All commercial properties have some environmental exposure, whether from past operations, planned construction activity or new operations planned for the property.

Before your client closes a real estate deal, suggest they follow our 10 Environmental Commandments of Real Estate Buying:

1. Beware of the "Buried" Past. Investigate past uses of property as far into the past as possible. Also investigate past use of adjacent properties. Was your land formerly an oil field or the site of a gas station? Was there a manufacturing plant next door?
2. Perform due diligence. Look closely at the physical condition of the property by performing Phase I and Phase II site assessments that identify potential environmental exposures.
3. Know if former environmental hazards were corrected up to current code. Environmental regulations change. If the property you are purchasing has not been used in awhile, investigate if past environmental problems live up to today’s standards.
4. Identify environmental exposures created by your activity. If you are developing or operating at the property, pay close attention to your own activities. The improper installation of a heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system could lead to indoor air problems. Construction activity could disrupt and spread contaminated soils if they are present.
5. Know your neighbor’s land and business as well as your own. Your neighbor’s environmental problems and practices could become your problem, affecting your property and business.
6. Understand the potential financial implications of environmental incidents. While the number of environmental incidents affecting companies is relatively low in relation to other liabilities, when they do occur they can bear significant costs for cleanup, fines and legal fees. Realize the potential and have a plan in place to manage the outcome of an environmental incident should it occur.
7. Where possible, eliminate risk. Some exposures can be entirely eliminated. An underground storage tank can be removed. A chemical stored at a facility can be kept elsewhere.
8. Learn to control your potential environmental exposures. Risk is an everyday reality in business. When it cannot be eliminated, it can be managed to minimize its potential impact. To control exposures, property owners can implement a variety of risk control programs that include employee training. ECS Risk Control can provide these services to your client.
9. Examine ways to transfer your environmental risk. Standard general liability policies do not provide coverage for pollution conditions. ECS offers specialty insurance coverages to meet the environmental risk transfer needs of property owners. These insurance programs address cleanup costs, cost overruns, third-party liability and legal defense.
10. Plan for the Potential. Even when all risks are carefully managed, incidents do occur. With the initial purchase of a property, buyers should plan on the steps to take when an incident occurs so that a lucrative investment does not turn into a financial nightmare.