Helping Risk Managers Communicate the Value of Environmental Due Diligence

EDR/LightBox is excited to announce a new, advanced reporting module to Collateral360 that is designed to give you the information you need to drive critical business decisions. This new tool allows for greater report functionality including the ability to group common elements, add calculations to any report, and plot data on a comprehensive graph or chart.

Join this product spotlight when Al Gabberty and Matt DeVoe will demonstrate this powerful new feature.

Sound business considerations, combined with growing regulatory requirements and focus, are driving commercial real estate investors and lenders to include an assessment of building energy performance in the property condition assessment (PCA) that is conducted as part of the property due diligence process prior to the transaction's closing.

Newly published ASTM E3224-19, Building Energy Performance and Improvement Evaluation (referred to as the “BEPIE”), aims to address this growing need for assessing building energy performance. Its purpose is to identify if a building is under-performing compared to peers, and if so, identify possible measures that might improve energy performance and/or cost. The overall objective is to evaluate what it might take to achieve parity with peer buildings in the area. E3224 is specifically designed to be used in conjunction with ASTM E2018 for property condition assessment. As such, it will become more and more likely that a PCA consultant will be asked to include an assessment of the building’s energy performance.

Join this webinar when Anthony Buonicore, P.E., Chair, ASTM Building Energy Performance Task Group, will cover the background for E3224, its practical application as part of a PCA, and the opportunity it offers firms who are able to include energy assessments into their scopes of work.

What You’ll Learn:

• The regulatory and business driving forces behind building’s energy
performance assessment
• The steps in conducting a BEPIE pre-acquisition screening
assessment
• The data requirements for a BEPIE
• How BEPIE results can be integrated into a PCA
• Why this is a new business opportunity for property due diligence
consultants
• The benefit to commercial real estate owners, investors and lenders

Over the past two years, there has been a wave of regulatory changes around the use of evaluations for valuing real estate. It started in March 2017 with a joint letter to congress issued by the Federal Financial Institutions Examination requesting a review of the threshold, and there have been several changes since, with the banking regulators, credit union administration, and Small Business Administration all coming out with new rules.
What next? Join this complimentary webcast where EDR and our partner, LCS’s Sr Vice President of Valuation Services Eric Roeder, will discuss the latest rules governing the use of evaluations, as well as LCS evaluations services available in Collateral360.
LCS commercial evaluations provide a cost effective, fast and accurate means of determining value. In addition to a thorough review of the new regulations, we'll review the LCS evaluation reports.

The review process is a critical step in the underwriting process. Appraisals, evaluations, environmental and construction reports require reviews to verify and document the quality, accuracy and acceptability of the due diligence findings.

The reality is, the review process is a very manual, disjointed and labor-intensive effort that can delay closings and add costs. It also comes with compliance and risk management implications.

EDR recently introduced a powerful Online Review Memo (ORM) to its Collateral360 platform. Join this complimentary webcast where EDR’s Al Gabberty and Matt DeVoe will walk you through this powerful new feature. The ORM simplifies the review process by integrating disparate data captured from various project sources to develop a well-formed review memo that includes all relevant information required for an effective, high quality review.

The last two years have been strong ones for the commercial real estate market—and by extension, for the U.S. Phase I ESA market. For a number of key reasons, 2019 is writing a different story. Market fundamentals are still strong but mid-year market barometers paint a picture of slowing growth. Tune in to this market recap to find out what you can expect in the second half of the year.

Speaker Dianne Crocker, principal analyst at EDR, will drill down into the mid-year market stats from the ScoreKeeper model to take the pulse of the U.S. Phase I ESA market and highlight how the hot spots for CRE investment are driving the high-growth markets for environmental due diligence. Crocker will also cover the latest intel on the market forecast and the greatest risks facing commercial real estate over the near-term.

While you catch up on your summer reading and enjoy some R&R, take a break to tune it for a quick snapshot of the market and what to expect in the second half.

Summer school is in session! Join us for this webinar focused on the value of building a professional network and learning from others along the way. Whether you are an industry veteran or just starting out, you’ll learn something from two accomplished environmental consulting leaders on what has shaped their career success, lessons they learned along the way and the value they place on mentor relationships.

New information on the dangers of Polyfluoroalkyl Substances, or PFAS, is creating confusion and concern across the environmental industry. Many states have put new guidelines and regulations in place for managing PFAS risks, and the U.S. EPA will likely act soon. In today’s uncertain regulatory environment, what do environmental due diligence professionals need to be aware of to prevent liability for themselves and their clients? EDR has teamed up with leading national PFAS expert Dr. Harry Behzadi of SGS to share the practical information you need to identify and manage PFAS risks during property due diligence.

Competitive pressures are requiring real estate lenders and investors to complete underwriting and due diligence more quickly and cost effectively than ever, but not at the expense of prudent risk management, or for regulated banks and credit unions, compliance.

One of the most time consuming and costly components to lending is the data collection and analysis required for underwriting, especially the appraisal procurement and review process. While technology exists to streamline the process, the reality is most lenders still use excel spreadsheets, word processing software and email to support the process.

Join this complimentary webcast where we’ll demonstrate how technology is transforming the appraisal procurement and review process. See how some lenders are reducing appraisal cycle time by as much as 60%, while at the same time building powerful business intelligence by capturing valuation and other data.

Each year at EDR’s PRISM conference, an up-and-coming risk management or due diligence professional is recognized for impressive achievement in leadership, visibility, professional competency and/or industry involvement. Building on this popular awards category, EDR is excited to launch a new Developing Leaders program aimed to further the development of our industry’s future leaders. This new initiative will provide education and mentor/mentee connections to leverage the industry knowledge of prominent business leaders, and provide newer professionals with the tools and resources they need to fulfill their education and professional development goals.

Each of the webinar speakers is an industry veteran who is deeply committed to helping rising professionals learn what they wish they knew when they were just starting out. Whether you’re a seasoned manager looking to retain top talent—or a newbie just starting out, join us for this kickoff webinar to hear what’s in store from EDR’s new Developing Leaders program!

Who should attend:

•Risk management professionals just starting out in the field
•Experienced industry veterans
•Anyone looking to broaden his/her professional development expertise

Speakers:

John Rybak, 2017 winner of the PRISM Industry Influencer award, and BB&T’s SVP Environmental Risk Manager
Roger Caramanica, Ph.D., EDR’s VP of Organizational Development
Dianne Crocker, EDR Insight’s Principal Analyst

The new EDR FieldCheck gives you more control over your Radius Map reports than ever before. Move and plot records with the help of Lightbox’s crystal clear base maps, current aerial photography, tax maps and other advanced features. With this update, you'll be able to quickly and easily apply your knowledge about environmental records to refine search results.

During the webinar we’ll demonstrate the new FieldCheck and provide a refresher on the power of Lightbox.

EDR is making big improvements to FieldCheck™, so you can move or remove records using the tools in Lightbox, such as crystal clear basemaps, current aerial photography, tax maps and more.The improved FieldCheck is launching soon, join us to hear what is changing, see a demonstration the application, and ask questions.

Despite the doomsday headlines about store closures, there is a great deal of excitement and energy in the retail sector. Demand is high for redeveloping older, obsolete sites in areas with promising demographics. Technology is playing an important role is helping retailers identify the most promising sites quickly and efficiently while proactively managing risk. This webinar brings together retail sector experts Gregg Katz from the Atlanta Shopping Center Group and Stephanie Cegielski from ICSC to address the latest trends impacting the retail sector and how technology and data play a key role in site selection. The session is moderated by Dan Welby from EDR.

EDR’s PARCEL platform provides property assessors and due diligence professionals with tools to make projects of any scope more efficient and complete. The benefits are significantly amplified for portfolio projects that cover multiple properties, whether the project consists of four sites side-by-side or 1,000 sites across the country. Join us for a webinar to see how PARCEL can help you achieve Portfolio Perfection on your next multisite project. During this 45-minute presentation Tom Adams, Senior Product Manager at EDR will cover:

+ How PARCEL creates consistency in look, feel and language across all your company’s reports
+ Quality control mechanisms that can save hours and ensure salient data is consistent across all reports with in a project
+ Project management tools to keep large projects on time and within budget
+ Making last minute changes across multiple sites or the entire portfolio from one place
+ Global oversight to ensure everything stays on track

The last 15 minutes will allow for Q&A.

We hope you’ll join us as we explore how your team can save hours per property using PARCEL for portfolio projects.

Business conditions for the environmental industry are currently strong, particularly in infrastructure, transportation and commercial development markets. Still, forecasters are predicting the market will begin to experience recessionary conditions in the next 18-24 months. What’s your strategic plan? Are you positioned to benefit from any market changes, and what will be the opportunities and challenges?

Join us for this timely webinar and come away armed with the tips you need to position your firm for growth. Al Spiers, 2020 Environmental Group Founder and CEO, will give attendees proven strategies for developing an effective strategic growth plan. Topics will include: what markets are hot and not; strategic growth plans for expanding into new markets and geographies; improving key performance metrics to support investment strategies; and opportunities for using M&A as a growth strategy. This includes companies that may be considering selling and merging with a new, larger strategic partner.

The updated SOP was released by the SBA last Friday.

EDR is pleased to host Part II of last week’s webcast where we’ll focus exclusively on changes to the environmental guidelines. This 20-minute webinar is a must attend for anyone originating SBA 504 or 7a loans.
Version J of SOP 50 10 5 represents the agency’s first update to its environmental guidance since 2014 (when it adopted the revised ASTM Phase I E 1527 standard). EDR’s James Haberlen will provide a timely update on what this round of changes mean to the environmental due diligence required on any loans seeking the SBA’s approval.

With commercial real estate prices leveling out—and even dropping in some areas—interest rates on the rise, and the likelihood of another cyclical market downturn in the next 18-24 months, what should lenders and investors be doing differently now to protect themselves from property environmental risk? What environmental risks are tripping up property deals? What are the risks of ignoring vapor migration risk? Two attorneys will share their observations on common mistakes in due diligence, drawing from real-world case studies and provide specifics on how underwriting should change at this stage of the commercial real estate cycle.

EDR will share the late-breaking changes to the SBA’s SOP 50 10 5—the agency’s first update to its environmental guidance since 2014 (when it adopted the revised ASTM Phase I E 1527 standard). Speakers will share details on the changes coming out October 1 and effective in January 2018. Don’t miss this timely update on what this round of changes mean to the environmental due diligence required on any loans seeking the agency’s approval. Benefits:
-what’s changing?
-latest statistics on SBA lending volumes
-a primer on SBA’s tiered process for environmental investigations

Join us for the latest!

This timely track will distill the headlines into real-world intel about how the priorities of the U.S. EPA are taking shape in a Trump Presidency. Overmeyer will share the U.S. EPA's latest budget forecast, the recently released regulatory agenda, and likely areas of policy focus for site assessment and cleanup.

The speakers will highlight what is likely to change, and where bipartisan support remains strong. Outside the Beltway, macro market forces are converging to drive more interest in redeveloping contaminated properties than ever before. Attendees will leave with an understanding of why the U.S. property market is heading into an exciting period of “redevelopment renaissance.”

The industry's only application to screen for vapor encroachment risk will soon be new and improved. We're moving the VEC App to Lightbox, saving you time. These updates will also include major improvements to key VEC App features like the ground water flow tool, filtering, report output and more. Join us for a preview of the new VEC App.