Business ethics and green issues – Vocabulary and Phrases
money laundering – to put money which has been obtained illegally into legal businesses and bank accounts in order to hide where it was obtained.
Valesquez was convicted of money laundering.
accountability/to be accountable – required or expected to give an explanation of one's actions, expenditure, etc; responsible
Who are you accountable to in the organization?
transparency/transparent – if rules, methods, or business dealings are transparent, they are clear and people can see that they are fair and honest
The trade agreement between Japan and the US is more transparent, and there are no secret documents.
misconduct – bad or dishonest behaviour by a professional person
The potential penalties for such misconduct include imprisonment, substantial fines and civil liability.
code of conduct/ethics – a set of rules that employees, companies, or professional people agree to follow in the way they behave and do business
Companies wishing to join the PC Direct Marketers' Association will have to abide by a code of conduct.
sweatshop labour – use of underpaid people with terrible working conditions
My prices are competitive but I cannot compete with the sweatshops.
sustainable development – balancing the fulfilment of human needs with the protection of the natural environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but in the indefinite future.
The Government of Finland is committed to fostering sustainable development along with stability and security in the international community.
depletion of natural resources – great reduction in quantity, size, power, value
If the depletion of natural resources across the country continues, the 70000 jobs which rely on the tourism industry will be in jeopardy.
sustainability – the idea that the economy should be organized in ways that can be continued without causing irreversible damage to the environment
The project introduces new agricultural and forestry techniques that emphasize sustainability and environmental protection.
greenhouse gases – any of the gases that are thought to contribute to the rise in temperature of the earth's atmosphere, esp. carbon dioxide (CO2)
Greenhouse gases (such as carbon dioxide and methane) lead to global climate change.
fossil fuels – fuel, e.g.. coal or oil, formed over millions of years from the remains of animals
What will happen when our fossil fuels run out?
overfishing – To fish a body of water so extensively as to exhaust the supply of fish or shellfish.
Stinging jellyfish are on the rise worldwide, due to overfishing of sea turtles and fish that predate them, as well as global warming.
to dispose of waste – to get rid of waste
Some mines regularly dispose of toxic waste in rivers, lakes, and even oceans.
to dump waste – to put sth that is not wanted in a place and leave it as rubbish
Some people just dump their rubbish in the river.
incinerator – a furnace or apparatus for burning trash, garbage, etc., to ashes.
Infant mortality rates are far higher when they are breathing in fumes from incinerator chimneys.
landfills – also called a dump or tip, is a site for the disposal of waste materials by burial and is the oldest form of waste treatment.
In earlier days, everything was dumped in landfills, including waste oils and all kinds of solvents.
logging – to cut down forest trees for their wood
The whole area had been logged.
wind power – power derived from wind: used to generate electricity or mechanical power
China is encouraging wind power to reduce pollution and help overcome energy shortages.
to counterfeit – to copy something so that it looks like something else, usually illegally
We must mark coins in a way that makes them harder to counterfeit.
fraud – a method of illegally getting money from a person or organization, often using clever and complicated methods; a fraud - a person who deceives others by pretending to have abilities, skills, etc that he or she does not really have
He had a criminal conviction for credit card fraud.
embezzlement – when someone illegally gets money from their employer
A Virginia lawyer who embezzled nearly $500000 from his law firm and his clients was sentenced to four months in prison after pleading guilty in New Jersey.
racketeer – someone who is a part of an organization involved in getting money illegally
He has admitted fraud and racketeering.
trustworthy – person or organization that is trustworthy can be trusted and depended upon
The staff are honest, trustworthy, intensely loyal and hard-working.
law-abiding – persons or organization that does not break the law
Hong Kong society is renowned for being law-abiding and stable.
insider trading – when someone uses knowledge of a particular company, situation etc. that is not available to other people in order to buy or sell shares. Insider trading is illegal.
Shares in both banks jumped 20% two weeks before confirmation of their merger, which led to an insider tradinginquiry being opened.
a slush-fund – a fund of money obtained secretly and illegally and used for illegal purposes
He operated an $18 million slush fund intended to corrupt Pentagon officials.
a sweetener – something used to make an offer, suggestion etc more attractive
Its board accepted a sweetener from Staveley Industries to buy 43% of the company.
industrial espionage – the stealing of technological or commercial research data, blueprints, plans, etc., as by a person in the hire of a competing company.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation estimates that U.S. Corporations lose $100 Billion annually due to industrial espionage.
a whistleblower – someone working for an organization who tells the authorities that people in the organization are doing something illegal, dishonest or wrong
The company had paid out substantial sums to silence would-be whistleblowers.
to hand out a bribe – to give an amount of money or something valuable that someone gives you to persuade you to help them or to do something dishonest for them
US citizens are forbidden by law to offer bribes to officials of foreign government.
to exploit workers – to treat them unfairly in order to make money or to get an advantage for yourself
International oil companies have been seen as symbols of imperialist exploitation.
price fixing – when companies in an industry agree on the prices they will charge for something. This form of price-fixing is done so that companies avoid competing with each other, and is normally illegal
The EU investigated international telephone agreements to see if there was price fixing in violation of EU competition rules.
market rigging – when some of the companies in a market act together to stop a market working as it should in order to gain an unfair advantage
Market rigging devices rarely hold up for ever.
Chinese Walls – measures that you can take to stop knowledge in one department of your company being illegally used by another department, to buy or sell shares for example
The securities commission fined the financial group for failing to maintain Chinese Walls between its corporate finance and broking arms.
underhand – done or doing things in a secret and dishonest way
What you did was mean and underhand.