Due Diligence and ESG: Twelve environmental questions

Whether you're an investor seeking to mitigate environmental risks or an acquisition professional looking to gain insight into a company's environmental footprint, due diligence is a critical step in the process. Environmental due diligence helps stakeholders navigate the complex web of environmental laws, regulations, and risks to ensure that potential environmental liabilities are identified and quantified. Here are 12 key questions to consider in your environmental due diligence process.

Are there any voluntary commitments that go beyond the legal standards, if so, have they been met?
Documentation: Are the waste approval and waste information sheet for controllable waste complete?
Has environmental damage or risk been identified (and if so, to what extent)?
Has the company carried out consistent PR in the environmental sector?
Have remediation or audit mandates been issued by the authorities or are administrative proceedings pending for environmental damage or risks?
Have any environmental investigations been carried out into known or potential environmental damage?
Have any environmental investigations ever been carried out?
Have remediation concepts been developed with regard to such environmental damage or have any remediation measures been carried out at all?
How were the premises of the companies used in the past?
Waste management concept: is there a coherent waste management concept?
What is influenced by the environmental damage or hazards identified (soil, other media (in particular groundwater, soil air, air), buildings (asbestos?)
Which products, production processes from the past can lead to liability?