IMPORTANCE OF SUSTAINABILITY

 It is the ability or capability to meet the needs of the present without sacrificing or
compromising on the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It is the
ability to exist, us and develop natural resources without depleting them for the future
generations.
 Resources are finite; should be used conservatively.
 Focuses on env protection and dynamic equilibrium in human and natural systems.
 Sustainability in business is to create long term value by taking into consideration
how an org operates in the social, ecological and economic envs.
 It is believed by the companies that sustainability improves company longevity, thus
brining overall success.
 Goals of sustainability:
- To end poverty and hunger
- Better standards for edu and healthcare, particularly in terms of water quality
and better sanitation
- Includes taking into consideration health of the land, air and sea
- Acknowledging that nature has certain rights
- While tackling the effects of climate change, pollution and other env factors
that can and do harm people’s health and livelihood
 Sustainability should be a business priority
 Businesses can be sustainable by planting trees, conserving water, using sustainable
materials, adopting clean energy, preventing pollution, making their products
sustainable, adopting sustainable business travel policies.
 Three core pillars of sustainability:
- Env protection: reduction of carbon footprint, water usage, wasteful processes
etc.
- Social development: treating employees fairly, as well as stakeholders and the
community in general. Achieved through better maternity and paternity leaves,
flexible scheduling, dev opportunities, sustainable labour, etc.
- Economic development: business must be profitable and keep going into the
future. Challenge is achieving an equilibrium.
 Why is sustainability imp?
- Employees are looking to be part of mission driven and purpose led employers
and companies that care about the planet
- Consumers are willing to pay premium for goods that are sustainable and env
responsible
- Gov, investors, employee are demanding new levels of env consciousness and
accountability including action to address climate change
- People are more aware of the plight od the developing world and are facing
our planet as they observe the natural and human caused disasters and their
effects on human population as well as the ecosystem
- Vital to develop clean energy tech to deal with higher energy demands while
saving natural resources
DECEPTION, DEBRIEFING, AND INFORMED CONSENT
Informed Consent
 Participants should be informed of the procedure in advance and must agree to the
procedure with full knowledge of what they are agreeing to.
 Researcher should outline what the research is about prior to the research process and
ask for their consent.
 Participants must be 18+ to consent, parents can provide consent for children.
 Presumptive Consent: when is it not possible to gain informed consent, researchers
can ask a group of people from the same target audience whether they would take part
in the research. If they say yes, the researchers can presume that the original sample
would agree. However there might be a mismatch.
 Participants must be given the info relating to the following:
- Statement that participation is voluntary, and refusal will not have any consequences
- Purpose of the research
- All foreseeable risks and discomforts to the participant
- Procedures involved in research
- Benefits of research to society and to individual human participant
- Length of time required for participation
- Person to contact for and to possible questions or in event of emergency or injury
- Participant’s rights to confidentiality and right to withdraw from study at any time

Deception
 Where participants are misinformed or misled about the aims of the research.
 Types:
- Deliberate misleading, like using confederates, staged manipulation in field settings,
deceptive instructions.
- Deception by omission, like failure to disclose full info about the study or creating
ambiguity.
 Avoid deception unless there is no alternative, in that case it can be judged effectively
by an independent expert.
 Deception should be as little as possible and shouldn’t not cause distress. If
participant is distressed upon the disclosure of deception the study is unacceptable.
 In order to avoid Demand Characteristics, deception is necessary (clues in an exp that
can lead participant to think they know what the researcher is looking for)
 The true nature of deception should e revealed as quickly as possible, or atleast during
debriefing
 Some say deception can never be justified and object as it violates the right to choose
to participate, is questionable on the basis on which to build a discipline and leads to
distrust of psychology in the community.
Confidentiality
 Participants and data gained from them must be kept anonymous unless they give
their full consent.
 No names to be used in lab report.
 If criminal acts are found, they are under no obligation to disclose it and have to
determine whether their duty to the participant or duty to the wider community is
more imp.
 Decision to disclose will be set in the context of the aims of the research.

Withdrawal from Investigation

 Patients can leave the study at any time.
 Allows to withdraw the data they have given.
 Right to withdrawal must be made known.
 There should be no pressure to continue.

Debriefing
 Participant to discuss the procedure and findings with the researcher after research.
 Participants to be told if they have been deceived and why.
 Debriefing should take places a soon and as fully as possible.
 Purpose of debriefing is to remove any confusion, misconception, and anxieties the
participants may have about the research, and leave them with a sense of dignity,
knowledge and a perception of time not wasted.
 Aim of debriefing is to not only provide info but also help the participant learn the
exp situation in a similar frame of mind as when they entered it.

Protection of Participants
 Participants should not be caused distress.
 Risk of harm should normally be no greater than in ordinary life.
 If vulnerable groups are to be used, they must receive special care (children, disabled,
elderly)
 Therapeutic debriefing is necessary if participants have become distressed during the
research.

CHALLENGES IN ETHICAL DECISION MAKING

Coleman suggests the following barriers to ethical problem solving process:
 Lack of knowledge of ethical standards— awareness of relevant ethical codes and
standard sis necessary to make a decision. Profs can do this through personal
commitment to professional development and maintaining professional memberships.
  Financial Incentives— ethical dilemmas present in the form of gifts and rewards
offered through the client directly or through an agency can be termed as financial
incentives. Inhibits decision making by inadequate clarification of the problem. Gotta
reaffirm their reason for starting the profession to overcome this.
 Perfectionism— employee’s fear of not making a good decision. Employees may
think there is only one right choice and must look beyond themselves.
 Fear of criticism/scrutiny— it is inevitable that decisions will not always be popular.
Decisions need to be correct to the situation and not ‘right’.
 High affirmative needs— employees have a need to be liked and decisions may not be
liked by others. This can leave them open to manipulation.
 Personal and/or professional immaturity— acting impulsively without any conviction.
Acting impulsively and implementing decisions that satisfy the employee first and
often without consideration to the client. This can be solved by the use of an ethical
problem-solving model.
 Lack of personal values clarification— employees must value professional as well as
personal growth. Failure can result in lack of maturity to undertake sound ethical
practice.
 Limitations of ethics code—
 Stein identifies a number of limitations:
- Written in broad general terms, not particular to any one specific situation
- Can conflict with other codes or regulations
- Reactive rather than proactive
- Silent or blind to certain situation or problems
 Lack of a decision-making model— decision models offer a clear structure to follow,
which is made to be more likely to be socially acceptable, clinically appropriate and
suit both the client and the professional’s interests.

ETHICS IN DIFFERENT DOMAINS

Computer Ethics
 Don’t use a comp to harm other people
 Don’t use a comp to steal
 Don’t interfere with other people’s comp work
 Don’t snoop around in other people’s computer files
 Don’t copy or use priority software for which you have not paid
 Don’t use other people’s computer resources without authorization or proper
compensation.
 Don’t appropriate other people’s intellectual output
 Think about the social consequences of the program you are waiting on or the system
you are designing
Medical Ethics
 Medical code of ethics is the doc establishing ethical rules of behaviour of physicians
and dental practitioners, defining priorities of their professional work, showing the
principles in relations with patients, other physicians, and the rest of the community.
 The greatest ethical imperative is the welfare of the patient.
 Physician should approach the patients with consideration, respecting their personal
dignity, right to intimacy and privacy.
 Physician should perform or diagnostic, therapeutic ad preventive procedures with
due exactitude and devote the necessary time.
 Physician has the duty to maintain confidentiality.
 Duty to continually update and develop professional knowledge and skills and share
with co-workers.

Legal Ethics
Legal ethics encompasses an ethical code governing the conduct of persons engaged in the
practice of law and persons more generally in the legal sector.

Code of Ethics for Lawyers

 Competency— having the required knowledge to handle the client’s case
 Maintaining good communication with the clients
 Advising and counselling the client
 Protection of client property
 Honestly with client judges, and other parties

Code of ethics for Judges

 Analyse all data provided
 Not to be partial
 To provide correct judgement
 To complete the case on time

Code of Ethics for Clients

 Provide the complete information to the lawyer
 Maintain good communication with the lawyer
 Do not harm the opposite party
 Do not deal directly with the opposite party
 Honesty with the judge, lawyer and other parties
Code of ethics for Teachers:
Teachers are duly licensed professionals who possess dignity and reputation with high moral
values as well as technical and professional competence.
The Teacher and the State:
• Possess and actualize full commitment and devotion to duty.
• Shall not engage in the promotion of any political, religious, or other interest.
The Teacher and the Community:
• Provide leadership and initiative to actively participate in community movements.
• Study and understand local customs and traditions.
The Teacher and Learners:
• Has the right and duty to determine the academic marks and promotion of learners in
the subjects they handle.
• Shall not accept, directly or indirectly, any remuneration from tutorials.
• Base evaluation of the learner's work on merit and quality of academic performance.
• Exercise utmost discretion to avoid scandal, gossip and preferential treatment of the
learner.
• Shall not inflict corporal punishment on offending learners nor make deductions from
their scholastic ratings.
The Teacher and Parents:
• Establish and maintain cordial relations with parents.
• Inform parents, through proper authorities, of the progress or deficiencies of learners
under him.
• Hear parents' complaints with sympathy and understanding.
The Teacher as a Person:
• Live with dignity in all places at all times.
• Place premium upon self-respect and self-discipline.
• Always maintain a dignified personality.
• Recognize the Almighty God or Being as guide of his own destiny and of the
destinies of men and nations.
Typical Ethical Issues that Engineers Encounter
• Safety
• Acceptable risk
• Compliance
• Confidentiality
• Environmental health
• Data integrity
• Conflict of interest
• Honesty/Dishonesty
• Societal impact
 • Fairness
• Accounting for uncertainty, etc.

The Engineering Code of Ethics

The Engineering Code of Ethics has three components –
1. The Fundamental Canons: which articulate the basic components of ethical engineering.
2. The Rules of Practice: which clarify and specify in detail the fundamental canons of ethics
in engineering.
3. Professional Obligations: which elaborate the obligations that engineers have.

Engineering ethics
• Study of human morality
• Determining values in human conduct
• Deciding the "right thing to do" - based upon a set of norms
In engineering –
• dealing with colleagues
• dealing with clients
• dealing with employees
• dealing with "users"
• dealing with public

GREEN PRACTICES
Adopting greener working practices that prioritize creating a more sustainable business which
is kinder to our environment, is becoming a leader concern for small businesses. Not only can
crafting sustainable practices help businesses save money on the likes of energy bills, but it
also ensures a business adapts a more environmentally responsible reputation.
Recycling:
• Recycling is one of the easiest and most effective ways for a small business to
become greener.
• It comes with multiple tangible benefits for small businesses, including lowering
waste costs, making savings on new purchases, increasing morale within the
workforce, improving the image of a brand, and, of course, meaning the business is
doing its bit to help conserve energy and materials, and save the environment.
• Simply placing recycling bins next to photocopiers and in other strategic places in an
office or work premises will encourage employees to place waste in an appropriate
recycling container.

Conserving energy:
• there are many ways a business can make energy savings and thereby reduce the
company’s carbon footprint.
• Switching to energy-efficient equipment might require a fairly large initial
investment but can save your small business money on energy bills in the long-
term, not to mention ensure you operate a greener business.
• One of the simplest ways to reduce energy consumption is to switch off. Whether
it’s appliances, lights, heating or the radio, switching off equipment when it’s not
in use will save on power.
• Instead of relying on artificial lighting, use natural daylight whenever possible.
• As can installing occupancy sensors in rooms that are not constantly occupied,
such as bathrooms, cloakrooms and conference halls, which automatically switch
off the lighting when the room becomes vacant.

Going paperless:
Ditching the use of paper and opting for solely digital forms of communication and
paperwork will not only save a small business money but put it on the environmentally
friendly business highway.
As well as helping to save the environment from man-made demise, going paperless at
work comes with other advantages, such as improving collaboration among members of
staff.
Some of the most effective ways to ditch paper in favour of digitalized communication is
by
- Sharing files digitally, storing files in the cloud-based systems, such as
Dropbox
- Phasing out photocopying and faxing
- Swapping paper bills and statements for digital ones
- Encouraging digital communications and generating digital business cards
- Using electronic signatures, making meetings paperless and
- Training staff to be more digitally competent.
Reducing heating and cooling costs:
• In the summer, the cooling demands in offices can be energy-draining. Using ceiling
fans and encouraging the use of desk fans will mean the workspace is less reliant on
costly air-conditioning to cool the building down.
• Utility companies often offer energy saving incentives, which are also worth
investigating. For example, some energy suppliers will lower a commercial
customer’s energy bills in return for allowing the business to cycle off air
conditioning during peak time periods. Preventing drafts by weather-proofing doors,
sealing window frames and other leaks can significantly reduce heating costs in a
building.

Greener ways to travel:

Commuting to work by vehicle and going on business trips can wreak havoc on a company’s
carbon footprint. Counter the negative effects of business travel by
- Walking or cycling to work and encouraging colleagues and employees to
travel to work by such methods.
- If cycling or walking to work isn’t possible, encourage staff to share lifts with
one another to help cut down on the emissions being produced on the
commute to work.
If your business does require a hefty amount of business travel, opt for greener ways to travel
other than planes. Trains, for example, use 50 percent less fuel per passenger than an airplane
for the same trip, making trains a much greener choice for business travellers

Virtual Staffing:
• Hiring virtual staff that work remotely and provide virtual staffing and reception tasks
opposed to in-house employees that require office space, comes with a number of
benefits to small businesses.
• As such virtual staff do not have to travel to work and can conduct business tasks
from their own locations, virtual staffing can be an effective way for small businesses
to reduce their carbon footprint and become more environmentally astute.

Donate to earth tax

Another lesser known and lesser practiced ways companies can go green is to donate a
percentage of its profits to Earth Tax.