The Landscape Institute and IFLA are working together to develop the first ever set of shared ethics principles for the global landscape community
At its meeting in September, delegates from IFLA’s 77 member associations agreed in principle on the first ever set of shared ethics principles for the global landscape community.
In 2018, at the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA) World Council, the Landscape Institute (LI) led calls for global ethics principles for landscape professionals. The Principles aim to promote global ethical practice, build public confidence in landscape, and safeguard the environment. They will be key in building trust between clients, the public and practitioners, and in strengthening trans-national professional relationships.
The LI, working alongside IFLA, drafted the principles for presentation at the 2019 World Council meeting in Oslo. Delegates from IFLA’s 77 member associations supported the principles, intending to adopt them globally – following consultation – at the end of 2020. The LI and IFLA ran a consultation during July and August 2020.
The consultation showed overwhelming support for the draft principles, with respondents showing between 93% and 100% approval for each one. Following suggestions made during the consultation, the draft principles received minor adjustments prior to presentation at the IFLA World Council meeting on 26 September 2020.
‘The LI are delighted to see this move forward,’ said LI Chief Executive Dan Cook. ‘We look forward to continuing our work with IFLA to finalise then publish these principles alongside a new LI Code of Practice during 2021. Having climate, biodiversity and sustainability embedded through ethics in our professional practice will underpin the future of a strong, inspiring and responsible profession.’
‘This initiative is an important milestone in our profession,’ said IFLA President James Hayter. ‘It parallels IFLA’s move to align our strategies and actions to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. We need to articulate the professional values and areas of expertise that best enable our members to address environmental and social issues across the world.
‘We look forward to finalising the principles, following further consultation, early in 2021.
‘IFLA thanks the Landscape Institute for their initiative and work on behalf of the global landscape architecture profession.’
