NEED: The Engineering Sector has historically been driven by profit and financial incentives. As per UN SDG #16, there is a need to increase the weight given by the engineering companies to non-profit elements such as People, Planet and Purpose. The Engineering Sector has well-defined guidelines for the Individual Code of Conduct, and for the Collated Engineering Sector (e.g., Global Reporting Initiative). Engineering Practises lack a common ground to compare Engineering Ethics indicators across the wide cross-disciplinary domain and are not universally adapted. Therefore, the Engineering Sector needs to improve the visibility, adaptability and implementation of Engineering Ethics.
APPROACH:
Our approach towards global visibility, applicability and adoption of “Engineering Ethics” is by:
Collaborating with organisations such as Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) to create a summary of Non-financial Auditing techniques,
Identifying weighting factors for diverse non-financial criteria to calculate a single measurable index i.e., Engineering Ethics Index or EEI,
Creating a database of participating Engineering organisations to network and communicate to learn about the best practises deployed by their peers, compare their index in order to self-evaluate their commitments, and build a support network.
DELIVERABLE:
Our approach will be delivered via an open source online platform/dashboard that will contain:
An easily accessible and understandable summary of auditing methodology for non-financial parameters such as climate action, diversity and inclusion etc.,
An EEI calculator based on raw measurable number inputs from the users,
Graphics to view changes in EEI Ratings across years, highlighting potential areas of improvements and providing expert advice in lacking areas,
The space for companies to collaborate and grow their network. This will include sharing goals, ideas, progress and future pathways towards EEI with others.
SUCCESS INDICATORS:
The above initiative/idea will be deemed successful if we are able to:
Make a meaningful long-term collaboration with at least 3-5 organisations that calculate non-financial external auditing parameters e.g. GRI, with a future potential to expand as our network base grows. This collaboration with diverse organisations will help develop the weighting pattern and prioritise assessment parameters.
Ensure EEI assimilates at least 5 concept parameters that contribute to the quadruple bottom line by initially evaluating (i) company profile, (ii) ethnic diversity, (iii) gender diversity, (iv) carbon emissions, and (v) financial contribution to Corporate Social Responsibility. Upon successful metric development, we would expand to include additional relevant parameters.
Initially, create a Dashboard to include a colour scale for EEI metrics and graphs comparing yearly performance. The platform/Dashboard will grow to provide connections between the company and expert advice.
If one company can connect with 5 peer companies within 2 years and discuss their EEI, that will be considered an initial success. The platform will be upgraded to improve user interface and communication among each other upon successful completion.
BENEFIT:
Our solution to Reshaping Engineering Practises is by creating an open access tool that:
Allows companies to easily estimate their current status on Engineering Ethics,
Builds a Community of like-minded companies to discuss and share ideas about creating a positive Engineering Environment around Reshaping Ethics Practises,
Compare, Connect and Contrast (3Cs) their practises with peer companies on their EEI performance,
Will be applicable to all and any type of engineering firm: small, medium and large, and across a variety of industries and supply chains.
Team members: Naushita Sharma, Peter Hill, Andreas Koumouris
This is our video link:
https://youtu.be/XpKotyjS-oM