit and prevents double-counting.

Public Benefit Corporation (PBC)
A corporate legal structure that commits the company to pursuing both financial returns and public benefit. Orenna Holdings is structured as a PBC with a mission to scale credible restoration.