If you are operating in a field of work that is closely connected to commercial properties and the transactions related to those, then you need to think about one concept that can save you from certain liabilities and that can, of course, save you lots and lots of money. In case you cannot guess which concept I am referring to here, let me cut right to the chase. I am talking about environmental due diligence, and you should definitely learn more about it, as well as about due diligence in general.
Given that you are here, it is safe to say that you are familiar with this concept at least to a certain extent. After all, you wouldn’t be looking to learn more about it if you hadn’t previously heard of it. There is also a chance that you have at least an idea as to how important this entire concept is. Although, things are probably still not perfectly clear to you.
Depending on how long you’ve been in the business, you are certainly familiar with all of this to a specific extent. Yet, the fact that you are here tells me that you aren’t entirely sure as to what it is and why it is important, which hints at the fact that you probably haven’t been in business for far too long. Sure, I might be wrong there, but I like to think that those highly experienced people dealing with commercial property transactions know what they are doing.
Whatever the case may be, though, here is what’s important. Basically, you want to learn a bit more about environmental due diligence, which is why you’ve come here in the first place. You want to figure out precisely what it is, as well as why it is so important. Well, the good news is that I will undeniably help you figure things out right now, because I’ve decided to provide you with the answers to those two important questions.
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What Is Environmental Due Diligence?
As explained above, I am here to answer the two most important questions that you have about this concept. And, of course, I am going to begin with the more basic one, as there’s no point in talking about the significance of the concept if you still don’t even know what it entails. So, that is the first thing you should learn, and then we can proceed towards explaining the actual importance of it all.
Environmental due diligence is basically a process that is aimed at assessing a property, or land for that matter, for possible environmental contamination risks. Those can include soil contamination, groundwater and similar things. There are due diligence standards provided by the Environmental Protection Agency, commonly known as EPA, and you need to be sure that those standards are met before going through with any transactions.
If you are now confused about how this assessment is done, let me clear things up right away. Basically, there are environmental professionals who make the decisions regarding the forms and the degrees of assessment that are necessary. Those forms and degrees will vary from one land to another, meaning that you cannot always do exactly the same thing and claim the land or the property to be risk free without actually including professionals into the process.
Why Is It Important?
Now that you have an idea on what the due diligence environmental process entails, you are most likely wondering why it is so important in the first place. Can you just ignore all of this and move on with your life and your business as usual? Well, let me immediately stop those ideas right there and tell you that ignoring this is not an option, especially not if you want to do your job and purchase a specific property the right way and be protected along in the process.
You are now most probably curious as to what kind of protection I am talking about, so let me tell you a bit more about that. As a purchaser, you might be burdened by environmental liability under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, or CERCLA if you don’t do your due diligence. Since liability is never a nice word to hear, it would be best for you to do the due diligence before completing any transactions, as that’s how you’ll stay protected.
Taking these measures will help you reduce unnecessary risks and prevent unwanted expenditures by actually assessing those potential environmental liabilities. I am sure that the importance of this process is now perfectly clear to you. So, don’t forget to always do your due diligence, because you don’t want to be held liable for certain risks afterwards.
