Sweco’s environmental planning consultants help landowners and developers assess their sites and aspirations for development, providing the environmental evidence and strategic advice needed to support sustainable development and first-time consent approvals.
Our unique one-stop support covers site promotion from initial assessment through to consultation, representations and examination, EIA coordination and technical services across ecology, transport, health, water, landscape, noise, air quality, carbon and land quality.
Beyond EIAs, our services include environmental planning coordination, CEMPs, environmental permitting, Health and Equality Impact Assessments, Strategic Environmental Assessment and Sustainability Appraisal. Bringing a unique blend of expertise together in-house, we provide a coordinated approach to addressing planning requirements and managing environmental risk, underpinned at all times with a collaborative attitude to understanding client concerns and supporting them throughout their project.
Throughout the EIA process, clients benefit from support in identifying potential environmental effects, coordinating expert inputs and developing practical mitigation measures. Our assessments provide a clear, robust evidence base to inform decision-making and support planning applications and consents.
EIA Screening & Scoping
Early advice helps determine whether an EIA is required and define the scope of assessment. Identifying key issues, receptors and potential impacts at the outset helps focus resources and create an efficient, proportionate approach.
EIA Co-ordination & Delivery
Technical specialists are brought together from across our environment teams to coordinate the preparation and delivery of EIAs, manage inputs and ensure findings are clearly presented. We prepare or oversee Environmental Statements and support clients through consultation and determination.
Cumulative Impact Assessment
Understanding how a project’s effects may combine with those of other existing or proposed developments (or how topics assessed within a project can provide cumulative effects) provides a clear picture of cumulative impacts and informs appropriate mitigation.
Technical Studies
The technical studies underpinning an EIA are coordinated and delivered across areas including:
Ecology
Transport and Access (takes you to Transport Planning)
Health
Water Resources (takes you to Water Services)
Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment
Noise and Vibration (takes you to Acoustics)
Air Quality
Carbon
Land Quality
Our environmental expertise and advisory service provides clients with trusted, independent and practical support for any stage of a project lifecycle.
Combining strong technical expertise with a forward-looking perspective, we help clients anticipate emerging legislation, environmental challenges, climate risks and market expectations, enabling them to plan with confidence and make informed decisions.
Working as an extension of the client’s team, we support projects and investment decisions to reduce risk, avoid delays and liabilities, strengthen stakeholder confidence, and deliver resilient, efficient and environmentally responsible outcomes.
Environmental inputs are coordinated across the planning process, bringing together technical specialists, evidence and mitigation measures to support clear, consistent and deliverable planning strategies – both within and outside the EIA process summarised above.
A dedicated environmental planner can help identify when environmental issues for a site can become significant blockers and provide solutions to minimise or resolve them.
Practical CEMPs translate planning commitments and environmental requirements into clear measures for construction. They help manage environmental risks, protect sensitive receptors and demonstrate compliance throughout project delivery.
Advice and support on environmental permitting requirements helps clients understand their obligations, secure the necessary permits and manage compliance throughout the life of a project.
Assessments consider how plans and projects may affect people’s health and different groups within the community. They identify potential inequalities, inform mitigation and support more inclusive and sustainable decision-making.
Strategic Environmental Assessment and Sustainability Appraisal evaluate the environmental, social and economic effects of plans and programmes.
This helps decision-makers understand alternatives, address potential impacts and embed sustainability from an early stage.
Alongside Health and Equality Impact Assessments, these can collectively be referred to as Integrated Impact Assessments.
Why Sweco?
Integrated environmental planning: we bring together in-house expertise across ecology, transport, health, water, landscape, noise, air quality, carbon and land quality.
Regulatory confidence: we can navigate complex planning, EIA, environmental permitting and consent requirements to support informed decision-making.
Reduced project risk: we identify environmental constraints and potential impacts early, helping shape practical mitigation and more deliverable proposals.
Stakeholder confidence: we provide clear, robust evidence to support consultation, representations and examination.
Positive environmental outcomes: we move beyond impact mitigation to identify opportunities to protect, enhance and restore environmental value.
Compliance through construction: we translate planning commitments into practical measures through Construction Environmental Management Plans and environmental permitting support.
Better design and decision-making: we embed environmental considerations from the earliest stages to inform options, site allocation and sustainable development.
FREE download: Navigating Ecology, Biodiversity and Development
For Sweco, viewing projects through the Green Transition lens is essential to our mission of ‘transforming society together’, bringing to life our determination to be a leader and role model in the consultancy space in the green transition.
We’re proud to be taking responsibility for, and being a central part of, the solution to society’s sustainability and carbon problems – challenging our clients, and ourselves, to deliver digitally enabled, sustainable, innovative outcomes through technical excellence and expert consultancy across our whole portfolio.
Together with our clients and the collective knowledge of our 22,000 engineers, consultants and other specialists, we co-create solutions to address urbanisation, capture the power of digitalisation, and make our societies more sustainable. With international multi-disciplinary teams, we can call on the right insight and technical capability at the right time from across Buildings, Infrastructure, Advisory & Planning and Compliance.
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