EBITDA. Gross operating profit. Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation.

EBIT. Net operating profit. Operating earnings after amortisation and depreciation.

ECOLOGY. Ecology is the branch of biology which refers to the study of living beings, their environment and the relationships they establish between themselves. It can be studied at many different levels, from proteins and nucleic acids (in biochemistry and molecular biology) to cells (cellular biology), tissues (histology), individual species (botany, zoology, physiology, mycology and others) and finally at the population level (communities, ecosystems and the biosphere).

ECO-LABELLING. System of environmental certification which serves to identify the products or services with most respect for the environment.

ECO-EFFICIENCY. The achievement of economic efficiency through ecological efficiency. It is a vision of the future that has had a strong impact upon the world business environment and which could be a fundamental instrument with which companies can contribute to the implementation of sustainable development, satisfying the needs of the present without compromising the capacity of future generations to satisfy their own needs.