My name is Justin, I’m an HBA1 student from Toronto, Ontario. My favorite hobbies include cycling, rock climbing, learning new languages, and traveling the world. 

After studying Urban Development in my first two years at Western, I decided to pursue an HBA degree to combine my interests in geography and business. Having explored sustainable development from a geographical perspective in my first two years, I hope to explore sustainability from a business perspective as well. I am constantly seeking new experiences and looking to learn more about our world’s future. 

What is your personal definition of sustainability? 

In my personal opinion, sustainability is a complex concept for which no single definition could encapsulate all of its dimensions.  Of all ways to define sustainability, the United Nations’ definition resonates the most with me. The UN defines sustainability as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. 

The UN definition is my favorite due to its simplicity. It successfully frames time as its central theme and is simple enough for anybody to understand. As such, this definition is one which I use as a basis to guide my discussions. 

What role do you see sustainability playing in your professional career? 

I firmly believe sustainability will soon play a role in every professional career, regardless of the industry. After I graduate, I am hoping to pursue a career in real estate, where sustainability is already a key industry consideration. Even with a wide range of affordable housing initiatives, housing shortages have persisted in the GTA. I am curious to explore how universal and affordable housing can be supplied without compromising its quality or profitability. 

From an environmental perspective, I am interested to learn how we can develop more energy efficient and carbon neutral buildings. Currently, buildings can be green-certified through organizations such as LEED and Energy Star; these certifications often make developers eligible for government subsidies/grants. I’m curious to explore how green certification and incentivization will continue to evolve in the future. 

What sustainability projects have you been engaged in? 

In January this year, I pitched a sustainable, senior living, residential development at the ‘Expand Your Empire’ Real Estate Conference. In this case competition, the eleven university teams were tasked with submitting a development proposal for a vacant land parcel in the Humber Bay area in Toronto. While we knew a high-rise residential apartment would have been more profitable, my 4-person Ivey Real Estate Club team pitched a mid-rise senior living community focusing on social sustainability over its profitability. 

Upon our arrival to the conference, we were shocked to see every other team had safely pitched high-rise residential apartment. Every team’s development had 40+ stories of apartment units with projected rates of return all above 12%— meanwhile, our team’s proposal was 12 stories with a rate of return of only 4.4%. After factoring the costs of pursuing a LEED and Energy Star certification, and pricing our units to Toronto’s affordable housing act, we learned how challenging it is for sustainable developments to remain profitable.  

As the Canadian population continues to age, housing our seniors will be a persisting challenge. Although my team was eliminated in the semi-finals, I remain motivated to explore the future of sustainable and affordable senior housing.