20 Business, Environment, and Law vocabulary terms
accreditation
noun
The action or process of officially recognizing someone as having a particular status or being qualified to perform a particular activity.
Example: For the 'HRM quality enhancer' hotel, which is part of a national chain of hotels, holds the IiP ACCREDITATION.
en: accréditation
astonishing
adjective
Extremely surprising or impressive; amazing.
Example: Moreover, it is even more ASTONISHING as the number of voters has declined from the high point in 1960 despite the numerous stimulating effects of increased education, reduced legal barriers and loosening of registration laws that should facilitate voting.
en: étonnant(e)
commitment
noun
An engagement or obligation that restricts the freedom of action.
Example: This project will need the COMMITMENT and support from not only those responsible to make the change work but also top-level management as well as the operations staff themselves.
en: engagement
deforestation
noun
The action of clearing a wide area of trees.
Example: The dramatic change in vegetation communities across Britain was mainly due to Man's impacts on the soils through DEFORESTATION and agriculture.
en: la déforestation
device
noun
A thing made or adapted for a particular purpose, especially a piece of mechanical or electronic equipment.
Example: The new central Heating Programmer designed takes these factors into consideration before re-designing, which will help in improving the learning about the DEVICE for the user.
en: appareil
flooding
noun
The covering or submerging of normally dry land with a large amount of water.
Example: The FLOODING of large areas of vegetation results in the emission of greenhouse gases as organic matter decomposed.
en: inondation
greenwashing
noun
Behaviour or activities that make people believe that a company is doing more to protect the environment than it really is.
Example: Ecotourism can be misused by firms to refer to elements of wildlife, when in fact they do little to apply basic ecotourism principles: this is known as GREENWASHING (Mintel, 2003; Wood, 2002).
en: écoblanchiment
heat wave
noun
A prolonged period of abnormally hot weather.
Example: The heat wave, which affected us severely this summer, is a reminder of how serious the problem of greenhouse gas emissions is.
en: vague de chaleur
inflation
noun
A general increase in prices and fall in the purchasing value of money.
Example: Britain was indeed committed to entering a free and open European market in 1992, but it could well do so with the highest INFLATION rate in Western Europe, the worst balance of payments, and the sharpest contraction in the manufacturing base.
en: inflation
monopoly
The exclusive possession or control of the supply of or trade in a commodity or service.
Example: Yet the one aspect of Pericles' life that caused most dispute amongst the ancients was his MONOPOLY of power and his methods in achieving it.
en: monopole
motto
noun
A short sentence or phrase chosen as encapsulating the beliefs or ideals of an individual, family, or institution.
Example: Consumers are one of the target groups of informational campaign launched be the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development on 10 October 2005 under the MOTTO: "Originality under protection".
en: devise
plaintiff
noun
A person who brings a case against another in a court of law.
Example: In Cooper v Wandsworth Board of Works , the PLAINTIFF recovered damages from the board in trespass for demolishing his partly-built house; it was held that the board should have given a hearing to the PLAINTIFF before exercising their statutory powers of demolition.
en: plaignant
power plant
noun
An engine or other apparatus which provides power for a machine, building, etc.
Example: This shift from a regulated to a market driven environment has fundamental consequences for many aspects of the electric POWER PLANT business.
en: centrale électrique
recycling
noun
The action or process of converting waste into reusable material.
Example: Retailers are responding with plastic bag RECYCLING and incentive schemes, and are also looking at food miles.
en: recyclage
royalties
noun
A sum paid to a patentee for the use of a patent or to an author or composer for each copy of a book sold or for each public performance of a work.
Example: Less oil changing hands may mean that governments collect less oil ROYALTIES or oil taxes and hence affect its ability to sustain public expenditure at previous levels.
en: redevance
slaughterhouse
noun
A place where animals are slaughtered for food.
Example: Is the donkey pulling a loaded cart, the sheep on its way to the SLAUGHTERHOUSE, or the dilapidated parrot on a perch, happy or being treated cruelly?
en: abattoir
supply chain
noun
The sequence of processes involved in the production and distribution of a commodity.
Example: For this small delivery company, it is a must to well understand the customer situation and needs, balance the customer satisfaction and SUPPLY CHAIN efficiency.
en: chaîne d'approvisionnement
theft
noun
The action or crime of stealing.
Example: The client has been in prison several times in the past for THEFT and violence and is at risk of becoming violent when unwell.
en: vol
undertake
verb
Commit oneself to and begin (an enterprise or responsibility); take on.
Example: It is too expensive to UNDERTAKE a detailed investigation of all records, so for cost-effectiveness investigation is concentrated on those transactions considered most likely to be fraudulent.
en: entreprendre
unprecedented
adjective
Never done or known before.
Example: Many people have stated that technologies are offering companies UNPRECEDENTED business opportunities in developing new business models and processes.
