International engineering and project management consultancy Royal HaskoningDHV Group has launched a digital and interactive environmental-impact statement (EIS) to replace the traditional, outdated, paper-based reporting approach of interpreting data surrounding the environmental impact of a project.

Three-dimensional visuals and videos now outline the environmental-impact assessment’s (EIA’s) findings and explain the “nature of the issue and what the future situation will look like”, making EIA reporting quicker, more interactive, transparent and accessible.

“The new EIS uses accessible, interactive visuals to revolutionise the way the results of an EIA are interpreted and shared between project partners, saving valuable time, accelerating decision-making and advancing stakeholder engagement,” explains Royal HaskoningDHV South Africa MD Salani Sithole.

The interactive Web-based platform was developed in response to increasing demand for digitisation and transparency, says Royal HaskoningDHV EIA strategic adviser and co-creator of the digital EIS Paul Eijssen.

“The traditional manner of reporting an EIA was outdated and I knew we needed to innovate and change to ensure that the EIS continued to have relevance and impact in our collective decision-making processes,” he says.

The new digital platform boasts clickable maps, graphs and simple-to-understand tables, and enables users to “walk through” the virtual landscape and “experience” and view a better visual impression of a completed project.

“This will accelerate decision-making, enhance transparency and create greater stakeholder engagement,” Eijssen adds.

The digital platform was developed in collaboration with the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment, and has received positive input from the Netherlands Commission for Environmental Assessment.

A joint pilot using an existing project – to reinforce the Houtrib dyke, in the Netherlands – saw the existing environmental report converted into a digital interactive form that disclosed the information through a website using modern visualisation techniques.