A question of ethics?

With whistleblowing, permit breaches and water companies feeling the ire of the public, Peter Matthews and Alastair Chisholm reflect on CIWEM's Code of Ethics and argue they have seldom been more relevant.

As the spotlight shines ever-brighter on a raft of water pollution sources, the media dig deeper into what’s going on behind them. Both the BBC’s Panorama in December 2023 and C4’s Joe Lycett vs Sewage, and more featured anonymised whistleblower testimonies over alleged malpractice at sewage treatment works.

The Environment Agency’s whistleblowing function was promoted actively by Ministers in response. Going back a few years, record £126 million fines levied on Southern Water in 2019 came because management were “deliberately misreporting its performance”.

A profession rooted in delivery of an essential public good, in which the vast majority of employees work because they want to do something for the public good, is coming under close scrutiny and question due the misdemeanors of the few.

A question of investment

The travails of Thames water and the root causes of its malaise point to seriously questionable ethics by the investors who loaded it with unsustainable debt. But the underlying need for substantial investment, irrespective of governance and financing, and the consequence of significant rises in service charges, is proving a difficult message.

And there is collateral damage from this. A few weeks ago the GMB Union reported that a third of water workers it spoke to had been abused when out working for a water company.

As an institution with Chartered members working in this sector, there is a requirement to act in accordance with the CIWEM Code of Ethics. Complaints may be made against members which contravene it. But this does not apply to all working in the sector. It is timely to review the standards CIWEM has set for its members and to encourage all – Chartered or not – to stand beside those.

The origins of what we do now

In the late 1990s, the focus on environmental practice, policy and politics increased, and CIWEM responded by setting out a vision for a new structure to reflect this. This was encapsulated by a document ‘Time for Change’ in 1999 which set out many aspects of our professional lives now, including the creation of the Society for the Environment and the need for a Code of Ethics.

CIWEM led, via the European Water Association and the Water Associations Worldwide (a loose confederation of water professional bodies throughout the world) in establishing global principles of professional ethics in water management at the World Water Forum in the Hague in March 200l. And by April, CIWEM had adopted its wider Code, based on these principles.

Then President Ronnie Falconer told CIWEM members: “The community at large no longer automatically trusts experts as they used to. We environmental professionals are no exception - we have moved from ‘trust me’ to ‘convince me’ in our dealings with the public.

“There is a growing body of opinion that all organisations have to demonstrate responsible governance, indeed ethical governance. The issue of ethics is one not just for theological professors, it is one that is relevant to the conduct of everyday life… environmental ethics is not just the subject of academic study, it is the stuff of newspaper editorials.”

The Code of Ethics was described as: “a clear signal to the wider community of the behaviours which we must all adhere to. The Institution believes that the contribution of learned, skilled and dedicated individual professionals is crucial to the achievement of a healthy environment and thriving community. In practical terms this means good training on a lifelong learning basis, valuable mentored experience and a belief in the higher principles of community service.

“…We recognise that our behaviour must become a benchmark of excellence and serve as an example to the wider community , as part of our responsible contribution to a better environment.”

Principles

The Code of Ethics established that Chartered CIWEM members should:

• Ensure that the uses of natural resources are fair, equitable and sustainable and take account of the needs of a diverse environment.
• Never knowingly or deliberately over-exploit natural resources.
• Never knowingly or deliberately cause the environment to be damaged or nuisance to be created by the discharge of unacceptable quantities of any substance or energy in any form.

• Recognise that in contributing to the provision of environmental services they provide an important contribution to human well-being.
• Ensure that the uses of the environment do it no harm or to the native wild- life within it and wherever possible enhance it.
• Embrace the needs of the community.
• Promote the concepts of integration of the management of the wider environment.
• Use their wisdom in serving the community and constantly strive to learn more.
• Serve as an example to others for responsible environmental behaviour.
• Never engage in corrupt practice and maintain a high standard of professional behaviour which will serve as an example to others.

Ethics in the face of a climate and nature emergency

Many of these requirements might seem incongruous with some of the practices either being observed now, or which happened in the past but which are now just fully emerging (not just in the water context but that of the wider environment, too). This notion fits in well with the recommendations and, indeed implementation of aspirations for water companies to add a social dimension to their purpose advocated by Will Hutton, Anglian Water’s Peter Simpson, and others.

As pressures increase from climate change, the political imperative on economic growth and infrastructure delivery, and quest for commercial profit in an ever-more competitive world, there is increasing risk that environmental professionals might find themselves in circumstances where they are pushed towards actions and behaviours incompatible with the Code of Ethics.

Now is the time to call on all who work in the water and environment arena – however broad and whether Chartered with CIWEM or not – to align with the Code and stand beside its values. In the face of the climate and nature emergency CIWEM declared in 2019, the need for professionals to demonstrate unwavering commitment to strong ethical practice has never been greater.

Our East Anglian Branch is organising a one day seminar on this topic on 25 March 2025 in Peterborough and we encourage our front line membership to join and contribute to this event. It is hoped that the summarised output of the day will be of value to future review of the current Code. It will welcome a wide range of attendance and contributions; with further details to follow.

Peter Matthews is a Past President of CIWEM and Past Master of the Worshipful Company of Water Conservators.

Alistair Chisholm is Director of Policy at CIWEM.