Editor: Joseph Lewis
January 2025

Speaking up for science: Case studies for environmental policy

As a professional body, the IES understands that expertise is not an abstract concept: it is something that people have and that communities can share.

Case studies are a key part of sharing expertise. They support learning through clear examples of how a particular lesson was applied in practice, and they bring potentially intangible approaches to life.

Understanding how to effectively engage within the world of policy will be increasingly important for environmental professionals. This collection will take readers through the policy process, identifying how we can effectively engage with environmental policy at each stage.

From issue identification to implementation, it offers insights intended to spread good practice throughout the environmental policy community.

  • Soils and Stones: Setting the agenda - Sarah Ridgeon, Society for the Environment (SocEnv)
  • Science and the BBNJ Agreement - Ed Hill and Alan Evans, National Oceanography Centre, UK
  • Two case studies from a centre of expertise - ClimateXChange
  • Citizen science and air quality - Ruth Calderwood, City of London Corporation
  • Uncertainty in climate change: implications for policy - Gary Kass, University of Surrey
  • Strategic engagement to achieve impact - Joseph Lewis, the Institution of Environmental Sciences
  • Lessons from the introduction of mandatory Biodiversity Net Gain - Ellie Savage, EPIC
  • The missed opportunity of Local Air Quality Management: A personal view - James Longhurst, Emeritus Professor Environmental Science, University of the West of England
  • Evaluation and the 25 Year Environment Plan - Rebecca Wells, Logika Group

Overall, the collection provides a window into how environmental professionals are engaging with policy, from the early stages of emerging issues to long-term implementation and evaluation.

The hope of the IES is that these case studies will provide readers with techniques and approaches that they can adopt, as well as with a deeper understanding of how to engage effectively in the potentially unfamiliar realm of policy making.

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