Tom Dearing has joined Savills as Associate Director in the Environment and Infrastructure team.
Tom joins with 12 years’ experience of working on climate change impacts together with project management of consenting and Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) for major developments including Development Consent Order (DCO) projects.
At Savills his role will entail supporting clients with the net zero carbon transition for the built environment, through advising on carbon management for projects and consenting of essential sustainable infrastructure.
Tom is an expert assessor of climate impacts, mitigation and adaptation for EIA. He co-authored the 2022 Institute for Environmental Management & Assessment (IEMA) guidance on assessing significance of greenhouse gas emissions in EIA, which is widely recognised as the leading good-practice approach in this area.
Tom’s consenting management and EIA experience includes major infrastructure developments, particularly in the power, renewables and waste sectors, and a range of residential and mixed-use schemes. In 2018-22 he project-managed the successful DCO application and EIA Thurrock Flexible Generation Plant, which combines hydrogen-ready peaking electricity generation capacity with substantial battery storage. He’s also advised on a radioactive waste treatment facility, a DCO-scale power upgrade to an energy-from-waste facility, and a novel enzymatic waste digestor (the first of its kind in the UK).
His background also includes expertise in health impact assessment – in particular the quantitative health effects of air pollutant and noise exposure, employment, and electromagnetic fields – and experience with air quality assessment, environmental permitting and natural capital accounting.
The Brighton-based team advise on infrastructure and planning projects nationally, including environmental impacts and NSIP project, and work closely with existing Savills teams across all sectors.
Dan Smyth, Director in Savills Environment and Infrastructure team comments “We are delighted to strengthen our rapidly growing Savills Environment and Infrastructure team. Tom’s mix of low-carbon expertise and major project consenting experience helps us deliver for clients who are working towards the UK’s net zero carbon transition.”
