In building development, sustainability is one of the vaster and complex topics which requires careful consideration from the very start, given the significance of potential environmental impact. Recently, a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) was carried out to evaluate the application of the Directive in all Member States since the date of its entry into application (21 July 2004). The Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) represents an important apparatus for integrating environmental considerations into the preparation and adoption of initiatives towards promoting sustainable development.

The current assessment of the SEA Directive encompasses discoveries and conclusions from the two preceding Commission implementation reports to the Council and the European Parliament, prepared under Article 12(3) of the SEA Directive.

The assessment represents a retrospective examination which will go beyond descriptions provided in these reports with the goal of determining the performance of the directive.

The key points of the assessment are to pinpoint and highlight what has been learned during the process, with the intention of improving implementation of the SEA Directive, taking into account the EU obligations stemming from relevant international environmental treaties, such as SEA Protocol3 and the Aarhus Convention4.

The focus of the SEA Directive is to help reach a higher level of protection of the environment and contribute to the integration of environmental considerations into the preparation, adoption and implementation of plans and programs, and serve as an advocate towards sustainable development. This objective at hand is to make sure that environmental assessment is carried out, in accordance with the provisions of the Directive, for those plans and programs which are identified as likely to have significant effects on the environment.

The following criteria should be met entirely in order to assess a plan and program falls under the scope of the SEA Directive:

• the plan and program should be subject to preparation and/or adoption by an authority at national, regional or local level;
• it is required by a legislative, regulatory or administrative provisions;
• it is prepared by any of the sectors listed in Article 3(2)(a) of the Directive;
• it sets the framework for future development consent of projects listed in Annex I and II to the EIA Directive.

The SEA Directive applies to a wide range of public plans and programs (e.g. on land use, transport, energy, waste, agriculture, etc.), which give rise to individual projects, including those co-financed by the European Union. Its application should lead to more sustainable and resource efficient development through systematic appraisal of different options at a planning level.

More information about this initiative and the entire document are available here.