1.
PPLE UNIT-I CONTENT
1 DEFINITION OF ETHICS 8 ENVIRONMENTAL BREACHES
2 PROFESSIONAL ETHICS 9 DEFICIENCIES IN STATE-OR-ART
3 PERSONAL ETHICS 10 VIGIL MECHANISM
4 ENGINEERING ETHICS 11 WHISTLE BLOWING
5 CODE OF ETHICS
--PROFESSION,
--PROFESSIONALISM AND
--PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY
12 PROTECTED DISCLOSURES
6 CONFLICT OF INTEREST 13 INTRODUCTION TO GST
7 GIFT VS BRIBERY 14 VARIOUS ROLES OF VARIOUS
STAKE HOLDERS

2.
ENVIRONMENTAL BREACHES
Engineers and the Environment
1. Three engineering codes on engineering and environment.
2. Reserved attitude of engineering codes towards environmental
issues.
3. Lack of consensus on how to implement protection of the
environment.
4. Environmental laws.
5. How to define ‘clean’. How to set the criteria?
6. Trade-off between development and environmental protection.
The Degree-of-Harm Criterion.
7. Philosophy of Environmental Ethics.
8. Professional obligations of engineers.
9. Minimalist Standpoint and Organizational Disobedience related to
environmental issues.

3.
Engineering and Environmental Issues
• Engineers in the Aberdeen Three Case were
charged of environmental pollution.
• Engineers have obligations with respect to
environmental issues (apart from being
responsible ordinary citizens):
• Projects, products, or processes designed by
engineers can release toxic wastes.
• Some engineering developments flood farmlands,
drain wetlands, and destroy forests.
• On the other hand engineers work on
improvements to reduce/eliminate negative
impact to environment.

4.
The IEEE Code (1990)
“to accept responsibility in making engineering decisions consistent
with the safety, health and welfare of the public, and to disclose
promptly factors that might endanger the public or the environment”
(Canon 1 as revised in 1990).
IEEE Code (Institute of Electrical and Eletronics Engineers) commits
its members to disclose possible threats to the public and the
environment. To whom they should disclose?
To one’s immediate superior? (what if the superior does not react
positively?)
Should an engineer report such threats outside his/her organization?
(if there is no internal remedy.)
Does the engineer have a right to refuse participating in projects due
to environmental concerns?
IEEE Code does not address these questions.

5.
The ASCE Code (1977 through 1996)
“Engineers should be committed to improving the environment to
enhance the quality of life” (section 1.f) This was the first reference
to environment in general (1977).
“Engineers shall hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of
public and shall strive to comply with the principles of sustainable
development in the performance of their professional duties” (Canon
1, as in 1996).
Further statements under Canon 1 make specific references to
environmental issues (see p.216/208).
The ASCE Code(American Society of Civil Enngineers) makes
recommendations as well as stating requirements for engineers in
relation to the environment.
“engineers shall” -> requirements
“engineers should” -> recommendations

6.
The ASME Code (1998)
“Engineers shall consider environmental impact
in the performance of their professional
duties” (Canon 8 as revised in 1998).
ASME Code does not require engineers to
modify their designs or change their
professional work due to environmental
factors.
It does not say that environmental
considerations should override others.
(ASME- American Society of Mechanincal
Engineers)

7.
Sustainable Development
“The Role of the Engineer in Sustainable Development”
(released by ASCE)
“Sustainable development is a process of change in which
1. the direction of investment,
2. the orientation of technology,
3. the allocation of resources, and
4. the development and functioning of institutions
To meet present needs and aspirations without
endangering the capacity of natural systems to absorb
the effects of human activities, and without
compromising the ability of future generations to
meet their own needs and aspirations.”

8.
• Development:
economic and technical activity to meet
present requirements of people.
• Sustainable Activity:
this activity must not jeopardize the
environment neither for today, nor for the
future generations.
• Sustainable Development:
involves political, social and moral
dimensions going beyond environment-
friendly technology.

9.
Scope of Obligations to the
Environment
• Why should professional engineering obligations to the environment extend
beyond factors endangering humans?
• Engineers should have some obligations because they are capable of
environmental degradation as well as improvement.
• Engineers are essential participants in projects which can potentially affect
the environment. Their environment-conscious attitudes will have
substantial positive impact.
• As far as non-health related issues are concerned engineers can make their
judgments based on their personal moral beliefs rather than professional
ethics:
• Many such situations fall beyond the expertise of engineers.
• Extending professional responsibility for the environment into areas not
clearly related to public health or safety might cause considerable problems
for engineering societies.
• Requiring engineers to protect the environment where human health is not
an issue can produce problems of the conscience for some engineers.

10.
Minimalist Standpoint and
Organizational Disobedience
• To formulate the professional engineering obligations in
relation to non-health related issues two perspectives can
be adopted:
• The Minimalist Stand: Engineers should be required to hold
paramount human health, they should not be required as
professionals to inject non-health related environmental
concerns into their engineering work.
• Disobedience: Engineers should have the right to
organizational disobedience with regard to environmental
issues, as this is required by their own personal beliefs or
their own interpretations of what professional obligation
requires.
• It should be noted that the two perspectives do not
necessarily contradict each other.