Environmental Improvement Plan 2025

The Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP) 2025 sets out how England will deliver its legally binding environmental targets under the Environment Act 2021. National in scope, the Plan has implications for regional coordination, partnership working and place-based delivery across a range of environments, including coastal, river catchment and urban areas.

The EIP is centred on the overarching ambition of restored nature and is structured around five chapters:

Chapter 1: Restored Nature

Chapter 2: Environmental Quality

Chapter 3: Circular Economy

Chapter 4: Environmental Security

Chapter 5: Access to Nature.

Together, these chapters outline ten long-term goals supported by specific commitments and delivery actions.

A consistent theme throughout the Plan is the importance of joined-up delivery across sectors and geographies, with a focus on collaboration between public, private and voluntary organisations. Commitments linked to Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS) highlight the role of alignment between local, regional and national activity in supporting environmental outcomes.

The Plan promotes nature recovery at scale, encouraging landscape- and seascape-scale approaches that integrate land, water and coastal environments. This includes improving biodiversity, habitat condition and ecosystem resilience, as well as strengthening connections between terrestrial and marine planning where relevant.

Cross-Sector Themes

• Partnership and coordination: Collaborative working across sectors and geographies to align local, regional, and national action
• Place-based delivery: Supporting local and regional partnerships to deliver environmental outcomes
• Monitoring and evaluation, and accountability: Interim targets, measurable indicators, and clearer expectations for implementation
• Investment and funding: Emphasis on leveraging public and private resources to support delivery

Key priorities addressed by the Plan include nature recovery, water quality, habitat resilience, flood and coastal erosion management, circular economy measures, and public health and wellbeing.

The EIP also links environmental improvement to public health, wellbeing and access to nature, highlighting cleaner air and water and improved access to blue and green spaces. In addition, circular economy measures addressing waste reduction and resource efficiency aim to reduce pollution, including litter and plastics.

In terms of delivery, the Plan introduces interim targets, measurable indicators and clearer expectations for implementation, alongside a greater emphasis on investment and funding mechanisms. This provides a framework within which regional partnerships can align activity, demonstrate the benefits of coordination and support integrated environmental delivery.

Overall, the Environmental Improvement Plan 2025 emphasises the role of coordinated, partnership-led and place-based approaches in delivering environmental outcomes across England.

Find the Environmental Improvement Plan here.