The Next Frontier in Sustainable Real Estate

As we design Rekindle’s first community, we’re maxing out the sustainable playbook—tight envelopes, low-carbon materials, solar, geothermal, EV chargers, micromobility. But we’re also asking: what if the way we live was as sustainable as the buildings and technologies themselves? What if living close to, and sharing time and resources with family and neighbors, is the new green premium we haven’t yet learned to price in?

Answering these questions requires context as to where green building stands today. Over the past five years—as a sustainable real estate developer, climate tech investor, and building decarbonization software leader—I’ve learned that ‘green building’ can be a nebulous term, vulnerable to greenwashing, so let’s break it down:

Level 1: Meeting the code

Level 1 is simply meeting building code—hitting the regulatory baseline—and that baseline keeps rising. Europe and Canada are the current leaders and trendsetters in global energy and emissions standards—updating them more frequently and with greater ambition than the U.S. For instance, Toronto has mandated that city-owned buildings limit upfront embodied carbon to under 350 kg CO₂e/m², a requirement not yet mirrored broadly in American codes. 

In the U.S. today, the most progressive policies are emerging at the state and local levels. For example, New York State’s recent All-Electric Buildings Act says that starting January 1, 2026, all new single-family homes and low-rise structures in New York must be equipped solely with electric appliances—effectively phasing out fossil fuel systems like gas stoves and heating. Yet even under this anomalous Trump administration, some federal actions are just too practical or too far gone to be stopped. The U.S. Department of Energy just updated a key energy code for commercial buildings (ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-2022) that is expected to achieve roughly 10% reductions in site and source energy use, energy costs, and carbon emissions compared to the earlier version. 

Level 2: Voluntary standards

Level 2 means going beyond what’s required, adopting voluntary standards such as LEED and WELL or setting voluntary net-zero and SBTi-aligned targets. The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) now features over 11,000 companies (across all industries) with targets or commitments—over 8,600 of which have been independently assessed and verified by the SBTi organization as aligned with climate science. This level of commitment is increasingly common among U.S. real estate leaders. One hundred percent of the top 100 equity REITs by market cap publicly report on sustainability, at least 23 have SBTi-approved targets, and 23 have committed to net-zero.

Smaller real estate companies can’t currently meet SBTi because the process demands both comprehensive emissions accounting and multi-year capital investments—an impossible ask if you only own a handful of properties.

But that doesn’t mean they’re sitting out. Developers like Neutral out of Madison, TAS out of Toronto, and yes, Rekindle, are still striving to meet the highest standards possible on each project. They’re making more accessible public commitments—B Corp certification, Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) signatory, Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) membership—to signal their seriousness. Flagship green building projects—like the New York Climate Exchange on Governor’s Island, Galvanize Climate’s new NYC headquarters, or Emerson Collective’s Center for Economic Mobility in East Palo Alto—show that leadership can come from mission-driven organizations outside of pure real estate, too.

Level 3: The bleeding edge

Lastly, there’s Level 3, the bleeding edge of sustainability. Circular construction is a sustainable building approach focused on minimizing waste and maximizing the reuse of materials throughout a building's lifecycle. It's a shift from the traditional linear "take-make-dispose" model to a closed-loop system, where materials are designed to last longer and eventually be reused or recycled on another project. Circle House in Denmark, which aims for 90% material reuse, is a notable example of residential circular construction.

Circular construction and its quantification via whole lifecycle carbon assessment (WLCA), are still niche practices today, but they’re finding initial audience with long-term institutional owners who have the financial incentive to care about what happens to their buildings 100+ years from now. New software tools like C.Scale are automating lifecycle carbon calculations, integrating directly into popular platforms like Autodesk Forma. Soon, you won’t even think about it—it’ll be as standard as an energy model is today.

The case is clear

Green buildings make occupants happier (especially with biophilic design) and healthier (better air quality and circulation) and are cheaper to operate (energy and water efficiency). They also rent and sell at a premium:

• LEED-certified office assets fetch $4.13 more per square foot in rent—11.1% higher than non-certified counterparts—since 2015
• Across building types, green buildings sell for approximately 16% more, and LEED projects see rental rates rise by about 3% with each upgrade in certification level

And more and more, it’s not optional—regulation is marching in that direction.

So if green building is becoming table stakes… what’s next?

The new frontier: from green buildings to green communities

At Rekindle, we see an opportunity to think bigger than just buildings and be intentional about creating the conditions for people to adopt lower-carbon lifestyles. 

That means…

• Multifamily over single-family—already 27-47% more efficient because detached houses use more energy for all end uses, especially space heating
• Radical walkability—our campus is designed to meet most daily needs and compact enough to cross in minutes. It’s also located within walking distance of public transit to reduce reliance on cars.
• Shared resources—from tools and appliances to sports equipment and toys. Why should every household own a power drill that spends 99% of its life in a closet?
• Communal cooking and care—because isn’t it absurd that every parent in the neighborhood is making dinner while simultaneously wrangling kids and pets, and we’re all doing it separately at the exact same time?

We’re drawing lessons from intentionally walkable and/or car-free communities like Seabrook and Culdesac, and also borrowing from cohousing and ecovillage models—improving upon them where we can.

For example, we’re exploring permaculture–a common feature across cohousing and ecovillages—to reduce the cost and environmental impact of feeding our community, and designing the social systems that make sharing normal—not awkward. In your average condo building, even with friendly neighbors, it can feel “too much” to suggest regularly swapping meals or babysitting favors. At Rekindle, those expectations are baked in from day one and aided by minimal, common-sense technology.

We believe this is the next frontier: green buildings and green communities. We’re building on what cohousing and ecovillage movements have pioneered—but emphasizing affordability and scalability, opening the door to a diversity of residents that these communities have historically lacked. We invite mission-aligned partners to join us in shaping real estate that unites environmental stewardship, social cohesion, and strong financial performance.