IEMA wins international award for EIA work
IEMA has been awarded the International Association for Impact Assessment's 2012 Institutional Award in recognition of its work on environmental impact assessment (EIA)
The International Association for Impact Assessment’s (IAIA) Institutional Award is presented annually to a national or international government or non-governmental organisation that has made an outstanding contribution to impact assessment practice.
Past winners include the International Institute for Environment and Development, the International Union for Conservation of Nature and the African Development Bank.
IEMA was nominated for the award by Ross Marshall, manager of the Environment Agency’s National Environmental Assessment Service (NEAS) and a former president of the IAIA.
Ross put IEMA forward for the award, for its contribution to the profession over the past two decades and its promotion of a clear “strategic approach to improving quality in EIA practice”.
This work was particularly evident in 2011 through the publication of its special report: The state of environmental impact assessment in the UK, and the launch of the EIA Quality Mark scheme, which promotes excellence in EIA projects among its 43 registrants.
In its announcement of the 2012 award winners, IAIA stated that IEMA was selected “because of its promotion of quality and improving environmental practice and performance in EIA practice in the UK”.
Josh Fothergill, IEMA’s policy and practice lead on EIA, will collect the prize when the awards are formally presented at the IAIA's 32nd annual conference in Portugal in May.
Claire Lea, IEMA’s director of membership strategy and development said: “IEMA is delighted to have been recognised by the IAIA for the EIA Special Report and the EIA Quality Mark, which is making a significant contribution to the improvement of EIA in the UK, by encouraging knowledge sharing and the development of best practice.
“Receiving the Institutional Award is a great achievement and a fantastic start to 2012.”