A multi-year process of revision to the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA) was initiated by the United Nations Statistical Commission. The revised SEEA builds upon its predecessors: the SEEA-2003 and the SEEA-1993. The Commission mandated the United Nations Committee of Experts on Environmental-Economic Accounting (UNCEEA) to manage and supervise the revision process. The UNCEEA is assisted by various technical groups. Among these groups, the London Group on Environmental Accounting plays an important role in addressing technical issues.

Global consultation on the SEEA Central Framework completed in 2011 and it was adopted by the United Nations Statistical Commission, at its 43rd Session in 2012, as the first international standard for environmental-economic accounting. The white cover version of the SEEA Central Framework was published in May 2012. Work on the additional portions of the SEEA, namely Experimental Ecosystem Accounts and Applications and Extensions, is on-going and expected to be completed before the 44th Session of the Statistical Commission in February 2013.

The revision process of the SEEA relies on broad global consultation involving experts from government agencies and international organizations. Consultation is designed as an iterative process, beginning with consultation on key issues, followed by draft chapters, and finally a draft of the consolidated chapters.