Adapting to COVID-19 has presented many challenges to the environment and sustainability industry. We are at the start of a pivotal period for how business and society operate, and there will be many implications for your work as an IEMA member.

We are gathering insight about the biggest challenges faced by members, and what resources and support IEMA can provide over the coming months, and in the long term. As an IEMA member you are perfectly positioned to help us gather insight and share best practice from your own experience.

Below, we have listed IEMA’s core areas of work, and outlined some of the challenges we believe will present themselves over the next few months. We would like to encourage you to join with other IEMA members, or to get in touch directly, if you have any solutions or ideas on how each of the key issues are being faced. We’d also like to hear from you if there is something affecting your work that we haven’t listed here as this page will be updated regularly.

Email policy@iema.net with your contributions

Impact Assessment

Key discussion points include:

  • How planning authorities will consider applications
  • How monitoring and surveys should proceed
  • Consultation and lodgment requirements
  • Virtual planning enquiries
  • Meeting statutory time frames

IEMA Guidance & Resources

Digital Impact Assessment: A Primer for Embracing Innovation and Digital Working:

Embracing innovation and digital’ is one of the four strategic themes for action in IEMA’s ‘Delivering Proportionate EIA’ strategy. The new IEMA primer on Digital Impact Assessment (IA) is a milestone in the professions IA digital journey, and the first published guidance on Digital IA from IEMA. The Digital IA primer has been developed by practicing IA professionals drawn from the Impact Assessment Network. The group have drawn on a wide range of experience from different organisations and specialisms to provide a useful practitioners overview of Digital IA. The primer aims to outline the current situation, the opportunities presented by Digital IA and the challenges faced.

The guidance is aimed at IA practitioners, reviewers and stakeholders. However, whilst the guidance requires a basic knowledge of IA, it is likely to be of interest to wider stakeholders as Digital IA is a key emergent topic of interest. The primer covers a broad range of topics related to Digital IA and has been written by practitioners for practitioners DOWNLOAD HERE

Useful Links

Environmental Management and Environmental Auditing

Key issues include:

  • sharing experiences and approaches to remote auditing
  • compliance obligations including for 14001 and UKAS
  • Implications for waste, resource management and packaging.

Useful Links

Corporate Sustainability

Key issues include:

  • Managing risks, dependencies and vulnerability (e.g. disrupted supply chain, workforce, markets, social sustainability impacts)
  • Capturing any ‘lessons learned’ and embedding into future approaches
  • Demonstration of corporate leadership to unfolding emergency, defining unique contribution and leadership – (see Ebola example in 2016 IEMA publication Beyond the Perfect Storm)
  • Maintaining momentum to medium term crisis (e.g. TCFD and Sustainable finance)
  • Strategies that will maintain commitments for environmental and sustainability work
  • Rejuvenating the case for sustainability when it might be a lower priority during a time of crisis

Useful Links

Climate change and energy

Key issues include:

  • Mandatory energy schemes and any adjustments (e.g. SECR reporting and potential to use company reporting extensions)
  • Adjusting GHG accounting baselines and systems (for example increased home-working and travel reductions)
  • Communication concerns and sensitivities
  • Links with the climate risk and adaptation agenda
  • Maintaining momentum and planning for post-covid climate action

Useful Links