Cervest, which calls itself a "climate intelligence" company, this week announced Cervest Ratings, its latest approach to measuring and specifying climate-related risks of any sort of asset, including physical property but also portfolios, companies, and financial securities.

ESG (environment, social, and governance), and the implications of climate, has become an important consideration for real estate investors. Buildings and land can be particularly vulnerable to climate change-driven events. A CoreLogic estimate suggests that insured and uninsured damages from Hurricane Ian will run between $41 billion and $70 billion.

The company's service is called EarthScan. That system allows companies to build portfolios either from "millions of assets … already mapped and verified" or uploaded new properties. The software uses machine learning technology combined with data modeling, data engineering, and scalable computing. Cervest Ratings replaces a previous ratings methodology called EarthScan Ratings.