2010 Number of pages: 35

This document offers a general introduction to sustainable impact assessment (SIA). SIA is an approach for exploring the combined economic, environmental and social impacts of a range of proposed policies, programmes, strategies and action plans. Such assessments can also assist decision making and strategic planning throughout the entire policy cycle.   Government authorities at different levels (national, regional, local) can use this document as the basis for developing a more tailored guide for reviewing the sustainability impacts of proposed policies and action plans.   Guidance on Sustainability Impact Assessment (PDF), 2010

Sustainability impact assessment: an introduction

 

The document is aimed at helping policy makers to increase their understanding of the basic elements, processes and multi-dimensional nature of SIAs. It intends to increase awareness of the potential of SIA for developing more sustainable policies, strategies and action plans within OECD member countries. It is hoped that it will stimulate policy makers to implement or revisit their SIAs within their own policy and institutional context.

 

The document gives a general outline of what an SIA is, why it is useful, its core principles and methodologies, and its main challenges. It is not exhaustive, and neither is it a technical “how to” guide for practitioners to follow when implementing an SIA.

The steps involved in a typical SIA are illustrated with actual examples of methodologies used by several OECD member countries and other institutions. These examples show only some of the various possibilities and methodologies available and in use.

The examples used in this document are based on the three pillars of sustainable development: economic, environmental and social. However, visions of sustainable development are evolving, particularly when governments strive to establish sustainable development strategies and wish to fully integrate sustainability in all policy development. Some countries adopt a more integrated approach that goes beyond the idea of the three pillars and encompasses systemic and systematic sustainable development goals for policy development (in line with, for instance, Agenda 21 adopted at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development – the Earth Summit). Chapter 1. Sustainability impact assessment: an introduction.

 

Sequence of steps in sustainability impact assessments

(taken from publication)

 

Relevance analysis	Step 1. Screening the proposal	Quick scan of a policy proposal to identify significant conflicts across economic, environmental and social dimensions warranting a sustainability impact assessment
	Step 2. Scoping the assessment	Specification of the depth and extent of the assessment as proportionate to the importance of the proposal and the potential impacts
Delineation	Step 3. Selecting tools or methodologies to match the scoping	Selection of the most appropriate tools and methods for the different stages of the sustainability impact assessment
	Step 4. Ensuring stakeholder participation	Involvement of stakeholders through various means in different stages of the sustainability impact assessment
Impact analysis	Step 5. Analysing the economic, environmental and social impacts	Assessment of the economic, environmental and social impacts of the policy proposal
	Step 6. Identifying synergies, conflicts and trade-offs across these impacts	Identification of the synergies, conflicts and trade-offs across identified economic, environmental and social impacts
Optimisation	Step 7. Proposing mitigating measures to optimise positive outcomes	Enumeration of modifications or supplemental measures to better balance economic, environmental and social concerns
	Step 8. Presenting the results and options to policy makers	Presentation of results of sustainability impact assessment to policy makers, including trade-offs, mitigating measures and options

Source: Adapted from ARE (Swiss Federal Office for Spatial Development) (2004), Sustainability Assessment: Conceptual Framework and Basic Methodology, Swiss Federal Office for Spatial Development, Berne.

 

Also read: Chapter 10. Implementing sustainable impact assessments 

 

References  

 

Relevant Links

 

Many countries utilise different types of impact assessments (e.g., regulatory impact analysis, competition assessment, environmental impact assessment, strategic environmental assessment, poverty impact assessment, trade impact assessment, integrated impact assessment, etc.), and related assessment methodologies, (e.g., social-accounting and input-output matrix, cost-benefit analysis, modelling, forecasting and back casting, including regulatory, environmental, trade, etc). These approaches are used to evaluate a proposed policy, programme or project by assessing its impacts on selected factors. Below are links to some examples of assessment processes which incorporate one or more dimensions of sustainable development, as well as links to other relevant work.

• Best Practice Regulation Handbook, Australia
• Manual for SIA Screening, Belgium
• Poverty Impact Assessment, Ireland
• Environmental Impact Assessment, Japan
• Assessing Sustainability within the Federal Government, Switzerland
• Impact Assessment Toolkit, UK
• Social Cost of Carbon for Regulatory Impact Analysis, USA
• Impact Assessment, European Commission
• LIAISE Network of Excellence (Shared Impact Assessment Toolbox, forthcoming)
• International Association for Impact Assessment