At their latest meeting the ESA Certification Board made a small change to the ACE Code of Ethics. And while the wording change is not huge, the overall impact is indicative of a new direction that the ACE is heading. Well, maybe even that is a little strong. I think that we've always been heading this way, but the wording change codifies it.
First off ... the full Code of Ethics is here for a reference point.
Section 2.1 had read this way: "The Associate Certified Entomologist - Pest Control will have proper regard for the safety, health, and welfare of the public in performance of all his or her professional duties." Two things to note:
1) An often-overlooked point is that the full name of the current ACE program is ACE-Pest Control. At some point in the future the program is likely to grow and include other areas of specialization. Anyone currently ACE certified by ESA is an ACE-Pest Control.
2) The referenced portion of the Code of Ethics did not explicitly mention anything about Integrated Pest Management, or IPM.
As discussed in previous posts, ESA believes that IPM is the present and future of pest management. It was decided that the Code of Ethics should reference this. Section 2.1 of the Code of Ethics now reads this way: "The Associate Certified Entomologist – Pest Control will follow standard IPM guidelines in the performance of his or her professional duties – ensuring proper regard for the safety, health, and welfare of the public and environment; documenting findings as appropriate and required; and keeping all stakeholders informed of the process."
