engineering council sustainability guide (5)

7/30/2019 Engineering Council Sustainability Guide (5)

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This guidance describes the role of professional engineersin sustainability. It lists six principles to guide and motivate

engineers when making decisions for clients, employersand society which affect sustainability.

This guidance is issued by the Engineering Council. It replaces and updates thecode o practice Engineers and the Environment published in 1993. It will be

reviewed periodically and comments are welcome. Pro essional EngineeringInstitutions may wish to use this to assist them in developing guidance ortheir members.

Contribute to building a sustainable society,present and uture

Apply pro essional and responsible judgementand take a leadership role

Do more than just comply with legislationand codes

Use resources e fciently and e ectively

Seek multiple views to solve sustainabilitychallenges

Manage risk to minimise adverse impact topeople or the environment


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th r f pr f r

Pro essional engineers have a signi cant role to play in sustainability. They work

to enhance the wel are, health and sa ety o all, with the minimal use o naturalresources and paying due regard to the environment and the sustainability o resources. Their work is infuenced by the opportunities and challenges thatsustainability brings. Engineers are the providers o options and solutions tomaximise social value and minimise environmental impact.

There are pressing challenges due to the adverse e ects o depletion o resources, environmental pollution, rapid population growth and damage toecosystems. A purely environmental approach is insu cient, and increasinglyengineers are required to take a wider perspective including goals such aspoverty alleviation, social justice and local and global connections. Globalisationbrings important opportunities or engineers to promote change throughsharing experience and good practice. The leadership and infuencing role o engineers in achieving sustainability should not be under-estimated. Increasinglythis will be as part o multi-disciplinary teams that include non-engineers, andthrough work that crosses national boundaries.

s v pmThe goal o sustainable development is to enable all people throughout theworld to satis y their basic needs and enjoy a better quality o li e, withoutcompromising quality o li e or uture generations. Sustainable developmentstands on two concepts: needs , or example the essential needs o the worldspoor; and limitations imposed by the state o technology and social organisationon the environments ability to meet present and uture needs.

The ollowing principles have been agreed in the UK to achieve sustainabledevelopment 1: living within environmental goals ensuring a strong, healthy and just society promoting good governance achieving a sustainable economy using sound science responsibly

1The UK Government Sustainable Development Strategy: Securing the uture delivering the UK sustainabledevelopment strategy. March 2005. Go to tinyurl.com/sustainuk


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Background and urther in ormation

Sustainability is re erred to both explicitly and implicitly in severalEngineering Council documents, including the UK Standard

or Pro essional Engineering Competence (UK-SPEC), TheAccreditation o Higher Education Programmes and Guidelines

or Institution Codes o Conduct, which can be ound in UK-SPEC.Many Pro essional Engineering Institutions produce materialsrelated to sustainability, some o which were re erred to in thepreparation o this guidance. For urther in ormation visit:www.engc.org.uk/sustainability


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d e s i g n e

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246 High HolbornLondon WC1V 7EX

T +44 (0)20 3206 0500F +44 (0)20 3206 0501in [email protected]

P f x r fr m hm r r , j

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R r ch r : 286142P h M 2009.

R pr F r r 2010.

engineering council sustainability guide (5)

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