Code of conduct.

Who this applies to

This code applies to everyone who takes part in SFPE UK Chapter activities — members, committee members, speakers, sponsors, volunteers and attendees — at our CPD events, conferences, webinars, socials and site visits, and in chapter channels online, including LinkedIn and event chats.

The SFPE Code of Ethics

As an Affiliate Chapter of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers, we follow the SFPE Code of Ethics, which every SFPE member agrees to abide by. It recognises that fire protection engineering has a direct and vital impact on people's quality of life, and rests on three fundamental principles:

• using knowledge and skill to enhance human welfare and the environment;
• being honest and impartial, and serving the public, employers and clients with fidelity;
• striving to increase the competence and prestige of the profession.

Its canons put the safety, health and welfare of the public first; ask engineers to work only within their competence and to be honest about their qualifications, data and conclusions; require conflicts of interest to be disclosed and confidential information to be respected; prohibit bias on the grounds of race, religion, sex, age, national origin, sexual orientation or disability; and expect engineers to treat colleagues' reputations and work fairly and to keep developing professionally. The full code is published on the SFPE website.

At our events and online

We want every chapter activity to be welcoming, professional and open to debate. We ask everyone to:

• treat others with courtesy and respect, whatever their background, experience or point of view;
• challenge ideas, not people — technical disagreement is welcome, personal attacks are not;
• give every speaker and participant a fair hearing, including in Q&A sessions;
• respect requests not to be photographed or recorded, and any restrictions on sharing session content;
• keep technical sessions free of sales pitches — sponsors are welcome to engage at the designated times and spaces;
• record CPD attendance honestly;
• follow venue rules and the reasonable instructions of organisers, including on safety and evacuation.

Harassment, discrimination, intimidation or offensive behaviour of any kind will not be tolerated, in person or online.

Raising a concern

If you experience or witness behaviour that breaches this code, please speak to a committee member at the event or email ukchapter@sfpe.uk. Concerns are handled promptly and in confidence. Concerns about a breach of the SFPE Code of Ethics by an SFPE member can also be raised through the Society's formal ethics complaint procedure, described on the SFPE website.

If the code is broken

Organisers may take any action they consider appropriate, including a warning, asking someone to leave an event without refund, removing content from chapter channels, or declining future participation. Serious matters involving SFPE members may be referred to the Society.