Decarbonization for Commercial Real Estate

Built a marketplace venture connecting asset managers with vetted decarbonization solutions. From first interview to product launch in 3 months.

125 customer interviews

9-person team coached

8.8/10 prototype score

21 asset managers confirmed pilot intent

Launched as standalone product

The Ask

A global real estate investment manager wanted to explore whether they could turn their own decarbonization expertise into a platform business serving the entire industry. Commercial real estate accounts for roughly 40% of global carbon emissions. Everyone was setting net-zero targets; almost nobody had a credible plan to hit them. Led a 9-person venture team through a 3-month sprint to find out whether there was a real business hiding inside that gap.

Target Customers

Asset managers, ESG leads, and fund managers across Europe and North America. Secondary: decarbonization solution providers and local contractors.

What We Did

125 customer discovery interviews with asset managers, ESG leads, fund managers, and solution providers across Europe and North America. Personally sourced and led 20+ conversations, coached the team through the rest. Built stakeholder maps and pain matrices. Tested prototypes throughout the sprint: the assessment tool scored 8.8/10 across stakeholder groups, the solution provider marketplace scored 9/10 among ESG managers. By end of incubation, 21 of 36 asset managers confirmed intent to participate in a pilot.

Key Insight

The industry had misdiagnosed its own problem. Everyone framed decarbonization as a data challenge: missing baselines, benchmarks, reporting frameworks. But data problems are temporary. Standards converge, tools improve. The far bigger problem was what happened after the data was in hand. Asset managers would receive a 60-page consultant report telling them to replace the HVAC system or install solar, and then nothing. They had no way to find local providers, compare costs, assess payback periods, or navigate the patchwork of subsidies that varied by country, city, and building type. The journey was stalling at the selection and execution stage, precisely where no existing tool or platform was focused.

Recommendation

Build a decarbonization enablement platform: a marketplace matching commercial real estate assets to vetted projects, local solution providers, and relevant funding sources. Not another dashboard, but a decision engine that could surface which solutions made financial sense, which vendors could deliver locally, and what subsidies were available. Revenue from enterprise subscriptions on the asset manager side and listing subscriptions from solution providers, with transaction fees layered on as the platform matured.

Outcome

The venture launched as a standalone product and began onboarding pilot customers in key European markets.Visit

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