28Sep 2018
CEP to deliver a new EEA project on the environment and quality of life in Europe

CEP has been awarded a new project to assist the EEA in developing a report on the environment and quality of life in Europe

This new project have been awarded under the CEP-led framework service contract for the European Environment Agency (EEA) which provides assistance to the consolidation and update of the knowledge base on global megatrends and resource nexus in support of SOER 2020.  CEP’s contribution to the report will focus on environmental health across Europe, environmental risks to health and the environmental benefits to health and well-being.  CEP will be assisted by Ben Cave Associates.

The project will support the publication of an EEA report planned for 2019 on the linkages between the environment and quality of life in our member countries. The report will explore how quality of life in Europe is influenced due to the impact that environmental quality has on health and well-being. It will also review evidence of how social vulnerability can result in increased exposure and sensitivity to pollution and reduced resilience to environmental risks. The scope includes both environmental risks to health and access to the benefits that a high quality environment provides to health and well-being.

For more information please contact CEP’s Ric Eales the Project Manager.

Team CEP
25Sep 2018
CEP supporting webinar series on 25 Year Environment Plan

PARTNERSHIPS FOR PEOPLE, PLACE AND THE ENVIRONMENT – UPCOMING WEBINAR on 3 October

As part of new research commissioned by Defra on local delivery of the 25 Year Environment Plan, CEP, along with partners EKN and nef, are pleased to announce the fourth webinar in the Partnerships for People, Place and Environment series:

Using natural capital approaches to improve integrated decision-making

Wednesday 3rd October 2018, 1 to 2pm BST

This free webinar will discuss how natural capital approaches are being used to engage new partners in decisions about areas of land and water, and the barriers to engaging organisations and interest groups who may not understand their dependence on a healthy natural environment.

Paul Walton, Head of Environment and Rural Economy at the New Forest National Park Authority will be talking about the Green Halo Partnership, an initiative that is working beyond the boundaries of the New Forest National Park to integrate nature and the natural environment with a thriving, economically successful community. Paul Leinster, Chair of the Bedfordshire Local Nature Partnership, will discuss the challenges of getting the environment and natural capital investment recognised as material and important issues within the governance and delivery aspects of the Oxford – Milton Keynes – Cambridge Growth Corridor.

The webinar will be chaired by Sarah Jane Chimbwandira of Surrey Nature Partnership.

To register for the webinar please follow the link below:



Register here

For more information about the research project on Local Delivery of the 25 Year Environment Plan, please contact Dr Sian Morse-Jones (Senior Consultant) or Paula Orr (Technical Director).

Team CEP
21Sep 2018
New report by CEP and partners on the value of bathing waters in Scotland

New report on the value of Scottish bathing waters and the influence of bathing water quality

CEP,  with partners Economics for the Environment Consultancy (eftec) and experts from The South West Research Company (SWRC), University of St Andrews, University of Surrey and Mercatus Research, were commissioned by the Scottish Government to undertake a study on the value of bathing waters and the influence of bathing water quality in Scotland.

The project developed a detailed and quantifiable socio-economic understanding of the current and future value of bathing water quality to Scotland, and how water quality influences bathers, beach users and the national and local economies. CEP led on the literature review and qualitative aspects of the research, including carrying out focus groups with local communities and businesses in coastal locations across Scotland, and the synthesis of evidence concerning different perspectives on value.

The final report from the project has now been published: The value of bathing waters and the influence of bathing water quality: Final Research Report

A literature review was undertaken at the start of the project and is also available on the Scottish Government website.

For more information contact Clare Twigger-Ross (Technical Director)

Team CEP
21Sep 2018
CEP contribute to Urban Natural Capital Accounting report for Defra

CEP contribute to analysis on urban cooling for Urban Natural Capital Accounting report for Defra

CEP have contributed to a recently published report by eftec on Urban Natural Capital Accounting, for Defra. CEP’s role in the research involved contributing to a review of the cooling effect of green and blue infrastructure across 11 city regions. This report extends earlier work for Defra on the local climate regulating benefits of urban natural capital developed in the UK Urban Natural Capital Scoping Study, by including blue space, and other green space categories, and improving the accounting of spatial differentials in climate. 

The final report has now been published: Scoping UK Urban Natural Capital Account – Local Climate Regulation Extension.  

For more information, please contact Dr Sian Morse-Jones (Senior Consultant)

Team CEP
12Sep 2018
CEP contribute to climate resilience book

CEP author of communication, collaboration and co-production chapter on building climate resilience

A new book on climate resilience “Resilience to Climate Change – Communication, Collaboration and Co-production” by Candice Howarth, Katya Brooks and Sian Morse-Jones has recently been published (August 2018) by Palgrave Pivot, which brings together multiple work on the challenges and opportunities of climate shocks.  

The Chapter “The importance of Communication, Collaboration and Co-production” by Candice Howarth and Sian Morse-Jones examines how communication and collaboration could be enhanced, in order to build resilient responses to nexus shocks.

For further information please contact Dr Sian Morse-Jones, Senior Consultant.

Team CEP
12Sep 2018
CEP Survey on Local Partnerships

Survey on local partnerships and the delivery of economic, social and environmental benefits

The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is seeking information on local partnerships and the delivery of economic, health and environmental benefits. Defra has commissioned independent research consultancy, Collingwood Environmental Planning (with its partners the Ecosystems Knowledge Network and New Economics Foundation) to undertake a survey on this topic.

The survey is aimed at people involved in organisations or partnerships in England working below the national level to achieve economic, health or environmental outcomes. We are really keen to hear from a range of economic, health and environmental partnerships.

The results of the survey will be used by Defra to find ways to further increase the value of local partnerships’ contribution to delivering the 25 Year Environment Plan. 

Your responses will be really valuable. The survey is voluntary and takes about 15 minutes to complete.  Most of the questions are multiple choice and do not ask for personally identifiable data.

Please CLICK HERE TO TAKE THE SURVEY , before Friday 5th October 2018. 

Please do share this survey link with relevant contacts as appropriate.

If you have any queries about this survey, please contact Paula Orr at Collingwood Environmental Planning (p.orr@cep.co.uk).

Many thanks for your help,

Collingwood Environmental Planning Project Team

Team CEP
12Sep 2018
CEP to run EU foresight system on emerging environmental issues

CEP to provide the secretariat for new EU foresight system to detect emerging environmental issues (FORENV)

CEP has been commissioned by the European Commission DG Environment to run a new EU foresight system to detect emerging environmental issues. Named FORENV, the project aims to ‘improve the understanding of policy-makers of emerging environmental issues by supporting yearly cycles of the system set up by the Environment Knowledge Community (EKC) for the identification of emerging environmental issues and related risks and opportunities (FORENV)’.

CEP will be working, initially over the course of the next 12 months, with colleagues from Milieu (Belgium), Cranfield University (UK), the German Federal Environment Agency and Vision Communication (Spain) to:

  • Conduct a broad scanning to compile and characterise at least 100 weak signals of emerging issues for Europe’s environment.

  • Through a participatory sense-making exercise, identify ten emerging environmental issues, including related risks and opportunities on the basis of a broad range of sources and expertise.

  • Characterise the identified emerging issues and define related risks and opportunities for the environment, through recent scientific literature and expert involvement.

  • Inform policy-makers, stakeholders and the public on the identified emerging issues through appropriate reporting and communications.

The project follows on from an earlier project undertaken by CEP and Milieu to develop a participatory methodological framework for the systematic identification of emerging issues for the environment (and environmental policies). This project will put that methodology into practice.  Subject to the first year the contract will be renewable for up to a further three times (to 48 months) to continue the detection of new emerging issues that could impact the environment and environmental policies, in order to allow the European Commission to put in place appropriate responses where necessary.

For further information please contact Owen White (Technical Director) or Paula Orr (Technical Director).

Team CEP
12Sep 2018
CEP delivering EEA workshop on urban sustainability

CEP delivering workshop to support EEA’s assessment of urban sustainability

For the first time, the European Environment Agency (EEA) will be explicitly addressing urban sustainability in the European Environment State and Outlook Report for 2020 (SOER2020). As part of CEP’s current framework contract with the EEA on forward-looking analysis, sustainability assessments and systemic transitions, CEP in partnership with LSE Cities, PBL and cChange is currently undertaking a contract on urban sustainability to support this aspect of SOER2020. Specifically, the project is building on the knowledge base and other deliverables from a previous contract undertaken by CEP and will deliver an analytical framework and select nexus analysis for urban sustainability assessments 2019-2020. Another important aim of this project is to develop the approach to an urban sustainability meta-benchmarking exercise.

On Thursday 13th September, CEP’s Ric Eales and Rolands Sadauskis together with partners from LSE Cities and PBL are running a one-day workshop with EEA experts in Copenhagen to facilitate their input to the ongoing work.

Team CEP