A nature/environment-inclusive SCBA

In 2000 the Dutch government made a Social Cost/Benefit Analysis (SCBA) mandatory for major infrastructure projects. Witteveen+Bos is a front-runner when it comes to SCBA. An SCBA is an integral decision-supporting tool that weighs up all present and future pros and cons for society of spatial interventions. It does this by expressing them in financial terms.

A nature/environment-inclusive SCBA addresses not only the direct financial costs and benefits, but also a project’s positive and negative impact on nature, the environment and other ambient qualities. An SCBA can show whether investment in a certain project is or is not the right choice from the point of view of society. It can also identify the best alternative project. An SCBA helps avoid economically inefficient choices. Besides accountability for decisions and the resultant expenditure, an SCBA is usable to substantiate investments in ambient qualities like nature, the environment, cultural heritage and social safety. An SCBA can provide effective support when using an assessment framework for the decision-making process in civil engineering projects.