The Real Barrier to Sustainability Isn’t Technology

From city halls to Washington to private capital, Chris Castro has seen where sustainability succeeds—and where it stalls.

For years, sustainability has been framed as an innovation problem—better tech, smarter systems, more efficient homes. But what if that’s not the issue?

On The Impact Series, host Mike Collignon talks with Chris Castro—former Orlando sustainability director, U.S. Department of Energy appointee, and now Chief Sustainability Officer at Climate First Bank—about what’s actually slowing progress.

Castro has worked across local government, federal policy, and now finance. And in each role, he’s seen the same thing: We already know how to build better systems. The challenge is getting them implemented—at scale, in real communities.

At the Department of Energy, Castro helped deploy more than $11 billion in clean energy funding. But the real story is where it went—into rural areas, underfunded schools, and communities that haven’t historically benefited from the energy transition.

Now, in the private sector, he’s focused on another barrier: financing. Because even proven solutions like solar don’t scale if the math doesn’t work. Simplify the financing, remove hidden costs, and adoption starts to move.

The takeaway is simple: sustainability isn’t a technology problem. It’s a systems problem.

And until policy, implementation, and financing start working together, progress will stay slower than it should be.

To hear the full conversation—and Castro’s take on what it will really take to move the needle—watch this episode of The Impact Series here or wherever you get your podcasts.