Reaching the tipping point for globally responsible engineering

Doctors have a moral duty to their patients, first and foremost. Lawyers have a moral duty to justice, first and foremost. But what about engineers?

For a sector that employs 5.7 million people in the UK alone, we continue to have a surprising lack of clarity around our commitments to people and planet. We have the Professional Engineering Institutions individual codes of conduct and the Statement of Ethical Principles, but to enable a better world a professional commitment should be about putting principles into action, every single day.

As we look ahead to the 2030 deadline for the UN Sustainable Development Goals, it is time for the engineering community to proactively consider how we can address the destruction of global ecosystems and the current failure to meet the basic human rights of everyone.

The engineering community is uniquely placed to address these challenges – and can do so if we take a different approach and act urgently.

There needs to be a rapid move towards globally responsible practice. This means critically reflecting on the role of engineering in society and understanding the social, environmental and economic impacts engineering has, both locally to where it is implemented and globally through supply chains and operational outputs.

We need to move from an approach of engineering for people and planet to an approach of engineering with people and planet; a globally responsible approach.

This is an ambitious strategy but the scale of the challenge demands it. By bringing together thousands of people and organisations, we will develop unstoppable momentum towards achieving social and environmental justice through engineering. Whether you are an engineer, academic, university student, or involved with engineering in any way, we want and need you to be a part of this movement for change.