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HONG KONG, Dec. 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- An international Coalition of professional organisations was established last week with an aim to develop and implement the first set of globally-recognised ethics standards for property and related professional services. Formed by organisations from across the globe, the International Ethics Standards Coalition (IESC) is made up of 28 leading bodies representing professionals working across the entire spectrum of land, property and construction related services, with RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) being a crucial one of them. IESC marks another major step taken by RICS to develop and implement industry-wide ethics standards for the profession.
Member organisations of the Coalition, many of which already have their own codes of conduct focusing on qualities like trustworthiness, integrity and respect, will seek to align ethics principles through the new international standard. Encompassing a wide global spread, the Coalition currently includes organisations from Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, Middle East, and Africa. The ultimate goal is that all professionals, regardless of their location and the nature of their work will follow the same ethics doctrine.
"Many professions already have their own robust ethics standards and codes. However, whilst the principles set out in these codes often overlap the extent to which they are understood consistently by members of the public, clients and consumers of professional services is poor. This can lead to confusion but it can also impact the legitimacy of professionals in an increasingly global and interconnected marketplace. Establishing a common ethics standard will enhance transparency, consistency and trust in the services being offered by professionals," Peter Bolton King, RICS Trustee to the IESC, said.
The ethics principles set out in the standard will be drafted and published for consultation by an independent group of experts, to be appointed in early 2015. The Coalition intends that the expert group will represent the diverse nature of professional practice as well as the international scope of the project. It is hoped that the new standard will be ready in early 2016, following which member bodies of the Coalition will implement it through training and guidance to their members.
The International Ethics Coalition is currently comprised of the following organisations:
About RICS
Confidence through Professional Standards
RICS promotes and enforces the highest professional qualifications and standards in the development and management of land, real estate, construction and infrastructure. Our name promises the consistent delivery of standards -- bringing confidence to the markets we serve.
We accredit 118,000 professionals and any individual or firm registered with RICS is subject to our quality assurance. Their expertise covers property, asset valuation, real estate management; the development of infrastructure; and the management of natural resources, such as mining, farms and woodland. From environmental assessments and building controls to negotiating land rights in an emerging economy; if our members are involved the same professional standards and ethics apply.
We believe that standards underpin effective markets. With up to seventy per cent of the world's wealth bound up in land and real estate, our sector is vital to economic development, helping to support stable, sustainable investment and growth around the globe.
With offices covering the major political and financial centres of the world, our market presence means we are ideally placed to influence policy and embed professional standards. We work at a cross-governmental level, delivering international standards that will support a safe and vibrant marketplace in land, real estate, construction and infrastructure, for the benefit of all.
We are proud of our reputation and work hard to protect it, so clients who work with an RICS professional can have confidence in the quality and ethics of the services they receive.
About RICS Asia
RICS Asia supports a network of over 20,000 individual professionals across the Asia region with an objective to help develop the land, property and construction markets in these countries, by introducing professional standards, best practice education and training. We promote RICS and our members as the natural advisors on all property matters. We also ensure that services and career development opportunities are provided to members.
RICS Asia region serves local member associations locating in Brunei, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, The People's Republic of China, Hong Kong SAR, Taiwan and South Korea. It also has members working across the region such as Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma/Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia, Kiribati, Laos PDR, Macao SAR, Mongolia, Nepal, North Korea, The Maldives, The Philippines, Timor East and Vietnam. For more information, please visit: www.ricsasia.org.
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