Chartered Engineer (CEng) Competence E: Professional Commitment, Ethics and Sustainability Flashcards

24 sample cards from the Competence E: Professional Commitment, Ethics and Sustainability deck

Sampled from the end of the deck, so these are different cards from the ones shown on the syllabus page.

1. What is a "near miss" and why should it be reported?

   An unplanned event that had the potential to cause harm but did not. Reporting it allows hazards to be corrected before an actual injury or loss occurs (proactive, leading-indicator learning).

2. Name a common structured root-cause analysis technique used when learning from incidents.

   The "5 Whys" (repeatedly asking why), or a fishbone/Ishikawa diagram, or a fault tree analysis.

3. What is the widely cited definition of "sustainable development" from the 1987 Brundtland Report?

   "Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

4. What are the three pillars (the "triple bottom line") of sustainable development?

   Environmental (planet), social (people) and economic (profit/prosperity) — often summarised as people, planet and profit.

5. What international framework sets out 17 global goals for sustainability adopted in 2015?

   The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

6. In engineering design, what does "whole-life" or "life-cycle" thinking require?

   Considering environmental and resource impacts across the entire life of an asset/product — raw material extraction, manufacture, construction, use/operation, maintenance, and end-of-life disposal or reuse.

7. What is an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)?

   A formal process of identifying, predicting, evaluating and mitigating the environmental effects of a proposed major project before development consent is granted, documented in an Environmental Statement.

8. In the UK, what regulations and EU-origin directive underpin Environmental Impact Assessment?

   The Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017, transposing the EU EIA Directive (2011/92/EU as amended by 2014/52/EU).

9. Name two key pieces of UK environmental legislation an engineer should be aware of.

   Any two of: Environmental Protection Act 1990; Environment Act 2021; Water Resources Act 1991; Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981; Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016.

10. What is the UK's legally binding target for greenhouse gas emissions, and under which Act?

    Net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 (a 100% reduction from 1990 levels), set under the Climate Change Act 2008 as amended in 2019.

11. Define "net zero" in the context of greenhouse gas emissions.

    A state in which the amount of greenhouse gases emitted is balanced by an equivalent amount removed from the atmosphere, giving a net of zero added emissions.

12. What is the difference between "carbon neutral" and "net zero"?

    Carbon neutral usually means $\ce{CO2}$ (or sometimes all GHG) emissions are offset, often by buying offsets; net zero specifically requires deep absolute emission reductions across all GHGs with only residual emissions balanced by genuine removals.

13. Define the "circular economy" and contrast it with the linear economy.

    A circular economy keeps materials and products in use for as long as possible (designing out waste, reusing, repairing, remanufacturing, recycling). The linear economy follows a "take–make–dispose" model.

14. State the "waste hierarchy" from most to least preferred option.

    Prevention (reduce), Preparing for re-use, Recycling, Other recovery (e.g. energy recovery), Disposal (landfill). Prevention is most preferred; disposal is least.

15. Distinguish between "embodied carbon" and "operational carbon" of an asset.

    Embodied carbon is the GHG emitted in producing materials, transport, construction and end-of-life of an asset; operational carbon is emitted during the in-use phase (e.g. heating, power, cooling).

16. What is the difference between climate change "mitigation" and "adaptation"?

    Mitigation reduces or prevents emissions of greenhouse gases (tackling the cause); adaptation adjusts systems and infrastructure to cope with the actual and expected effects of climate change (managing the consequences).

17. What is "resilient engineering" in the context of climate adaptation?

    Designing infrastructure and systems to anticipate, absorb, recover from and adapt to climate-related stresses and shocks (e.g. flooding, heatwaves, extreme weather) while maintaining function.

18. Give two examples of climate-adaptation design measures in civil/infrastructure engineering.

    Any two of: sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) for flood resilience, raising flood-defence levels/freeboard, increasing cooling/ventilation for higher temperatures, using heat-tolerant materials, designing for greater rainfall return-period events.

19. What does CPD stand for, and why is it a professional requirement for a Chartered Engineer?

    Continuing Professional Development — the systematic maintenance, improvement and broadening of knowledge and skills throughout one's career. It is required to keep competence current and is mandated by the Engineering Council and institution codes.

20. Describe the CPD cycle used to plan and record development.

    Identify development needs → Plan how to meet them → Act/undertake the activity → Reflect/evaluate the learning and its impact → Record it → (then repeat). A continuous plan-do-reflect-record loop.

21. Roughly how much CPD do most UK engineering institutions expect annually, and how is it monitored?

    Typically a recommended minimum of around 30 hours per year recorded in a CPD log; institutions monitor compliance through random sampling/audit of members' CPD records, with possible sanctions for non-engagement.

22. What is "reflective practice" and why is it central to effective CPD?

    Critically reviewing one's own experiences and actions to extract learning and improve future performance. It turns activity into genuine development by identifying what worked, what didn't and what to do differently.

23. Name a reflective model commonly used to structure reflective practice.

    Gibbs' Reflective Cycle (Description, Feelings, Evaluation, Analysis, Conclusion, Action plan), or Kolb's Experiential Learning Cycle, or the Driscoll "What? So what? Now what?" model.

24. In professional development, what is the difference between mentoring and supervision?

    Mentoring is a supportive, developmental relationship where an experienced person guides a less experienced one's growth and career; supervision involves accountability for and oversight of someone's work and outputs. Mentoring focuses on development, supervision on performance/responsibility.

What this deck covers

Competence E: Professional Commitment, Ethics and Sustainability flashcards FAQ