Environmental assessment and management
Meeting legal and regulatory requirements for environmental protection is essential. Exceeding standards is an opportunity for leadership – enabling projects to be more successful, with longer term benefits and better outcomes for the environment, communities and your organisation.
Embedding and delivering positive environmental outcomes can actively complement the achievement of your operational and commercial priorities. Better for the environment, and better for your business.
What can we do for you?
Our environmental assessment practitioners and environmental managers work with you at every stage in a project’s lifecycle, with the trusted specialist expertise and approaches required to go beyond assessment and influence the best possible outcomes for your project, your business and the environment.
An integrated approach to the environment
Rather than sitting in a silo, our experts actively influence projects, going beyond assessment. We do that by working collaboratively with colleagues across your project, such as those specialising in project management or design.
Shaping intelligent decisions
We identify and understand the importance of environmental risks, challenges and solutions within the planning and consenting process, enabling action to be taken early on – rather than later, when the risk of delay is greater and the benefits harder to deliver.
Achieving better long term value
By working collaboratively toward the achievement of environmental requirements and enabling early action on risk, our specialists unlock better value for your projects through lower costs, better outcomes and reduced uncertainty. This delivers improved environmental and social outcomes in the longer term, creating a lasting legacy and benefits for your project.
Specialist support for your planning requirements
We work with you to identify and provide the specialist support and domain insight you need throughout the planning process, including experts in air quality, noise and vibration, land quality, arboriculture and forestry, ecology and diversity, cultural heritage and archaeology, landscape architecture, and natural capital and ecosystems. For example, where landscape is a primary focus of your scheme, we integrate landscape, ecology and heritage elements both with community and stakeholder aspirations and with planning guidance.
A303 Sparkford to Ilchester improvements, Somerset, UK. We provided design input into this nationally significant infrastructure project for construction of a dual carriageway section on the A303 between Sparkford and Ilchester, to alleviate congestion and queuing.
Expert environmental assessment and project management
Our highly experienced environmental teams work on projects globally, including major infrastructure projects in multiple sectors. Wherever you are geographically based, we can provide local knowledge and support while drawing on industry leadership that includes international best practice and the knowledge of our global network of environmental practitioners.
Our key skills include:
Our experience
Our services are at the forefront of innovative best practice, including as a founding registrant of the IEMA’s EIA Quality Mark scheme.
Examples of our work include:
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A303 Sparkford to Ilchester improvements, Somerset, UKIn joint venture with Sweco, we provided design input into this nationally significant infrastructure project for construction of a dual carriageway section on the A303 between Sparkford and Ilchester, to alleviate congestion and queuing. Our environment and design teams worked collaboratively from an early stage on the project, which was set in an environmentally sensitive rural location. They identified environmental constraints, including effects on biodiversity, and delivered a full environmental impact assessment and an environmental statement, alongside an environmental masterplan for mitigation. Following a development consent order examination, the secretary of state granted consent for the project.
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Colwyn Bay waterfront, UKOur assessment examined essential environmental factors, such as impacts on beaches and marine species, and engaged the community and local businesses to assure a plan that would revitalise tourism. A new sea wall provides a hard line of defence and has given the town a new promenade as well as other amenities. This project received a whole team excellence award for sustainability performance under the UK’s Civil Engineering Environmental Quality Assessment and Awards Scheme, CEEQUAL.
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HS2, UKTo support the large-scale environmental surveys and analysis and the stakeholder liaison and engagement required by this megaproject spanning a large area of the UK, we deployed our Moata Land Management digital tools to provide accessible, scalable and integrated survey and land access management capabilities. The software enabled hundreds of users to be easily and consistently trained to deliver over 35,000 surveys, 25,000 contact events and 40,000 access arrangements, ensuring the project’s challenging environmental assessment and management needs could be met while delivering improved efficiencies and cost savings.
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International airport expansion, Hong KongWhen a new, third runway was deemed essential, it was necessary to assess potential effects on marine wildlife, noise impacts and possible effects of building on land previously used to dispose of contaminated mud. Our assessment provided options to balance environmental protection, technical feasibility, cost and operational performance. Hong Kong’s Environmental Protection Department approved our environmental impact assessment and permit.
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Karot hydropower project, PakistanTo reach financial close, our client needed an environmental and social impact assessment within a challenging timeframe to meet International Finance Corporate performance standards. We mobilised a team with previous experience both in the region and in developing such assessments for large hydropower projects. We completed the impact assessment and a full suite of supplementary documents in just six months (whereas 12 to 18 months is typical), enabling project managers to adopt environmentally and socially responsible practices.
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Natchez pipeline, Louisiana, USATo gain permission to build the 80km pipeline, we worked with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the US Fish & Wildlife Service, the US Army Corps of Engineers and state-level agencies to develop a solution that avoided damage to protected wildlife habitats and sensitive species.
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San Luis Pass Inlet, Texas, USAWe identified the optimum seabed locations and dimensions for dredging sand that could be used to replenish nearby beaches. Our modelling of hydraulic and sedimentation processes identified 'sand traps' where material naturally accumulates, enabling long-term sustainable harvesting to be carried out.
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Ulubelu unit 3 and 4 geothermal energy plants, IndonesiaA key challenge of geothermal plants is that condensing steam can release gases such as hydrogen sulphide, which has an unpleasant odour at low concentrations and can be fatal at high concentrations. We were appointed to carry out the crucial impact assessments addressing compliance with environmental, health and safety standards, and enabled the project to qualify for World Bank funding.
People and Planet
People and Planet demonstrates and quantifies social and environmental outcomes. It combines publicly available data with project data to assess social and environmental factors alongside project priorities. Risks and opportunities are displayed on maps and dashboards, empowering decisions that create long-term benefits for people and the planet.
