Strategic Environmental Assessment

WSP’s Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Sustainability Appraisal (SA) services support effective and efficient decision-making, ensuring that sustainable development and other environmental considerations have been taken into account in policy, program and business planning. Our specialist teams’ technical capabilities also ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

We draw on our expertise across various environmental and sustainability disciplines and combine it with our regulatory know-how in order to deliver a comprehensive approach. Our appraisals are tailored to individual requirements across each sector. We work with clients ranging from local authorities to central government and international organizations to deliver a robust process which genuinely improves the understanding of environmental and sustainability issues at a strategic level.

We perform appraisals in North America, Europe and Africa, which are compliant with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the World Bank. We can tailor our assessments to suit individual client requirements and national or regional regulations such as the European SEA Directive 2001/42/EC and the Commonwealth Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Act 1999, across a range of strategic levels and sectors. These requirements can include knowledge of case law (to achieve compliance with SEA regulations), as well as the need for extensive consultation support.

Our Strategic Environmental Assessment services include:

National Policy Statements
Local Development Plans
Local Transport Plans
Masterplanning
Option Development and Evaluation
Strategic Infrastructure and Energy Development
Flood Risk Management Strategies
Bespoke Research and Development

We also undertake associated processes such as Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA), Equalities Impact Assessment (EqIA) and Health Impact Assessment (HIA).

Digital platforms

Our digital platforms perform a critical role in underpinning our advice and services. These world-leading tools allow us to collaborate across design teams, as well as with clients and the communities they serve; ultimately delivering stronger designs and advice.

Nature Vista

Turning nature-related risk into opportunity

WSP’s AI‑enabled platform that connects nature and asset data to turn complex environmental insight into clear, actionable decisions across the full project lifecycle.

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