Everything's Gone Green

With sustainability in sharper focus than ever before, visionary entrepreneurs around Asia are helping to steer the real estate industry on a mindful track

- Liam Aran Barnes

As the business community looks towards the post-pandemic era, the search for “greener” alternatives and ideas has risen to the top of the agenda for many companies.

There is increasing public focus on the climate crisis and its impacts, new policies are affecting building energy performance, and investors are demanding a greater green cache. As a result, the real estate industry at large is finally—albeit gradually—heeding the strong business case for incorporating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors into their operations.

The World Commission on Environment and Development defines environmental sustainability as “a process of change in which the exploitation of resources, the direction of investments, the orientation of technological development and institutional change are all in harmony and enhance both current and future potential to meet human needs and aspirations.” And the building and construction industries must be part of this “process of change.”

Calls to curb resource usage and environmental impacts will continue to rise, especially as Gen Z hits adulthood. Indeed, most consumers now demand and expect sustainability-orientated products in most aspects of their lives, with 81% around the world believing it is extremely or very important for companies to have environmental improvement as an objective, according to a recent survey by global marketing research firm Nielsen.

In Asia, a growing number of disruptors and innovators are revolutionising how construction companies, facilities management firms, and the public sector, as well as designers and developers, operate and adapt to the crisis. Here are four of the most forward-thinking individuals and companies from the region who are trailblazing ambitious— yet viable—routes to a greener future.