Up for Discussion Combat Ethical Pollution in the Chemical Community by Leiv K. Sydnes At the IUPAC General Assembly in the middle of August this year, the Council decided to form a new standing committee, the Committee on Ethics, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (CEDEI), with the mission to work for the ethical values stated in the Union’s strategic plan. This is a significant move because it underlines that international statements and recommendations, outlining ethical guidelines and principles for scientists, are not enough to guarantee that the scientific community “[strives] for diversity and inclusiveness in all forms, [respects] each other and the Union, and [upholds] the highest standards of transparent, responsible and ethical behaviour”[1]. In fact, there are clear indications that the number and nature of violations of the 1979 Vancouver Convention [2], the 2010 Singapore Statement on Research Integrity [3], the 2012 San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) [4], the 2013 Montreal Statement on Research Integrity in Cross-Boundary Research Collaborations [5], and the 2016 ICSU Advisory Note on Science Communication [6], some of the relevant documents to abide to, have increased in recent years. Unethical research practices and behaviour are nothing new. Publication of “results” based on outright fraud has been known for centuries and increasingly harmed the scientific enterprise in recent decades. But just as worrisome is the growing number of other dubious practises, which include plagiarism, gift authorships, unethical refereeing, improper evaluations, and use of defamatory and insulting language in science-related discussions and debates among scientists. The purpose with all these acts is the same: to improve the likelihood for success in competitions for prestigious positions or appointments, research funding, and all sorts of awards, honours, and prizes. Such activities do indeed contribute to undermine the credibility of science, and this calls for a broadbased action in the scientific community at large. International organizations like the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), International Council of Science (ICSU), which in 2018 became International Science Council (ISC) have worked with dedication to strengthen the research integrity globally and nourish science practices based on equity, diversity, and inclusion. However, many of the obstacles to achieve this are
To nurture free and responsible practice of science, the research community must promote equitable opportunities and oppose all sorts of discrimination. How to go about in practice to achieve that is discussed in this booklet, which can be downloaded from the ISC page https://council. science/publications/freedom-responsibility-anduniversality-of-science-2014/ or directly council.science/ wp-content/uploads/2017/04/CFRS-brochure-2014.pdf
discipline specific, and therefore it is significant that IUPAC has formed CEDEI that hopefully aims at becoming clearly visible and contributing to combat and prevent the spreading of ethical pollution in the global chemical community. I am sure CEDEI will be exposed to all sorts of challenges at many levels when the committee starts its work. At the global level, the first important task will be to raise the awareness of international guidelines and recommendations, both those mentioned above and many others, which is lacking in many countries. But knowledge about their existence is not enough; the documents and their collective spirit must be adopted so that research integrity and professional ethical behaviour become an integrated part of every chemist’s professional platform. In order to reach this goal, strong measures have to be taken at institutional levels throughout the world so that staff and, at universities, every student will reflect on research ethics, including diversity, equity, and inclusion, in their work and behave properly.
Chemistry International
October-December 2021
29
