Developers must get involved in waste management, promote new construction projects with this sustainable awareness, and provide new owners with a range of items for recycling.
SANTO DOMINGO – Early childhood education must be the gateway to achieving sustainable development for communities, fostering awareness in young children. It must begin with small steps, such as explaining the issue of plastics and their pollution, because if the current situation continues, by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in beaches and rivers.
Real estate agents also have their share of responsibility for the environment and can contribute to the issue from their respective positions, as noted by Ramón Riera, president of the Legislation and Environment Committee of the International Federation of Real Estate (FIABCI).
Sustainable development is defined as the ability to meet human needs in the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It is the possibility that human activity will not deplete natural resources to the point of jeopardizing human survival.
Achieving this requires great efforts from governments, families, and businesses, which is why it is a topic on the international political agenda.
“It is an absolute responsibility considering that the real estate industry in the world emits 20% of CO2, which means that we cannot wait any longer, nor allow them to exceed limits that we cannot control,” he explained in a conversation with Belkis Cuello, host of the Real Estate Magazine that airs on channel 25. The conversation took place during the CILA 2021 congress, recently held in Guatemala.
On September 25, 2015, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, along with 17 goals and 169 associated targets. The aim is to reach the next decade with lower CO2 emissions; therefore, the expert understands that this is not only the responsibility of governments, “but of us as well. It is time for real estate agents and developers to take the sustainable agenda into account so that together we can achieve a better planet.”.
“Developers must get involved in waste management. When promoting new construction, they need to have this sustainable awareness and provide new homeowners with a range of items for recycling and incorporating organic materials into their furnishings. It's much easier if you don't have to separate the waste, but you can also find bins for separating waste at any shopping center, labeling them yourself,” Riera adds.
She recommends switching from plastic water bottles to glass ones or purchasing a home water filter. She also advocates for mobility and the use of non-fuel-dependent transportation. “In Barcelona, thousands of people travel by electric bicycle, and we should all move towards these trends of eliminating fossil fuels from our lives and decarbonizing.”.
Spain, he comments, has brokers specializing in sustainable development, because it is committed to a much greener environment, while in Asia FIABCI awards prizes for architectural excellence with real estate projects of that nature.
According to the environmental specialist, building projects should always include plenty of trees because they absorb the pollution emanating from the buildings, and he suggests including solar panels to take advantage of natural light.
