IB Business Paper 1 2026 Vocab

aggregates (construction materials)

A broad category of granular building materials, such as sand, gravel, crushed stone, or concrete

business-to-business (B2B)

Sales, transactions, and services conducted between companies rather than individual consumers and companies

carbon-intensive

Activities, processes, or industries that produce a large amount of carbon dioxide emissions per unit of output/activity

cement

A powdery substance made with lime and clay. It's mixed with water to form mortar or mixed with sand, gravel, and water to make concrete

circuit boards

A thin, rigid board containing an electrical circuit

clay

A stiff, sticky, fine-grained earth, typically yellow, red, or bluish-gray in color and often forming an impermeable layer in the soil. It can be molded when wet, and is dried and baked to make bricks, pottery, and ceramics

concrete

A structural material consisting of a hard, chemically inert particulate substance, known as aggregate (usually sand and gravel), that is bonded together by cement and water

e-waste

Electronic waste. Discarded electronic appliances such as phones, computers, and televisions.

gold

A yellow precious metal, used especially in jewelry and decoration, and to guarantee the value of currencies

Jewelry makers

A person or business that designs, creates, repairs, and sells jewelry.

landfill

A place to dispose of refuse and other waste material by burying it and covering it over with soil

limestone

A hard sedimentary rock, composed mainly of CaCO3 (calcium carbonate) or dolomite, used as a building material and in the making of cement

plastic-shredding machinery

Industrial equipment designed to cut, tear, and reduce plastic waste into smaller, more manageable pieces for recycling or disposal

precious metals

Rare naturally occurring metallic chemical elements of high economic value

recycling

The action/process of converting waste into reusable materials

room temperature

Comfortable ambient temperature

solar panels

A panel designed to absorb the sun's rays as a source of energy for generating electricity or heating

toxic metals

Any metallic element that can potentially pose a risk to either the environment or human health. Often also called heavy metals, this includes substances like lead, mercury, arsenic, and cadmium, which can have harmful effects at high concentrations

Publicly held company

A company whose shares are traded on the stock exchange, allowing the public to become shareholders

Producer

An entity that creates goods or services intended for exchange

Manufacture

The process of producing goods or services

Research

The systematic process of collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data regarding customers, competitors, and the overall market environment

Recycled products

Items made from materials that have previously been used and discarded

(Product) recovery

The process of reclaiming usable materials, components, or energy from returned, damaged, expired, or otherwise unsellable products

(Production) process

The transformation of inputs, (labor, capital, raw materials) into outputs that can be sold to consumers

Factory

Building or area where goods are made, typically involving the use of machinery for manufacturing purposes

Efficiencies

The measures that assess a company's ability to generate profit and produce goods/services

Production

The process of manufacturing goods/services to meet customer needs

Environment(al impact)

The overall effect a company's activities have on the natural world

Market-orientated

A marketing strategy where the company focuses on understanding and meeting customer needs and preferences

Growth (options)

The expansion of a business through various methods, including (organic) internal growth and external growth (mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures)