ICE ‘raises the ethical bar’ with new Code of Professional Conduct

The ICE has overhauled its Code of Professional Conduct, introducing changes aimed at strengthening standards of ethical engineering practice.

The ethics committee’s latest review of the code has resulted in several enhancements, according to its chair, Paula McMahon, ICE trustee for professional conduct and ethics.

“I believe the code has been modernised in line with our collective expectations,” she said. “It raises the ethical bar for us all.”

Read the code

The code’s main new features

The most significant changes have been made in the following areas:

• Transparency. The layout has been redesigned for the first time since 2008. New and improved sections provide clear guidance on how to raise concerns about a member’s conduct.
• Sustainability. For the first time, all members are required to give the environment full regard in their decision-making. This puts it on a par with health and safety.
• Fairness, inclusion and respect. The code refers explicitly to bullying and harassment for the first time and it no longer limits members to considering UK-centric legislation on such matters.
• Emerging technologies. The code has expanded to cover disruptive technologies such as AI. It provides specific guidance on how members should maintain integrity and accountability when using such tools.

Members’ concerns, including those revealed by the ICE’s 2024 sexual harassment survey, informed the committee’s work.

Its review also included analysing other professional bodies’ approaches to ethics and aligning with the spirit of the Engineering Council’s recently revised guidance on ethical principles.

McMahon said: “We’ve had lots of positive feedback and overwhelming support for these updates from our active members on committees. But the real test is how this document is received, used and interpreted by the rest of the membership.”

Further ethical guidance

McMahon has written a blog post providing more information about the updated Code of Professional Conduct.

And, the ICE Knowledge Hub contains several modules relating to the mandatory CPD theme, Ethical and professional behaviours.

The ethics committee asks that all members read the revised code and take time to consider how it applies to them and their work.