Jordan Pierce: This is Decisions at Scale, where we explore how data and intelligence are reshaping the way industries make decisions that move markets. Across the country, billions of dollars move every week in commercial real estate — and behind every deal there’s one big unknown: what’s really in the ground?

For lenders, REITs, and private-equity firms, a full environmental assessment can take weeks and cost thousands. Many skip it, taking that risk on faith. For environmental consultancies, those same assessments are often loss leaders — long hours spent combing through coded EPA data with slim margins unless contamination is found later.

But a new tool from the team at FlipType is giving both sides a faster, data-driven option: an AI-assisted Desk-Side ESA Screening Report that delivers early insight in hours, not days or weeks.

Jordan Pierce: For those just joining us, we’re speaking with Adam Sussman, CEO of FlipType, the data company automating early-stage environmental due diligence. Adam, walk us through what actually happens when someone requests a Desk-Side review.

Adam Sussman: Every review starts with EPA registry data — thousands of records documenting a property’s environmental history: permits, waste handlers, air programs, and historical releases. Following ASTM-recognized standards, we evaluate both the subject property and all surrounding or adjoining properties within the required search radius — sometimes tens of thousands of records depending on area density.

Traditionally, analysts receive those data sets as raw PDFs — hundreds or thousands of pages of coded entries. It’s messy, hard to navigate, and easy to miss something important. FlipType transforms that process entirely.

Each report begins with an Executive Summary — the decision layer that lays out overall findings, risk determinations, and concise roll-ups of each section that follows. This single page gives clients everything they need to know at a glance.

Next comes the Regulatory Program Catalog, a transparent index of every federal and state program referenced, so clients always know where the data originates and which agencies were consulted.

The report then flows into four analytical sections:

• Compliance Context – regulatory flags and compliance history.
• Contaminants, Spills & Waste – historic releases and waste-handling records.
• Operations & Permitting – current on-site activity and permit conditions.
• Superfunds & Controls – cleanup actions and institutional controls affecting property use.

Each section follows common logic: data are grouped into recommendations, next actions, and highlights. Every record is classified by severity — high, moderate, or informational — so readers know where to focus first. Because everything draws from FlipType’s national dataset, every finding can be traced back to its original EPA source in the appendix.

This isn’t just data visualization — it’s a guided evaluation of risk and responsibility built right into the report. It’s structured intelligence designed to help investors and consultants understand a property’s environmental posture in minutes instead of weeks.

Jordan Pierce: Who’s using it, and how is it changing the way environmental risk gets evaluated?

Adam Sussman: The largest adoption so far is from investors, lenders, and real-estate funds. For them, due diligence has always been a bottleneck — a Phase I ESA can take weeks and thousands of dollars, delaying deals or forcing decisions without enough information. With the Desk-Side ESA Screening Report, they can review dozens of properties in a single afternoon and get a defensible, data-backed view of each site’s environmental posture. It doesn’t replace the deeper assessment — it enables it by showing where to focus effort.

Environmental consulting firms benefit too. They’ve long treated Phase I ESAs as loss leaders; now they can pre-qualify projects, bid intelligently, and focus staff time where environmental risk and client value are highest. FlipType acts like a second pair of eyes — consistent, scalable, and transparent — with quality assurance built in.

What’s changing isn’t just speed; it’s the relationship between data, risk, and decision-making. FlipType makes environmental information usable in real time, turning what was once a post-decision compliance step into a proactive decision tool. That shift is what’s accelerating the industry.

Jordan Pierce: Before we wrap up, at its heart this is really a story about trust.

Adam Sussman: Exactly. Environmental data drives real financial choices — buying, lending, development. If you can’t trust the data or understand how conclusions are drawn, it’s not intelligence — it’s noise. At FlipType, everything is built around transparency. Every conclusion can be traced and every record verified. We want our clients, investors, lenders, and environmental professionals to see not just what we found but how we found it.

And in that same spirit of transparency, this very interview was produced using AI voice technology — the same kind that powers FlipType’s analytical platform. It’s a fitting example of how responsible AI makes information clearer, not colder. AI isn’t replacing experts; it’s helping them see further and work faster. That’s what the Desk-Side ESA Screening Report is all about — giving people the information they need, when they need it, with confidence.

Jordan Pierce: For Decisions at Scale, I’m Jordan Pierce. You’ve been listening to our conversation with Adam Sussman, CEO of FlipType — the data company behind the AI-assisted Desk-Side ESA Screening Report. To learn more, visit fliptype.com.