The Moment We’ve Been Waiting For

Sustainability is becoming transactional in the sense that it is no longer a peripheral, values-based “nice-to-have.” Rather, it has become a core component of market activity and a backbone of business resilience.

For years, sustainability has lived on the edge of real estate and construction conversations—a buzzword, an aspiration, a feature to include if the budget allowed. But recently, the mindset around sustainability has shifted decisively.

The demand for sustainable, resilient, healthy, and smart homes is no longer niche. It’s mainstream, and it’s being driven by a convergence of factors:

• Sustainability is now a buying criterion, not a bonus. Growing buyer awareness about energy costs, health, and performance is driving demand for sustainability. In fact, COGNITION Smart Data shows that more than 70% of consumers factor sustainability into their purchasing decisions, and that number continues to rise.
• Sharpening investor expectations. Companies that fail to measure and reduce their carbon footprints, disclose sustainability data, or align with net-zero goals are increasingly seen as financial risks—and are being left behind by capital markets.
• Ratcheting codes and regulations. From carbon taxes to local building codes, state and municipal governments are making sustainability a requirement, not a recommendation. Emissions reduction requirements, energy efficiency mandates, and embodied carbon standards (like the upcoming ANSI 1550) are making sustainability a compliance issue as well as a cost-savings opportunity.
• Proven return on investment. Sustainability equates to lower energy bills, reduced maintenance, higher property value, and resilience against climate risks. Builders, developers, and manufacturers are embedding sustainability into their business models not out of altruism, but because it pencils out.

Sustainability is now focused on risk and return, with a growing emphasis on resiliency and survival. It’s being baked into the actual exchange of goods, services, and capital, influencing what gets bought, built, invested in, and regulated.

Invest Now or Pay Later

According to a new report from Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and the University of Cambridge, failing to address climate change could reduce global economic output by 34% this century. That’s a third of global productivity—gone.

However, the same study found that strategic investments of just 2% of GDP could prevent up to 90% of those losses, while creating transformative social and economic opportunities. In other words, the ROI for climate action is no longer theoretical. It’s proven. And it’s massive.

The report reveals that productivity loss will be the most significant driver of climate-related economic harm, more so even than the physical destruction from extreme weather events.

The Business Case for Builders and Developers

With change comes opportunity. Savvy building professionals are leading the charge by offering homes that use dramatically less energy, are climate-resilient and disaster-ready, promote occupant health and wellness, and provide long-term cost savings and strong resale value.

Markets are beginning to reward this shift. Homes with verified high-performance features are selling faster, at higher margins, and with fewer concessions. Investors are prioritizing sustainable, resilient developments. Municipalities are tightening codes. And homeowners are utilizing full cost of homeownership as their valuation measurement, as opposed to price per square foot.

The Risk of Inaction

For those not yet on board, consider this: While the U.S. sustained $700 billion in direct losses from natural disasters between 2000 and 2023, the BCG-Cambridge study found that productivity losses from climate change topped $4 trillion in the same period.

That number is expected to grow exponentially.

Choosing not to invest in sustainability is not neutrality. It’s risk exposure. And that risk is now becoming visible to insurers, underwriters, and capital markets.

Opportunity Wrapped in Urgency

Systems-level shifts are needed to turn the corner, such as public-private partnerships, scalable innovations, equitable access to clean energy, and a workforce trained in high-performance building.

To facilitate this transformation, it’s essential that we reframe climate action as economic self-preservation, create transparency around the true costs of inaction, and expand understanding of compounding economic impacts.

This moment demands that we stop treating sustainability as a side conversation. It must be embedded into every decision, every project, every policy. Because sustainability is the smartest investment you can make.

To learn more about how we can continue to streamline sustainability and make it transactional, join Green Builder Media for our 9^th annual Sustainability Symposium 2025: A Force of Nature, a free virtual event on April 30 and May 1 from 12-3 ET. The Symposium will explore the boundaries of today’s status quo, bringing brilliant minds together to solve complex, systemic problems with courage and clarity.

Because the future is not something we wait for. It’s something we create, together.

Register now. Be a force of nature.

Believe me, this is an event you don’t want to miss.

A heartfelt thank you to Trane Technologies and Whirlpool Corporation for their continued support of our annual Sustainability Symposium, as well as their commitment to corporate sustainability.