The Centre for Environment, Society and Resilience is celebrating it’s latest postdoctoral research success! Omar Abdelwahab has received confirmation from the Doctoral Academy that his thesis corrections have been accepted for “From Code to Conduct: An exploratory study of ethics in environmental consultancy.”
The PhD research examines ethics in the environmental consultancy sector and whether existing codes of conduct are effective in practice. The study explored how ethical rules are created, how consultants make decisions, the influence of profit, and the role of professional bodies.
CESR’s co-director Jo Barnes supervised Omar during his PhD and is delighted by his thesis acceptance:
“As the [thesis] name suggests, its a fascinating exploration of the nature of ethics in environmental consultancy policy and practice.”
The research relied on literature reviews, document analysis, surveys, and interviews. Out of 190 academic sources reviewed, only four directly focused on ethics in environmental consultancy, showing there is very little research in this area.
Codes of practice from seven professional bodies and codes of conduct from 34 consultancies were analysed. Most were found to be vague, difficult to apply in practice, and lacking enforcement. Interviews with consultants and industry representatives showed that ethical decisions are often guided more by personal judgement, workplace culture, and professional reputation than by formal ethical codes.
The research concludes that ethics in environmental consultancy is shaped more by individual behaviour and organisational culture than by written rules. It calls for clearer, more practical, and better coordinated ethical guidance across the sector.