Approved by the Engineering Practice Policy Committee on May 21, 2021
Approved by the Public Policy and Practice Committee on June 3, 2021
Adopted by the Board of Direction on July 16, 2021

Policy

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) advocates that civil engineers must: 

  • Practice with high ethical standards and conduct themselves with integrity as well as professionalism.
  • Continually guard against conflicts of interest, either real or perceived.
  • Adhere to codes of ethics, including ASCE’s Code of Ethics, to a level above reproach and beyond the influence of competing interests.
  • Commit to the ASCE’s Code of Ethics order of priority of the five stakeholder ethical responsibilities while holding paramount the protection of the health, safety, and welfare of the public. 
  • Adhere to the code of conduct in the licensing jurisdiction in which the engineer is practicing. 
  • ASCE supports laws, regulations, employment conditions, and collective bargaining agreements which enhance the ethical practice of civil engineering and applies disciplinary action as appropriate. 

Issue

Civil engineers have a duty to hold paramount and protect the public health, safety, and welfare as well as to practice with commitment to ASCE’s Code of Ethics five stakeholder ethical responsibilities to maintain the public trust. Licensed civil engineers are also subject to the standards of conduct imposed by licensing jurisdictions.

Rationale

Civil engineers perform services that directly impact public health, safety, and welfare and the environment. They also interact with the general public directly and on a routine basis. To be effective, civil engineers must constantly strive to gain and maintain the public trust through ethical practice. All employment conditions for engineers must support their duty to practice ethically, and this duty may supersede any actual or perceived obligations engineers have to the owners of their projects, their employers, or any organizations to which they belong.

This policy has worldwide application
ASCE Policy Statement 502
First Approved in 2003