IEMA’s submission focused on two specific areas whereby sustainability could be improved in the built environment. The first relates to the more strategic management of greenhouse gases (GHG) across supply chains in the sector, while the second is concentrated on ensuring that high-quality impact assessment (IA) continues to play an important role in the future planning processes that will be in place for construction and infrastructure development.
A strategic approach to managing GHG emissions
IEMA has previously developed a GHG management hierarchy, which is geared at helping business and organisations in different sectors to be able to manage their emissions more effectively. In our evidence to the EAC’s inquiry we have called for co-ordinated action to embed the hierarchy across the built environment sector.
The hierarchy sets out how an organisation can manage its direct, purchased and supplier-based permissions through a hierarchy of:
- Eliminating
- Reducing
- Substituting
- Compensating
More detail explaining how the hierarchy works in practice can be found here.
Impact assessment in the built environment
High-quality IA is an integral part of planning and development in the built environment. Proposed reforms to England’s planning system, include those to simplify the IA regime. Whilst simplification could bring some benefits in terms of efficiency and productivity, it is paramount that it does not compromise the quality of IA overall.
Simplification of the IA regime should coincide with improving governance processes, putting in place the provision for innovation and digital IA to be adopted, whilst ensuring robust standards are in place. These are all points that IEMA made in our submission to the inquiry, which we had also previously outlined to the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee.
IEMA’s full recommendations to the Committee
The submission recommended that:
- IEMA’s management hierarchy for GHG emissions is used widely in the built environment sector to improve its performance on sustainability and the natural environment.
- The government’s planning reforms, geared at speeding up permissions, do not come at the expense of high-quality IA that is integral to safeguarding both natural and social assets.
- IA approaches are enhanced as part of the government’s wider planning reforms, particularly in terms of mandating the use of Environmental Management Plans and embracing innovation and digitisation
The submission is available on the EAC’s inquiry page here.
Posted on 5th July 2021
Latest Posts
-
Baroness Young discusses environmental targets and governance with IEMA
- 26th January 2023 -
Have your say on the future purpose of IEMA
- 19th January 2023 -
Defra publishes plans to ban commonly littered single-use plastic items in England
- 16th January 2023 -
IEMA’s thoughts on the net zero transition following the publication of the Skidmore Review
- 13th January 2023 -
IEMA reacts to Environmental Audit Committee report on energy security
- 5th January 2023 -
COP 15 ends with a new set of biodiversity targets and a positive way forward
- 20th December 2022