Coalition urges building professionals to uphold ethical standards

A coalition of more than 100 property professional associations worldwide has urged professionals in the built environment to uphold ethical standards.

The group- International Ethics Standard (IES) Coalition in a statement announced the publication of the first set of ethics and principles for professionals working in land, property, construction, infrastructure and related professions.

IES believed that creating a universally applicable set of ethics and values would help assert the role of ethics in the built environment, thus helping to ensure greater professionalism.

At a recent conference in the United States of America (USA), Peter Bolton King, IES Chairman said: “Ethical values act as an anchor to appropriate behaviours and research tells us that investment in real estate markets by pension funds and sovereign wealth funds is predicted to double over the next decade.

Similarly, a fellow of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), and a Trustee of International Ethics Standards Coalition (IESC), Samson Agbato said: “The absence of a single, clearly understood and internationally adopted approach means that for clients of professionals and for the public at large, ethics can sometimes be seen as fragmented. Creating one over-arching set of ethical principles brings improved clarity and transparency, helping to de-risk markets.”

Similarly, the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors, (NIQS) President, Mrs. Mercy Iyortyer, said that the new standards will help to streamline the actions and products of any industry, said that with the advent of the IES standards, clients and the public can be assured of higher level of professionalism by members of this coalition which brings improved clarity and transparency, helping to de-risk the markets.