Introduction

Over the past 20 years, the earth’s temperature has increased 3X as fast as what was historically measured 100 years prior. As planet gets hotter due to carbon emissions becoming trapped in the atmosphere, the frequency of catastrophic climate events accelerates. The built environment accounts for 40% of the world’s carbon emissions which directly impacts the severity and frequency of catastrophic climate events. It’s a challenging concept to psychologically understand, especially when for the most part, life appears to proceed as usual. However, across the planet we are starting to experience the impact of climate change in the 21st Century, with climate scientists projecting future devastation and chaos as a direct result of extreme hurricanes, floods, wildfires, air pollution, earthquakes, and droughts, along with all of the inevitable consequences that ensue from these events. This rapid change to our planet and our home is immensely overwhelming to confront. Humans after all, are emotional creatures at the core, with emotions driving 90% of human behavior. It’s no surprise then that the average individual avoids the discussion of climate change all together yet is suffering in silence with acute anxiety over the future state of the world.

The Psychological Hurdle

Just like when confronted with any loss in life, it’s necessary to work through emotions that arise to become aware and put an end to subconscious, reactionary behaviors often described as tendencies of avoidance or disassociation. These behaviors can take many different forms and shapes from extreme busyness to mindless social media scrolling, all of which ultimately create a distraction from confronting pain head-on. History serves as evidence that growth, advancement, evolution, progress, and expansion are all foundational to the fate of life. Just as death is guaranteed, so is the innate desire to grow and expand. Through accepting and acknowledging climate change, opportunity is created to move into a state of conscious action vs. inaction rooted in fear.

Embracing Conscious Action

Today is the best day to open the mind and heart towards believing in a future worth creating. We are living in an extremely opportune time in history that is difficult to fully understand. Many in the future may look back and study our unique privilege to be alive today and ask, “what did they do with their time?”

I certainly want to make the most of it. I also want to use my life to create a positive impact in many ways. One of which, is through supporting the transition to a sustainable built environment that decreases carbon emissions and prioritizes the long-term health, well-being, and interest of communities.

Embracing a Realistic Approach

There is nothing noble about this endeavor. It’s simply the path I have chosen. I am not determined to force change or demand it from the world. Instead, I’d rather create opportunity and discover how the built environment can be adapted for the 21^st Century. There is no one better or worse than another; self-imposed moral superiority embraced by some sustainability pioneers, is counter-intuitive towards embracing a more inclusive and sustainable future. Nobody is perfect–with a focus on progress, not perfection, it becomes a lot easier to be less critical and judgmental to our self and others.

Although, I intend to successfully create profitable investment opportunities in real estate that value all stakeholders, including the environment, I am also detached from the outcome. All that I can do is play a small role in shaping the industry that I have developed expertise within by leveraging my skills, experience, and perspective. With a wide range of interests that intersect within real estate, and a knack for complex problem solving, I find the evolution of the real estate industry and the ability to create a sustainable future by expanding value creation to be extremely fascinating. It just so happens that my curiosity, open mindedness, collaborative approach, creativity, tenacity, and analytical skills are perfectly suited to embrace this endeavor.

The Path Foreword

The path is not clearly defined. In fact, I am making it as I go with every step I take. Never before has the world encountered a choice to modernize late-stage industrialization for a sustainable future or face catastrophes that jeopardize the future of humanity and may render the beautiful blue planet to a waste land. We have the power to shape our future and create an outsized positive contribution to the future of humanity. It is liberating and powerful to recognize that which you can control, such as your words and actions, vs. the things you cannot control.

One path forward is to invest in properties that serve a purpose. I have witnessed this first-hand through innovative developments like Babcock Ranch, the largest solar-powered and hurricane-proof master planned community in the United States. To me, this project exemplifies how creativity can be applied to real estate to drive impact and strengthen communities. Through REI Elevated, I will share inspiring case studies, insights, and strategies that benefit the triple bottom-line (profit, people, and planet.)

Equally important is to balance idealism with realism, which is why I openly share the triumphs and failures in the sustainable real estate industry. Through MIT’s Sustainable Real Estate Investment & Analysis program, I recognized how critical it is to acknowledge economic constraints and incentives, market conditions, and geographical differences, that support or hinder sustainable building upgrades, retrofits, and developments. Above all else, it is extremely important that all investment opportunities are upheld to high standards of transparency. In a world where green-washing and impact-washing is common, the ability to measure environmental, social, and financial impact though multiple benchmarking standards is critical. Through this blog, I will share more information that unpacks the complexity of capturing and measuring data, as well as the various green building standards that are used to meet specific goals in the real estate industry. Stay plugged in on the latest articles and investment opportunities by subscribing to our newsletter—The Early Adapters.

Conclusion

As I mentioned, there is no clearly defined path forward. My intention is to discover, educate, ideate, and implement an approach to sustainable real estate investing that can consistently evolve as the industry changes. Thank you for joining me on this journey of discovery and innovation. I am confident that one of the paths towards an empowered and fulfilled life is knowing that the future generation will benefit from the choices you make today. With more awareness on how our individual actions impact the planet, we can choose to better manage our money, time, and resources, to invest in projects that support a sustainable future.