Environmental Site Assessment Services is a process aimed at integrating the environment into the development of a project from the early stages of reflection. It serves to enlighten both the project owner and the administration on the follow-up to be given to the project concerning environmental issues and those relating to human health in the area concerned, as well as to inform and guarantee public participation. Environmental due diligence audits are an important tool in the transfer of an operating site or in assessing the feasibility of the project.

It must account for the potential or proven effects on the environment of the project, plan or program and makes it possible to analyze and justify the choices made with regard to the issues identified in the territory concerned. The environmental assessment must be carried out as early as possible, in particular, in the event of multiple authorizations or decisions.

The aim of having a phase I environmental site assessment is to detect the actual and potential pollution indices of the site. More specifically, a Phase I consists of evaluating the already collected data, gathered by studying old as well as current files concerning the property, by site visits and by interviews. For a real estate sector development project or the refinancing of a property, or even for owners concerned about the value of their property or the protection of the environment, an environmental site assessment can detect signs of possible and actual contagion on a property.

It is the initial evaluation which is carried out in an exhaustive manner to determine some environmental condition that the property could present; within the scope of the study are:

• Field trip
• Analysis of the environmental characteristics of the property and boundaries
• Existing urban infrastructure
• Analysis of predominant land use on the site
• Cartographic analysis of the natural environment
• Identification of the presence of protected species of flora and fauna
• Compatibility with Ecological Planning and current Urban Development plans.
• Restrictions (pipelines, power lines, roads, federal zone, etc.).
• Linking with applicable regulatory instruments
• Runoff and surface water bodies
• Presence of hazardous waste and special handling
• Presence of Biological Waste - Infectious.
• Archaeological remains, historical and artistic monuments
• Analysis of previous uses and their level of compliance with environmental legislation
• Determination of costs for environmental liabilities.
• Result of phase-1 environmental site assessment
• A better understanding of the potential environmental risk associated with the property and in some cases protecting it from future environmental obligations
• Independent assessment of real estate risk and environmental obligations
• Calculation of potential costs to minimize these risks with a summary report of potentially high risks
• Delivering results as soon as possible to ensure customer's sales target

Such an assessment is also used, on the one hand, to know the level of the contamination and the volume of the soil or groundwater to be treated and, on the other hand, to establish a rehabilitation plan as well as the budget necessary for the 'work execution. The main objective of this course is to present the different stages of an Environmental Consultants, from historical research and visual inspection (phase I) of a site.