As part of the Island Plan 2002 Review, the Planning and Environment Department commissioned a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). A SEA is a systemic process for evaluating the environmental consequences of plans and programmes to ensure that environmental issues are integrated and assessed at the earliest opportunity in the decision-making process.

Baseline data was gathered to characterise the existing environmental conditions across the Island and used to determine key trends and issues. From the list of key trends and issues certain environmental problems were identified which Hyder Consulting offered a number of environmental objectives to be included in the updated Island Plan.