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Statement to the Earth Council
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James Poirot. Statement to Session on Rio+5
I am speaking on behalf of the 87 nation World Federation of Engineering
Organizations. Of the ten million engineers in the world, eight million are
members of the World Federation of Engineering Organizations and have a vital
and powerful role in the successful implementation of sustainable development.
As engineers accomplish their work in the built environment and in the
manufacture of products, they provide an important linkage for implementing
sustainable development and I commit to working within the 87 nation WFEO to
encourage all engineers within the WFEO associations to:
- Become knowledgeable of sustainable development principles and be
continuously trained about the current sustainable development technologies
applicable to their work;
- Incorporate long term environmental impacts and costs into the analysis of
alternative solutions being considered. There is often a misconception that
engineers only calculate technical elements of projects, when today
engineers manage the entire implementation team and supervise the process.
Successful projects are those where numerous alternatives are analyzed, then
with input from impacted stakeholders, the best alternative is selected. In
the past engineers have provided reports where alternatives were presented
with only initial capital and operating costs along with an explanation of
the functional differences between alternatives. As engineers manage their
projects, they can play a powerful role in the implementation of sustainable
development by incorporating long term environmental impacts and costs into
the analysis of alternatives.
- Re-address engineering responsibilities by incorporating sustainable
development principles into the codes of ethics of the engineering
organizations throughout the world; After twenty years of debate, the
120,000 member American Society of Civil Engineers revised its Canons of
Ethics and now requires its members to address sustainable development
principles in their work. Sustainable development is now on an equal basis
to public safety in the ASCE Canons of Ethics and other engineering
associations around the world should consider similar revisions to their
codes of ethics.
- Continuously participate in explaining to the public the principles of
sustainable development as they relate to the works of engineers. If all
engineers will act on these four issues, a sustainable future will be more
rapidly achieved in the built environment and I will do my best to encourage
this end."
James Poirot. Chairman WFEO Committee on Sharing, Transfer and Assessment
of Technology. Statement to Earth Council. March 17th, 1997.
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