Initial Publication Date: May 29, 2014

Professional Societies Mission Statements and Codes of Ethics

Role of Professional Societies

Professional societies in the Geoscience/Earth Science/Environmental Science disciplines have assumed leadership in establishing ethical standards of conduct for their members. This has become particularly important related to issues of diversity, equity, and inclusiveness. Significant resources that are now available through numerous professional societies include:

GSA Statement on Diversity and a Challenge to the Society, Geoscience Departments, and the Geoscience Community at Large; Cramer, B.D., Peate, D. W., and Saltzman, M.R., GSA Today, v. 31, issue 1 (January 2021) pp.34-36. https://doi.org/10.1130/GSATG472GW.1
AGU

Professional Society Codes of Conduct/Ethics

Codes of ethics of professional societies serve many functions: they may be aspirational, educational, or regulatory (with prescribed consequences). Take a look through this list of Code of Ethics of many geoscience professional societies to see the breadth of topics covered by these documents.

American Association of Geographers
History & Mission | Statement of Professional Ethics

American Association of Petroleum Geologists
Code of Ethics

American Geophysical Union
Mission and Core Principles | Report of the Task Force on Scientific Ethics : Review and Update of AGU Policies on Scientific Integrity and Professional Ethics (Draft; 2012); see also their webpage on Ethics

American Geosciences Institute
Code of Ethics

American Institute of Professional Geologists
Mission | Code of Ethics

American Library Association (ALA) and Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) The Code of Ethics in the Field of Library and Information Science

American Meteorological Society
Constitution and Bylaws (see Article XII)

American Water Resources Association
Mission and Objectives

Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography
Guiding Principles | Code of Ethics

Council for Undergraduate Research

Code of Ethics --adopted July 2017; emphasis on responsibilities of students and mentors in research programs.

Ecological Society of America
Mission | Code of Ethics

European Federation of Geologists
Mission | Code of Ethics and an update to address Sexual Harassment

European Geosciences Union
Best Practices | By-laws

Geological Society of America
Code of Conduct | Ethical Guidelines for Publication

Geological Society of London
Code of Publishing Ethics | Codes of Conduct

Mineralogical Society of America
Journal's Mission | Ethics follow http://www.geosociety.org/pubs/ethics.htm 'GSA's Ethical Guidelines for Publication'

National Association of State Boards of Geology (USA)
Mission | Code of Ethics

National Society of Professional Engineers
Mission and Vision | Code of Ethics

Society for Conservation Biology
Mission and Values | Code of Ethics

American Sociological Association

ASA Code of Ethics--includes resources on Teaching Ethics Across the Curriculum

Engineering Codes of Ethics

ABET Code of Ethics of Engineers

ABET Rules of Procudure (2015)--"ABET requires that each volunteer and staff member engaged in fulfilling the mission of ABET exhibit the highest standards of professionalism, honesty, and integrity. The services provided by ABET require impartiality, fairness, and equity. All persons involved with ABET activities must perform their duties under the highest standards of ethical behavior. It is the purpose of this code to detail the ethical standards under which we agree to operate."

American Society of Mechanical Engineers Code of Ethics

National Society of Professional Engineers