Governance
Member participation code
The shared standards that keep the Society a genuine cross-disciplinary forum, where practitioners from very different backgrounds can exchange ideas honestly and respectfully.
The code applies to members' participation in the Society's activities — meetings, online forums, events, publications and committee work. It does not regulate members' professional work outside the Society, though it reflects the standards the profession aspires to. When you join the Society, you agree to abide by it.
It is called a participation code because that is what it currently is. If professional certification is later introduced, a wider professional code may be required.
Professional integrity
- Be honest and accurate in contributions to the Society's forums, events and publications, including about data, methods, assumptions and the limits of what accounts can show.
- Represent your qualifications, experience and affiliations truthfully, and do not claim the Society's endorsement of your views, services or products.
- Acknowledge the work of others and respect intellectual property.
- Support good practice in natural capital accounting, anchored in the UN System of Environmental-Economic Accounting and other relevant standards, while engaging openly with methodological debate.
Respect for others
- Treat other members and participants with courtesy and respect. Harassment, bullying and discrimination have no place in the Society's activities, online or in person.
- Debate ideas vigorously and people kindly: criticise methods and evidence, not individuals. The Society exists to exchange ideas and experience across disciplines — accountants, ecologists, economists, statisticians and policy-makers — and that only works if every discipline is heard with respect.
- Welcome newcomers and early-career members; share knowledge generously.
Acting in the Society's interests
- Participate as an individual, not as a representative of your employer or clients, unless expressly stated otherwise.
- Declare conflicts of interest where they arise in Society roles — committee decisions, reviewing papers, organising events or commissioning work — and step back where appropriate.
- Do not present personal views as positions of the Society unless authorised.
- Respect information shared in confidence in Society roles.
Upholding the code
- Concerns about conduct may be raised with the Secretary or President and will be handled by the committee fairly, confidentially and in accordance with the association's rules.
- Serious or repeated breaches may lead to action under the rules, including suspension or termination of membership.
Raising a concern
If something in the Society's activities has fallen short of this code, tell us. Concerns are treated confidentially.
Adopted: at the first general meeting (date to be set). To be reviewed by the committee within two years of adoption.