6.1 Ethical and Environmental Considerations Flashcards
What do we mean by ‘ethical behaviour?’
Ethics is about the right or wrong thing to do.
What are the key ethical considerations for a business?
Treatment of suppliers. Treatment of workers. Sourcing materials. Marketing considerations. Fairtrade.
What could be negative effects of a business being ethical?
Higher costs.
Lost sales (to unethical businesses).
Reduced profits.
Poor financial figures.
Benefits of being ethical?
Workers are more motivated.
Customers like it.
Investors like it and are more inclined to invest.
Some argue ethical businesses are more likely to survive.
What are the key environmental considerations for businesses?
Sustainability.
Waste disposal.
Pollution.
Climate change.
State three ways in which households and businesses make use of the natural environment.
To provide natural resources.
For pleasure (walking, views)
To dump waste (landfill)
How can a business produce sustainably?
Use solar or wind energy.
Rotate crops to avoid have to use chemical fertilsers.
Save water.
Switch off lights.
Recycle.
Use less or more efficient methods of transport.
What different kinds of pollution are there?
Noise.
Air.
Pollution of rivers and seas.
How do businesses contribute to climate change?
Used energy sources from burning fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas).
Deforestation.
What are the benefits of being environmentally friendly?
Increased sales. reduced costs. Reduced tax bills. Getting subsidies. Reducing resource scarcity.
What are the problems of being environmentally friendly?
Increased raw materials costs.
Capital costs (purchase of equipment needed to introduce environmentally friendly production processes).
More expensive production methods (eg growing organic food is more expensive than using fertilisers).
What is Fairtrade?
A movement that encourages businesses to pay a fair price to suppliers in developing countries.
What is child labour?
The use of young children, below the legal age for employment, in order to achieve low cost production.
What is ethical marketing?
Marketing activities that seek to give customers information to make good choices for themselves.
What is meant by sustainable production?
This is when production does not lead to the depletion (using up) of natural resources.
