What are the main types of impacts?
Impacts are usually considered to fall into three categories: economic, social and environmental. Sometimes impact assessments focus on a single category. For example Environmental Impact Assessments are well established, and are carried out as part of the approval process to assess the likely impacts of a range of proposed activities that may have potentially harmful effects on the environment. Sometimes impact assessments produce reports for more specific purposes. For example impact assessments may focus exclusively on health, poverty, regulation or gender impacts. Integrated impact assessments (which include sustainability impact assessments) are increasingly being undertaken. Such assessments cover a range of economic, social and environmental impacts. Impacts can be analysed at a number of levels. For example you might be interested in the impact the activity has on individuals, on households, on enterprises, on the community or on institutions (or on a combination of these). See
