ambientalmente

Ambientalmente is an adverb used in several Romance languages, most notably Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian, to describe actions, processes, or conditions relating to the environment. It derives from the adjective ambiental (Spanish/Portuguese) or ambientale (Italian), both meaning environmental or pertaining to the environment.

In Italian, ambientale is turned into the adverb ambientalmente by adding the suffix -mente, as is common for Italian adverbs. In Spanish and Portuguese, the same -mente suffix forms adverbs from adjectives such as ambiental, producing phrases that modify verbs or adjectives to indicate environmental aspects.

Usage and nuance: It is widely used in policy, business, journalism, and everyday language to indicate environmental impact or compliance. Examples include “prácticas ambientalmente responsables” in Spanish, “práticas ambientalmente sustentáveis” in Portuguese, and “azioni ambientalmente responsabili” in Italian. The term can be paired with nouns such as sostenibile, responsable, or impacto to form common expressions describing environmentally oriented practices or criteria.

Differences with related terms: While ambiental/ambientale refers to the environment, ecología focuses on ecological relationships, and sostenible relates to sustainability. The adverbial form ambientalmente emphasizes the environmental dimension of an action rather than its moral or ethical valuation.

Related concepts include environment, sustainability, ecology, and environmental policy.