About ERIS
ERIS has been making it fast and easy for clients to access essential information about properties for nearly 25 years. The firm provides environmental and historical data, as well as property due diligence applications and software solutions in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. The company serves clients across the real estate and finance industries: banks, lenders, environmental consultants and engineers, private equity and real estate investors, insurers, legal firms, municipal governments and more.
How ERIS uses ClimateCheck
ERIS offers ClimateCheck’s climate risk analysis to environmental consultants and engineers performing environmental site assessments (ESAs) and property condition assessments (PCAs), as well as other members of its core customer base like real estate investment trusts (REITs) and private equity firms who are considering physical climate risk to their portfolios or to potential investment properties.
“We anticipate that climate risk assessments could become a standard environmental due diligence step for commercial property transactions in the United States,” says Jeff Doerner, Senior Vice President of North American Sales at ERIS. “By working with ClimateCheck, we help our clients stay ahead of the curve and make smarter, more informed strategic decisions.”
ClimateCheck rates the risk of a growing list of climate-driven hazards including heat, precipitation, drought, flooding, wind, and fire to properties on a 1-100 scale. Risk scores measure expected increases in hazard intensity for targeted properties through 2050, relative to other locations in the contiguous U.S. and Canada. ERIS clients can cross-reference ClimateCheck services like portfolio analysis and commercial property reports against ERIS resources to deepen due diligence processes and inform strategic decisions.
ClimateCheck products’ clarity and ease of use made ClimateCheck the standout choice for ERIS among other climate risk data options. Plus, ClimateCheck’s streamlined service packages offered more for less than other climate risk data providers.
“ClimateCheck really aligned with how we sell our products and what our clients come to us for. We were impressed with ClimateCheck’s interdisciplinary team of experts, the company’s extensive and transparent methodology, and ClimateCheck’s responsiveness to clients. ClimateCheck is a partner that picks up the phone when you call, and that’s ready to grow and add features in response to your needs as a client,” says Doerner.
A dedication to providing clients with powerful products and outstanding service made the relationship a natural match, too.
“I felt like their culture really fit our business culture,” Doerner says. “From our first call, our teams immediately understood what we needed from one another. It felt like the businesses were built the same, from a forward-thinking approach to how we treat our customers.”
Benefits of ClimateCheck: Staying ahead of the market
ERIS’ clients need to know as much as they can about current hazards and potential risks at a given property. Environmental professionals perform ESAs to learn about past commercial uses of their property that could indicate the presence of or contamination from hazardous substances, and engineers perform PCAs to help their clients understand the current state of their properties, including what systems may need updating or replacement. Increasingly, property owners and potential buyers also need to know how climate-driven disasters and extreme weather can put property at physical risk.
“Climate change is on everyone's mind,” Doerner says. “It's an emerging topic, but as regions experience more and more destructive wildfires, floods, hurricanes, heat waves, and other extremes, the real estate sector is becoming more conscious of the real and growing hazards facing properties. Natural disasters have always been a risk, but the level of risk is changing, and often it’s growing.”
Climate-driven hazards can damage or destroy a property, which is itself a loss, but can also cause other problems resulting in liability for property owners. Disasters can cause hazardous substances on site to spread to other nearby properties, for example; and extreme weather poses risk to people living and working at properties such as apartment buildings, long-term care facilities, medical facilities, and other residential buildings.
The emergence of new guidelines and regulations around climate risk assessment and disclosure puts additional pressure on environmental consultants, real estate investors and enterprises to account for climate risk in their assets and operations. These new guidelines and regulations include ASTM’s forthcoming guide pertaining to climate risk to property, proposed disclosure requirements from the SEC, and Canada’s Guideline B-15.
For ERIS, offering Climate Risk Assessment Reports powered by ClimateCheck isn’t about checking a box or providing clients with superficially green options. It’s about getting ahead of the curve, so ERIS clients can have a strategic advantage as they adapt to a world that’s being reshaped by climate change.
“Climate change poses material risk to anyone with a stake in property. Clients of ERIS depend on us to provide them with the data and analysis they need to take proactive steps to mitigate climate risk to their properties and portfolios. Adopting ClimateCheck helps us continue to stay steps ahead of an ever changing market,” says Doerner.