Environmental Impact Reports (EIR) for plans and programmes, and mid-term and ex-post evaluations

The environmental assessment of plans and programmes, also known as an Environmental Impact Report, is a process that promotes the integration of environmental considerations into the development of planning documents (plans, schemes, programmes, etc.) likely to have significant environmental impacts.

This practice was generalized and made mandatory by European Directive 2001/42/EC, and subsequently integrated into regional legislation through the Ordinance of 18/03/2004 in the Brussels-Capital Region, Articles D52 et seq. of the Environment Code in Wallonia, and Articles R122-17 et seq. of the Environment Code in France.

In Detail

The objective of the environmental impact report is to analyze proposals and potential environmental impacts and, where necessary, initiate appropriate corrective actions. More generally, it aims to inform stakeholders and the public affected or likely to be affected by the plan in question.

Through these environmental assessments, Stratec supports and advises public authorities in developing their plans and programmes in fields as diverse as urban planning (RRU, RCU), spatial planning (SDT, Sector Plan revisions), agriculture (CAP), transport, water management (PGE, FRMP, flood risk), energy (PACE), noise, waste management, biodiversity, etc. Stratec also produces EIRs for plans at a more local scale, defined for a specific territory (master plans, SAR, SOL).

Our Approach

It is characterized in particular by:

Interactive and iterative collaboration with the plan/programme authors during the development phases, to best integrate environmental considerations from the draft stages,
An analysis of environmental impacts presented as fact sheets and summary tables for ease of reading. This methodology also allows for the formulation of recommendations and conclusions through a systematic approach,
The formulation of recommendations at various stages of the draft plan/programme to ensure its evolution towards greater sustainability.
The identification of monitoring indicators to track the project’s impacts throughout its implementation.

Comprehensive support

Our support is not limited to the development of plans and programmes (ex-ante), as we also assist with the communication and implementation of certain plans and programmes to facilitate their application. We also carry out monitoring through evaluations:

during the implementation period (mid-term), which allow for verification halfway through the project cycle as to whether needs are still present, if the plan’s effects are achieving the set objectives, or if the plan needs to be improved or reoriented;
at the end of the plan or programme (ex-post), to learn from past experiences and better plan for the future.