Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) Walk-Through Survey Online Course

By applying an environmental approach to inspecting commercial properties, you will learn how to identify environmental risks and complete field documentation to support Phase I ESA reports.

Through eight step-by-step video demonstrations, you’ll follow a commercial property inspector and EP performing a complete site visit, including conducting the inspection in proper sequence, identifying common environmental concerns, and applying documentation best practices.

By the end of the course, you will know what to expect when partnering with environmental firms to assist in Phase I ESAs and understand how your observations support the EP in confirming, ruling out, or recommending further investigation. The featured EP provides a behind-the-scenes look at how this assessment is done from start to finish.

While inspectors can’t independently perform legally defensible Phase I ESAs without EP qualifications, this course prepares you to partner with environmental firms, expand your service offerings, and support your clients’ interests during due diligence.

Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• Understand Phase I ESA fundamentals and the four-part assessment process
• Distinguish inspector responsibilities from EP responsibilities
• Perform the site visit portion of a Phase I ESA in partnership with an environmental firm
• Identify, describe, and document potential environmental risks at commercial properties
• Explain the legal and liability protections that environmental assessments provide during CRE purchase, lending, and refinancing
• Recognize how the inspection supports EP expertise in developing conclusions, opinions, and recommendations for the final report
• Define RECs, CRECs, HRECs, and environmental indicators and when Phase II and III investigations follow

This online course is the required prerequisite to begin offering Phase I ESAs to your clients through CCPIA’s partnership with a national environmental firm. Upon successful completion, you’ll have the option to submit your information directly to the firm. They’ll take it from there. If you decide choose to move forward with partnering, you can offer Phase I ESAs to your clients by performing the on-site assessment and submitting the documentation to the firm, which will complete the remainder of the report you can provide to your client. Get started below to learn how to perform Phase I ESA site visits and add this valuable service to your inspection offerings.