From SEA to Sustainability Assessment?

Sustainability assessment (SA) ¹ has emerged as the third generation of impact assessment, following environmental impact assessment (EIA) and strategic environmental assessment (SEA). For the purposes of this chapter, we will define SA broadly as an ‘ex ante’ ² process that seeks to identify the future consequences of a proposed action in a manner that directs planning and decision-making towards sustainability. ³ SA is therefore not a prescribed process as such, but rather an orientation of practice.