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The Ethics of Professional Environmental Practice: an Exploratory Study of the Ethical Principles of Practitioners

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The Ethics of Professional Environmental Practice: an Exploratory Study of the Ethical Principles of Practitioners The Ethics of Professional Environmental Practice: an Exploratory Study of the Ethical Principles of Practitioners Author Chenoweth, Alan R Published 2020-12-17 Thesis Type Thesis (PhD Doctorate) School School of Human Serv & Soc Wrk DOI https://doi.org/10.25904/1912/4043 Copyright Statement The author owns the copyright in this thesis, unless stated otherwise. Downloaded from http://hdl.handle.net/10072/400564 Griffith Research Online https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au The Ethics of Professional Environmental Practice: an Exploratory Study of the Ethical Principles of Practitioners Alan Chenoweth Bachelor of Agricultural Science Graduate Diploma of Landscape Architecture Master of Urban and Regional Planning School of Human Services and Social Work Griffith Health Group Griffith University, Queensland This thesis is submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy August 2020 ii Acknowledgments I acknowledge and thank my supervisors, Professor Donna McAuliffe and Professor Emeritus Darryl Low Choy, who guided and advised me with wisdom, academic skill and strategic prodding, even when they may have been unsure of where it was all heading, or whether I would even get there in the end. Their perspectives, from different disciplines of social work ethics and environmental planning, helped me find a path into and through some previously-unexplored territory where ethics and environmental practice overlap. My gratitude and appreciation is especially extended to those professional environmental practitioners who participated willingly in this research. Each interview was a collaborative conversation about ethical concepts and meaning, allowing me to see different aspects of environmental practice through your eyes, and I particularly appreciate the forthrightness and thoughtful contributions of all participants. To all who participated, I say a sincere ‘thank you’ for helping, and I hope this research is of benefit to all ethical environmental professionals committed to making a difference. Finally, I gratefully acknowledge the loving support of Lesley, my wife and life partner, with whom I have the privilege of sharing so many passions, moral commitments and intellectual pursuits. You have been an inspiration for me, our children and grandchildren, as well as a generation of students and graduate researchers in your academic discipline. I have been fortunate to share my life, and the past nine years of my PhD enrolment, with someone who understands the process and pain of qualitative research, and has had the patience to be supportive for so long. iii Dedication To my parents, Ruth and Ian Chenoweth, doctors in a tropical Queensland town for almost 40 years, whose dedication to the science of medicine and standards of patient care, combined with commitment to public good in their regional community, showed me an ideal of professional ethics. iv Abstract Although the practice ethics of many professions have been investigated in various empirical studies, those of the emerging environmental profession have received little research attention, notwithstanding community need for trust in ethical environmental experts, and the adversarial nature of practice. In Australasia, young professionals in environmental disciplines express concern and confusion regarding professional and environmental ethics, despite the currency of a code of ethics developed by the Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand (EIANZ). As a senior environmental professional involved in certifying practitioners, I wished to contribute to the profession by researching the ‘field-tested’ ethical principles of fellow practitioners with 20 to 40 years of experience. Fourteen (14) seasoned environmental practitioners participated in semi- structured interviews to explore how they construct meaning for their practices with respect to ethical principles, using techniques appropriate for ‘insider’ research. Literature review confirmed that the appropriate theoretical basis for such an investigation is qualitative, and in particular a phenomenological / interpretivist approach (within a constructionist paradigm) and a role identity perspective. Interpretivist phenomenological analysis indicated that the ethical principles and environmental values of seasoned practitioners are personal and largely based on childhood and early influences, adapted to meet the situations and context of their discipline, profession, type of practice and public or private sector. Coding and iterative analysis of interview transcripts by themes and sub-themes revealed patterns and general agreement on many principles, as well as outlier approaches and omissions. Ethical principles comprise one of four broad groups of interacting influences on professional environmental practice, according to a model proposed in this thesis, the others being professional identity, capabilities and contribution. Thematic analysis revealed three broad integrity principles (professional, technical and process integrity) generally consistent with the principles of a science-based profession, with emphasis on truth, competence, rigour and impartiality. These, together with the virtue ethic of resolve (the courage to hold firm to principles under pressure) are expressed by practitioners in three ways - as important principles for their own practices, as advice they would give to juniors, and also (conversely) as criteria for judging unethical practice. Based on case studies discussed in interviews, an ethical acceptability spectrum model is proposed whereby the persuasive capacity of v practitioners to achieve better environmental outcomes is critical in addressing compromises and reducing ethical dilemmas. This study also revealed five ‘professional identity perspectives’ which correlate with individual practitioner roles, ethical priorities and decision-making. The practitioners interviewed for this research generally adopted perspectives of an objective scientist, problem-solver, balance-seeker, environmental advocate or practice manager, or adopted dual or changeable perspectives depending on the situation. Although this research has been a preliminary study, this typology suggests avenues for further research into different expressions of ethical principles among environmental practitioners, and different ways of addressing the tension between professional and environmental ethics Ethical principles are recommended for environmental practice which combine professional codes with the practice wisdom of seasoned practitioners. Four primary ethical obligations emerge: responsibilities to clients, to truth, to environmental harm reduction and to one’s own moral principles. This thesis also suggests, as an aspirational adaptation of Kant’s categorical principle, a ‘categorical sustainability imperative’ viz. act only according to that maxim that your actions, if adopted universally, would sustain human society and all forms of life indefinitely. Among the implications of this research is that ethics education is inadequately addressed in environmental degree courses to date, and that professional institutes could also play a larger role in providing guidelines, moral leadership and continuing professional development, including ethical decision-making and scenario training. Another implications of this investigation, both for institutes and for environmental education, is that a ‘one size fits all’ approach to professional ethics may be inappropriate, as practitioners need a framework of principles within which they can develop ethical guidelines appropriate for their professional identity perspectives, as well as their role, situation and context. vi Student Declaration and Statement of Originality This PhD thesis titled ‘The Ethics of Professional Environmental Practice’ is no more than 10,000 words in length, exclusive of tables, figures, appendices and references. This work has not previously been submitted for a degree or diploma in any university. To the best of my knowledge and belief, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the thesis itself. Signature ……… Date ………30 August 2020 ……… Alan Chenoweth vii CONTENTS Table of Contents Abstract .................................................................................................................... iv Student Declaration and Statement of Originality ............................................................ vi CONTENTS ............................................................................................................... vii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................... 1 1.1 Purpose ....................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Background and Context .............................................................................................. 4 1.3 Personal Reflections (‘Positioning’ the Researcher) ...................................................... 6 1.4 Research Aims ............................................................................................................. 9 1.5 Thesis Structure and Outline ...................................................................................... 10 1.6 Introduction Summary ............................................................................................... 13 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ...........................................................................
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