The 2026 EIA conference focuses on Innovation, Impact & Insight. It will see 120+ attendees sharing knowledge & experience of Scottish EIA.

As of 31 July 2026 the conference is now sold out for general release and dedicated planning authority tickets, in addition all 20 spaces on the Waitling List are currently full (hence the option to join the waiting list has been paused). Apologies for Eventbrite's automatic "few places remaining" sticker, this is not generated by ourselves (nor can we seemingly remove it!), it reflects that a number of conference partners / sponsors and speakers are yet to be registered rather than their being any general open tickets remaining.

Full details of the 2026 conference are set out below:

The 2026 edition of Scotland’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Conference will be held on Wednesday 7th October in central Edinburgh. Our theme for this year seeks to explore insight, impact and innovation related to EIA with opportunities to both hear about and contribute to new practice guidance, alongside discussion of the tool's application across different forms of development.

The conference is a free to attend in person event for those actively involved in Scottish EIA practice and registration is required to attend. We will be returning to our favoured venue just off the Royal Mile - The Edinburgh Training and Conference Centre.

The 120+ person conference will hear from leaders in the field exploring the latest guidance from Government and practice. The day's plenaries and workshops will ensure engagement across the broad range of attendees including: developers; Government; statutory bodies; consultants; academics; NGOs; local authorities and environmental topic specialists. The agenda will include coverage of writing effective mitigation, cumulative effects, newer forms of development, case law, EIA climate change guidance and more.

The conference remains free to attend thanks to the kind sponsorship of:

Brodies LLP

Haskoning

LUC

Lichfields

RSK

Registration opened on 7th July and you need to use the code: 26EIA to access general release tickets. To ensure we achieve the great mix of attendees that this event has become well know for we ask that no organisation registers more than 3 tickets.

The conference is alway very popular; so once all tickets are reserved a waiting list will be opened; however, this also tends to get full quite quickly so please do book as early as you can to avoid disappointment.

We are also pleased to provide a number of free tickets for council planning teams from across Scotland and to each of the Statutory Environmental Consultees, which are distributed by our conference partners. ​Scotland's EIA Conference 2026 is led by Fothergill Training & Consulting Ltd in partnership with the Scottish Government, HES, NatureScot and SEPA.

Format & Timings for the Day - The conference includes opportunities for networking during its morning coffee break, buffet lunch and afternoon tea break.

From 9.30 - Arrival & Registration

10.00 - Opening Plenary

Morning coffee break & networking

11.25: Three EIA Breakout Sessions with delegates able to attend all sessions. Delegates attend two breakouts before lunch (12.45) with the final breakout session from 13.35.

14.20: Afternoon Plenary

Afternoon tea break & networking

15.25: Closing Plenary

16.30 Conference Close and Departure

If you have any queries about Scotland's EIA Conference, please contact Josh@fothergilltc.com

Description supplied by the event organiser.