Integrated environmental and land-use planning brings environmental, spatial and infrastructure considerations into project development earlier and assesses them in a coordinated way rather than as separate, late-stage requirements. The approach can be applied across an infrastructure corridor, development zone or wider program, allowing planners to consider issues such as biodiversity, land use, cultural heritage, agriculture, landscape impacts and community priorities alongside decisions on location, routing and design. Environmental assessment can therefore inform where and how infrastructure is developed, rather than primarily evaluating impacts once key project choices have already been made. At a broader planning level, strategic environmental assessment can also identify cumulative and indirect impacts that may be difficult to address through individual project assessments alone.  

By establishing a shared evidence base across environmental and land-use considerations, the approach can help authorities and developers identify constraints and trade-offs earlier, compare alternatives and incorporate mitigation into project design. This can improve coordination between planning authorities, infrastructure developers and affected stakeholders, while reducing the risk that significant environmental or spatial conflicts emerge only after substantial design work has been completed.

Main Outcomes of the Solution

• Institutional Efficiency & Transparency: Earlier, coordinated assessment improves visibility of environmental and spatial constraints, alternatives and stakeholder concerns during infrastructure planning. 
• Sustainability: Earlier assessment supports avoidance and mitigation of impacts on biodiversity, land, water and other environmental resources while alternatives can still be considered9. 
• Socioeconomic Impact: Earlier consideration of land use and community priorities can identify impacts on agriculture, heritage, livelihoods and local communities and inform project design and mitigation.

Key Deployment and Scaling Factors

1. Environmental, land-use and social assessments should begin while routes and designs can still be adjusted rather than after major infrastructure choices are fixed.
2. A common, interoperable evidence base across environmental, land-use, heritage, social and technical considerations helps avoid fragmented or duplicative assessments and supports assessment of cumulative impacts.
3. Clear institutional ownership and coordinated approval pathways are needed to align infrastructure planning, environmental assessment and permitting across authorities.
4. Community and landholder engagement should begin early enough for feedback to meaningfully influence siting, routing and project design.
5. Authorities and developers need sufficient specialist expertise, spatial and environmental data and assessment capacity to undertake integrated reviews without creating new planning bottlenecks.

Case studies

EnergyCo (2023), Australia

In New South Wales, EnergyCo applied an integrated environmental and land-use planning approach to transmission infrastructure for the Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone (REZ). EnergyCo prepared an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the REZ network infrastructure, which was exhibited from September to November 2023 and supported by 18 technical papers covering areas including agriculture, biodiversity, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal heritage, social and economic impacts, bushfire risk, hydrology, flooding and air quality.

The transmission project was designated Critical State Significant Infrastructure, requiring comprehensive environmental assessment. The EIS considered potential environmental, economic and social impacts and measures to avoid, minimize or mitigate them. Community and stakeholder feedback was documented through the submissions process and informed subsequent project amendments and updated assessments.  

The project received NSW planning approval in June 2024 and Commonwealth planning approval in August 2024. EnergyCo appointed ACEREZ as network operator in April 2025, and construction began in June 2025. The case illustrates how environmental, land-use, technical and community considerations can be assessed through a coordinated planning process as major transmission infrastructure moves from planning through approval and into delivery.

BirdLife International and IBAT Alliance (2022), Global

BirdLife International’s Avian Sensitivity Tool for Energy Planning (AVISTEP) and the Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool (IBAT) provide spatial biodiversity information that can be incorporated into renewable-energy planning before project locations are fixed. Developed by BirdLife International with support from the Asian Development Bank, AVISTEP maps potential avian sensitivity to onshore and offshore wind, solar photovoltaic and overhead power-line infrastructure, helping governments, developers and other planners identify areas where development could pose greater risks to birds and where lower-risk locations may be available. The tool provides spatial sensitivity assessments using 5 km by 5 km cells and has been deployed across multiple countries, supporting both strategic planning and early site screening. IBAT complements this with access to authoritative global biodiversity datasets that can help identify protected areas, important biodiversity locations and threatened species relevant to infrastructure development. Together, the tools demonstrate how biodiversity evidence can be introduced early into spatial planning to compare locations, avoid environmentally sensitive areas and inform subsequent project-level assessment and mitigation.

The Crown Estate (2020-present), United Kingdom

The Crown Estate leads the Offshore Wind Evidence and Change (OWEC) Programme, established in 2020 to strengthen the evidence base used to plan and consent offshore wind development across the United Kingdom. Delivered with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the programme brings together 26 government organisations, industry bodies and environmental NGOs to address evidence gaps affecting offshore wind development and the marine environment. The Crown Estate has committed £50 million to the programme, which has funded 42 projects covering areas including spatial planning, biodiversity, marine restoration, environmental assessment and interactions between offshore infrastructure and ecosystems. Findings are made available through the Marine Data Exchange, creating a shared evidence base that government, regulators and industry can use in planning and consenting decisions. By generating environmental evidence before and alongside development decisions, OWEC helps identify constraints and potential impacts earlier while supporting the expansion of offshore wind and protection of marine ecosystems.

References:

1. World Bank - Strategic environmental assessment - concept and practice
2. Developing an Inventory and Typology of Land‑Use Planning Systems and Policy Instruments in OECD Countries | OECD
3. Planning approvals - Central-West Orana REZ Transmission Project | EnergyCo
4. Offshore Wind Evidence and Change Programme | The Crown Estate 
5. Offshore Wind Evidence and Change Programme | Marine Data Exchange 
6. The Crown Estate Outlines Significant Progress in Data and Evidence | The Crown Estate