Institute receives IAIA award

Josh Fothergill, IEMA's policy and practice lead on EIA, has collected IEMA's prize from the International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA)

In February, the IAIA named IEMA winner of the 2012 institutional award in recognition of the Institute’s work on environmental impact assessment (EIA). Fothergill, was presented with the prize on 1 June at the IAIA energy future conference in Porto, Portugal (pictured below).

The institutional award is presented annually to a national or international government or non-governmental organisation that has made an outstanding contribution to impact assessment practice or other environment-related activity that is deemed worthy of recognition.

IEMA won the award for the launch of the EIA Quality Mark scheme in 2011 as well as the publication last year of its special report The state of environmental impact assessment practice in the UK.

The IAIA stated that IEMA was selected for the award because of its “promotion of quality and improving environmental practice and performance in environmental impact assessment practice in the UK”.

Claire Lea, IEMA’s director of membership strategy and development, said: “IEMA is delighted the EIA Quality Mark and special report on the state of EIA practice has been recognised by IAIA.

“We feel that the EIA Quality Mark scheme, which has been in place for just over a year, is making a significant contribution to the improvement of EIA in the UK, encouraging knowledge sharing and the improvement of practice. Receiving the institutional award is a great achievement for IEMA.”

Past winners of the award include the African Development Bank, the International Institute for Environment Development and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency.