Ethics, Environment and Sustainability
Ethical and environmental pressures, sustainable decisions, stakeholder expectations and the trade-offs between cost, reputation and long-term performance.
How to study for GCSE Business
Learn each concept as a cause-and-effect chain, practise calculations with units, apply evidence from the case and justify decisions against the business's objectives.
Core concepts
Concept 1
An ethical decision considers what a business ought to do for affected stakeholders, even when the minimum legal requirement permits another choice.
Exam cue: Keep legal compliance separate from the broader ethical judgement.
Concept 2
Environmental impacts can arise from inputs, energy, production, transport, packaging, use and disposal across the product life cycle.
Exam cue: Locate the environmental impact in the value or supply chain and explain how a proposed response changes it.
Concept 3
Sustainable practice can raise short-term costs yet protect resources, reputation, resilience and long-term stakeholder value.
Exam cue: Weigh measurable cost against longer-term demand, risk, efficiency and reputation effects.
Risk pitfalls and guardrails
Assuming a lawful action is automatically ethical.
Guardrail: Do not stop at a generic advantage or disadvantage: use the case, check the calculation and keep board-specific paper claims separate from the common core.
Calling a claim sustainable without evidence about its full impact.
Guardrail: Do not stop at a generic advantage or disadvantage: use the case, check the calculation and keep board-specific paper claims separate from the common core.
Treating ethical sourcing as cost-free or guaranteed to increase sales.
Guardrail: Do not stop at a generic advantage or disadvantage: use the case, check the calculation and keep board-specific paper claims separate from the common core.
Memory anchors
Business ethics
Principles used to judge what a business ought to do.
Sustainability
Meeting present needs while protecting the ability to meet future needs.
External cost
A cost of business activity imposed on a third party.
Ethical trade-off
A choice between stakeholder, cost, competitive and long-term consequences.
Greenwashing
Misleading promotion that exaggerates environmental performance.
Checkpoint rule
Do the check-up only after you can summarize each concept in one sentence and identify one dangerous pitfall from memory.
Knowledge Check (after reading)
Short check-up to confirm understanding of this module.
Check-up Questions
A supplier meets minimum legal standards, but workers are paid very little for excessive hours. Why might the buyer still face an ethical issue?
A drinks company replaces plastic bottles with heavier glass ones. What should it assess before claiming the change is greener?
Answer all questions to submit.
Next step personalized recommendations
Continue learning
Move forward only after this module is stable.
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