Having established the general concept of sustainability and the need for designers to be in the vanguard of the change in the opening chapter, Chapter 2 attempts to explore the concept of just what a “profession” is and how the ethical obligations of professions as a body of practitioners and individual practitioners are actually established. What distinguishes a “professional” from a professional, for example, a registered engineer from a master plumber, and an architect from a hair dresser. The obligation of the professions to the public welfare is one of several aspects of the professions that distinguishes them from trades and other “licensed” employments. A review of pertinent literature on the subject is included. Some emphasis is given to the concepts of “due diligence” and self-regulation enjoyed by the professions.

A good deal of this chapter is spent on the analysis and comparison of codes of ethics published by selected professions. In this second edition, the number of organizations reviewed has been expanded to include professional organization outside of the United States, and the reviews have been updated to reflect changes that may have occurred in the years between the first and second editions. The analysis draws upon the idea of just what makes up “due diligence” and evidence of these tests in selected codes of ethics.

The chapter then considers whether the design professional’s “obligations” have limits and introduces the “Principle of Care,” as it applies to design. How this concept of “care” is reflected in the ethics and principles of various selected organizations is also analyzed.