Peter George, Director of EIA - Thomson Environmental Consultants

1. IES EIA Community Discussion
“Adapting to the New Normal”
Peter George
Director of EIA
28th Oct 2020

2. It’s been a
strange
year….
2

3. It’s been a
strange
year….
3

4. A sudden change
4
Business as Usual?

5. Short term
implications for EIA
• Project start delayed or put on hold
• No ‘in person’ design review / mitigation meetings &
workshops
• Data collection / surveys - limited or not possible
• Use of historical data - evidence base compromised?
• Public consultation events not possible
• Accessibility of ES documents – public
5

6. The “new
normal”
• Launch of a digital revolution in EIA
• New tools & techniques
• Digital interactive workspace / meetings
• Predictive modelling tools
• Remote sensing and data collection – the
end of site surveys?
• Interactive data visualisation – VR/AI
• ‘Virtual’ public consultation
• Risk of missing hard to reach sections of
communities
• Sentiment mapping
• Innovation - EIA Reform – the future of EIA?
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7. The “new
normal”
7
But….
The environment is real and dynamic and we
cannot divorce ourselves from it.