Engineering Council and Royal Academy of Engineering update ethical guidance to meet a new era of engineering challenges

The Engineering Council and the Royal Academy of Engineering have chosen Chartered Week [23–27 February] to publish an update of their joint Statement on Ethical Principles for the engineering profession, first published over 20 years ago.

Ethical commitments are at the heart of the role of a registered engineer or technician – and everyone who works in engineering. The refreshed Statement reflects the changing technology environment and the new challenges faced by engineering professionals today.

The Statement considers developments in professional practice, in the wider technology environment, and in society’s expectations more broadly. An important new fifth ethical principle has been added, focusing on engineering professionals’ responsibility for the future of technology, society, and the environment – particularly in an era of fast-moving technological change. Rapidly developing technologies such as AI have potentially transformative impacts, and ethical issues arise in their development and adoption. This new principle highlights the duty of engineers and technicians to develop these technologies responsibly, with awareness of the lasting system consequences for humankind, including intergenerational impacts.

The Statement’s five fundamental principles for ethical behaviour and decision-making are designed to apply to all engineering professionals and form the core of the specific codes of conduct set out by the individual professional engineering institutions.

The five ethical principles outlined are:
1. Honesty and integrity, avoiding knowingly misleading others and taking steps to prevent corrupt practices, including plagiarism, misinformation and false representation.
2. Responsibility to society, including reporting malpractice and irresponsible or unsafe practice, whether within the workplace or outside.
3. Accuracy and rigour, actively maintaining and enhancing knowledge, skills and competence and supporting others to do the same.
4. Leadership and communication, fostering a culture where concerns can be raised without fear of reprisal, and acting on well-founded concerns.
5. Responsibility for the future of technology, society, and the environment, anticipating wider and emergent consequences, and potential for misuse of technologies, and applying precaution proportionately where potential harms are serious or irreversible.

To mark the updated guidance, a series of blog posts have been commissioned from sector experts to illustrate how the new principles apply in areas of engineering from fire safety to wastewater management, and therefore the role engineering ethics and culture play in critical outcomes such as building safety and protecting public health.

The Engineering Council also produces Guidance on Security, Sustainability, Risk and Whistleblowing. The complete Statement of Ethical Principles and related guidance are available on the Engineering Council Website.

The Academy and the Engineering Council have also launched a new phase of work on engineering ethics to build on the principles, led by a new cross-disciplinary working group chaired by Professor John McDermid OBE FREng, Lloyd's Register Foundation Chair of Safety at the University of York.

Paul Bailey, CEO of the Engineering Council said: “The Engineering Council is responsible for setting and raising standards of competence and conduct for the engineering profession. This updated Statement of Ethical Principles supports those working in the profession to meet our standards, ensuring that ethical practice keeps pace with technological change. The introduction of a new fifth principle acknowledges this evolution by highlighting technicians and engineers’ responsibility towards the future of technology and the long-term impacts of engineering on society and the environment. As such, the Statement remains an essential source of guidance that helps engineering to be seen and recognised by the public as a trusted and ethical profession.”

Dame Tamara Finkelstein DCB, Chief Executive of the Royal Academy of Engineering, said: “The Royal Academy of Engineering is committed to supporting engineering in the service of society and ensuring that technology improves lives. Ethics and a commitment to public benefit must be at the heart of what we do. Growing an engineering community fit for the future means providing engineers with the vision, principles and guidance to bring ethics into the heart of the profession and inspiring a new generation of engineers to work in ways that have meaningful, positive impact and that reinforces the trust society places in us.”