What is Lightbox EDR?

What is LightBox EDR?

LightBox EDR (Environmental Data Resources) is a suite of environmental due‑diligence products primarily used in commercial real estate, lending, and environmental consulting. It provides comprehensive environmental records and historical resources to support ASTM Phase I Environmental Site Assessments and other property‑screening processes.

Key Components

EDR Radius Map with GEOCHECK®
– Searches over 2,000 government and proprietary environmental records
– Enables mapping of potential contamination sites around a target property.
Sanborn Map Reports, City Directories, Historical Aerials, etc.
– Provide historical insight dating back to the 1800s, crucial for evaluating past uses and contamination risk .
LightBox Live
– An online web viewer that centralizes data review
– Includes tools like VECApp (vapor encroachment screening), FieldCheck, parcel mapping, and report generation .
Multiple EDR packages (Basic, Standard, Premium, 1980 Premium) offer tiered levels of data and support tailored to various assessment scopes.

Why It Matters

Industry authority – Used since the 1990s and trusted by tens of thousands of environmental assessment professionals.
Fast, accurate reporting – Combines complex data sources, mapping, and report writing into a streamlined workflow, improving turn‑around without sacrificing quality.
ASTM and EPA compliance – Designed to satisfy ASTM E1527‑21 standards and EPA All Appropriate Inquiry rules, which are critical for legal due diligence.

LightBox EDR is a powerful environmental due‑diligence platform, not an “endpoint detection and response” cyber solution. It brings decades of curated environmental data, historical insights, and advanced mapping/reporting tools into a single, compliant, web-based interface for real estate and environmental professionals.

If you're looking for endpoint cybersecurity (like malware defense), that would fall under EDR in cybersecurity jargon—but that’s unrelated to LightBox EDR.

LightBox EDR Alternatives

Here are some top alternatives to LightBox EDR for environmental due diligence and Phase I ESA support:

Company / Platform	Description	Common Use Cases
ERM (Environmental Resources Management)	Global consultancy with custom environmental risk tools and data access	Complex or multi-site ESAs
Envirosite	Offers environmental database reports and historical research products	Radius maps, city directories, aerials
Environmental Data Resources (by ESRI)	GIS-based environmental datasets that can integrate with ArcGIS	Mapping large-scale environmental risks
MapFrame / GeoSearch	Offers environmental risk reports, including historical aerials and topographic maps	Phase I ESA prep, basic screening
DataTree (by First American)	Property data with some environmental overlays	Title reports with environmental context
BuildFax (by Verisk)	Provides property history and permit data	Construction-related environmental risk insights
Terradex	Real-time environmental compliance monitoring using geospatial data	Ongoing compliance and post-ESA monitoring

Commonly Used in CRE and Lending:

Envirosite and GeoSearch are closest in function and structure to LightBox EDR for off-the-shelf reports.
ERM and Terradex are more consultative, often layered on top of tools like LightBox or custom GIS.
BuildFax is often used alongside EDR platforms for more building-specific due diligence.

What is Lightbox EDR?