Who We Are

The Phase One Group is a Southern California-based boutique environmental consulting firm which was established in 2007 to exclusively complete one specific environmental due diligence service:

Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment Reports, more commonly known as Phase 1 ESA Reports.

Our goal is to provide quality, timely and competitively-priced Phase 1 ESA Reports for real estate transactions throughout the vast Southern California region, as we only exclusively complete Phase 1 ESA Reports. We are not designed to be a full-service environmental due diligence consulting firm, as we do not perform Phase 2 ESA Reports or limited subsurface investigations that aim beyond the Phase 1 ESA Report scope of work. This is not our objective. We complete Phase 1 ESA Reports which adhere to the standards for environmental assessments published by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Designation: E1527-21 “Standard Practice for Environmental SIte Assessments: Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment Process” (ASTM E1527-21).

Mark Smith

Environmental Professional

The Phase One Group was established in 2007 by Mark Smith, President, The Phase One Group, an experienced Environmental Professional (EP). An EP is defined as someone who is qualified to conduct and/or supervise a Phase 1 ESA Report, based on experience and education requirements. Mr. Smith earned his Bachelor’s of Science (BS) degree in Environmental Science from the University of California, Riverside (UCR), Class of 1994, and is a certified AHERA Asbestos Inspector with 40-Hour OSHA HAZWOPER Training.

Mr. Smith has 30 years of experience and knowledge in performing Phase 1 ESA Reports on a wide variety of properties throughout the United States. Environmental assessments completed by Mr. Smith include vacant land, agricultural land, former dairy farms, single-family dwellings, multi-family residential apartment complexes, mixed-use properties, commercial office buildings, high-rise office towers, multi-tenant retail shopping centers, regional shopping malls, light-industrial warehouses, industrial facilities and complexes, automotive repair shops, automotive body shops, and gasoline service stations. Mr. Smith has conducted over 2,500 environmental site assessments since 1994.