Less Talk, More Action

Highlights from this week’s conversation include:

• Farewell to Less Talk, More Action And Audience Thank You (0:45)
• Why The Sustainability Industry Still Needs a Voice Of Reason (2:05)
• What Owen Is Most Proud Of: Honest Disagreement And Action Over Reporting (4:58)
• What Joel Is Most Proud Of: Authenticity And Deploying Existing Solutions (6:53)
• Setting Up Favorite Memories And Guests Segment (8:52)
• Early Big-Name Guests And The Credibility They Brought To the Show (13:16)
• Joel’s Hurricane LinkedIn Post And Backlash At Climate Week (14:45)
• Climate Doomerism, AI Doomerism, And The Boy Who Cried Wolf Problem (16:51)
• Frustration With Climate Crisis Framing And Lack Of Visible Catastrophe (18:20)
• Affordable vs Market Rate Real Estate And The Turning Of the Titanic (20:36)
• Final Thanks, Heard Media Shoutout, And Hints That The Brand Will Return (22:27)

The nexus of business, policy, and sustainability is more divided than ever, but Less Talk, More Action is here to cut through the noise. Hosted by clean energy experts Joel Cesare and Owen Barrett, this podcast dives into the front lines of decarbonization, net-zero real estate, and entrepreneurship. Each episode features bold questions, real solutions, and stories from leaders in science, tech, and business who are taking action to make the world a better place. Join us as we move beyond talk and work toward a cleaner, net-zero future. Learn more and subscribe at lesstalkmoreaction.com.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode of Less Talk, More Action, Joel and Owen sit down with August Biniaz, CIO of CPI Capital, for a candid conversation at the intersection of real estate, sustainability, and free markets. They explore why August instinctively associates “sustainability” with bureaucracy and virtue signaling, shaped by his upbringing in Iran and experiences as a Vancouver homebuilder facing heavy regulation. The discussion dives into how multifamily syndicators really think about sustainability, solar, and energy costs (it’s all about NOI and hold periods), the stark differences between Canadian and U.S. housing markets, and the role of rent control and government bailouts in affordability. Along the way, they debate hypocrisy in climate rhetoric (“F oil” vs. everyday fossil fuel use), the value of street smarts vs. book smarts in entrepreneurship, and why August ultimately places his hope in a younger generation that is more environmentally conscious and socially aware, even as he remains deeply skeptical of top-down mandates.

Highlights from this week’s conversation include:

The nexus of business, policy, and sustainability is more divided than ever, but Less Talk, More Action is here to cut through the noise. Hosted by clean energy experts Joel Cesare and Owen Barrett, this podcast dives into the front lines of decarbonization, net-zero real estate, and entrepreneurship. Each episode features bold questions, real solutions, and stories from leaders in science, tech, and business who are taking action to make the world a better place. Join us as we move beyond talk and work toward a cleaner, net-zero future. Learn more and subscribe at lesstalkmoreaction.com.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode of Less Talk, More Action, Joel Cesare and Owen Barrett break down why the traditional ESG industry is failing and why the real estate world is finally shifting from data collection and reporting to real projects that deliver tangible value. They talk about rethinking sustainability teams as capital deployment and execution units, not compliance or marketing functions. Owen unveils Shine’s new “energy allocator” concept for multifamily solar and storage and explains how AI (via tools like ChatGPT) helped them model complex systems in minutes instead of weeks of engineering work. Joel and Owen push back on anti–data center sentiment, arguing that AI infrastructure unlocks life-changing innovations, and they close with a lighthearted “finance corner” on why they’re bullish on SpaceX and the broader tech-driven future of decarbonization.

Highlights from this week’s conversation include:

The nexus of business, policy, and sustainability is more divided than ever, but Less Talk, More Action is here to cut through the noise. Hosted by clean energy experts Joel Cesare and Owen Barrett, this podcast dives into the front lines of decarbonization, net-zero real estate, and entrepreneurship. Each episode features bold questions, real solutions, and stories from leaders in science, tech, and business who are taking action to make the world a better place. Join us as we move beyond talk and work toward a cleaner, net-zero future. Learn more and subscribe at lesstalkmoreaction.com.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode of Less Talk, More Action, Joel Cesare reflects on the IMN ESG and Decarbonizing Real Estate Forum and argues that the industry is finally shifting from talk and reporting to real action. He contrasts years of data gathering, frameworks, and voluntary net-zero commitments with a new focus on deploying proven technologies like solar, batteries, and energy efficiency upgrades, especially in multifamily real estate. Joel shares quotes and insights from major players like Brookfield, Redaptive, and USGBC California to show how owners and tenants are starting to collaborate around lease renewals and energy cost savings instead of just producing ESG reports. He suggests that while the era of voluntary climate pledges is fading, market forces, falling clean tech costs, rising utility rates, and innovative business models are creating a “decade of doing” that can drive both profitability and meaningful decarbonization.

Highlights from this week’s conversation include:

The nexus of business, policy, and sustainability is more divided than ever, but Less Talk, More Action is here to cut through the noise. Hosted by clean energy experts Joel Cesare and Owen Barrett, this podcast dives into the front lines of decarbonization, net-zero real estate, and entrepreneurship. Each episode features bold questions, real solutions, and stories from leaders in science, tech, and business who are taking action to make the world a better place. Join us as we move beyond talk and work toward a cleaner, net-zero future. Learn more and subscribe at lesstalkmoreaction.com.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode of Less Talk, More Action, Joel and Owen sit down with Chris Jones, founder of Plucky Bamboo, to explore why so many climate and sustainability companies struggle with sales and growth. Chris explains that most founders misdiagnose their problem as needing more leads when the real issue is weak sales processes, unclear value propositions, and overemphasis on environmental impact instead of business outcomes like profit, cost savings, and risk reduction. They discuss the pitfalls of engineer-led and academia-spun startups, the challenge of moving from founder-led sales to scalable sales teams, and practical steps founders can take on “Monday morning” to improve close rates, shorten sales cycles, and decouple growth from the founder being in every room. The conversation also touches on climate communication pitfalls (emotion vs data), product-market fit, and why growth, done right, is not the enemy but the vehicle for real climate impact.

Highlights from this week’s conversation include:

The nexus of business, policy, and sustainability is more divided than ever, but Less Talk, More Action is here to cut through the noise. Hosted by clean energy experts Joel Cesare and Owen Barrett, this podcast dives into the front lines of decarbonization, net-zero real estate, and entrepreneurship. Each episode features bold questions, real solutions, and stories from leaders in science, tech, and business who are taking action to make the world a better place. Join us as we move beyond talk and work toward a cleaner, net-zero future. Learn more and subscribe at lesstalkmoreaction.com.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode of Less Talk, More Action, Joel and Owen sit down with Leo Young, founder of Cornell Communities, to explore how manufactured housing can meaningfully address America’s affordable housing crisis while still delivering solid returns for investors. They dig into how mobile home parks work as an asset class, why few new communities are being built, and the tension between raising rents, funding major infrastructure upgrades, and staying genuinely affordable. The conversation calls out “impact investors” and sustainability advocates who demand high financial returns but hesitate to back real, on-the-ground solutions—even when minimum investments are as low as $250. They also touch on split incentives that limit sustainability upgrades in resident-owned communities and draw parallels to Tesla’s success in aligning profit with impact. Key takeaways: affordable housing is structurally hard but solvable, incentives drive behavior more than ideals, and real change requires people to move beyond talk and actually put capital at risk.

Highlights from this week’s conversation include:

The nexus of business, policy, and sustainability is more divided than ever, but Less Talk, More Action is here to cut through the noise. Hosted by clean energy experts Joel Cesare and Owen Barrett, this podcast dives into the front lines of decarbonization, net-zero real estate, and entrepreneurship. Each episode features bold questions, real solutions, and stories from leaders in science, tech, and business who are taking action to make the world a better place. Join us as we move beyond talk and work toward a cleaner, net-zero future. Learn more and subscribe at lesstalkmoreaction.com.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode of Less Talk, More Action, Joel and Owen dive into the real-world state of clean energy, starting with how the expiring ITC and recent Republican policy moves have unintentionally created a huge tailwind for solar, especially in multifamily housing. They discuss surging electricity prices, Maryland’s aggressive building performance standards, and whether these policies are actually helping or just burdening owners instead of lowering bills. Joel shares insights from building an AI-native platform for utility data and compliance, pushing back on the trend of “vibe coding” in-house tools that are hard to scale and maintain. The conversation then shifts to Stanford students walking out on Sundar Pichai’s commencement speech, which Joel and Owen view as shallow and inconsistent activism. They wrap by comparing Big Tech’s nearly $7B spend on carbon removal to the $1.5T it might take to put solar and storage on every US single-family home, arguing that tackling affordability and distributed clean energy would likely have far greater impact than exotic carbon removal schemes.

Highlights from this week’s conversation include:

The nexus of business, policy, and sustainability is more divided than ever, but Less Talk, More Action is here to cut through the noise. Hosted by clean energy experts Joel Cesare and Owen Barrett, this podcast dives into the front lines of decarbonization, net-zero real estate, and entrepreneurship. Each episode features bold questions, real solutions, and stories from leaders in science, tech, and business who are taking action to make the world a better place. Join us as we move beyond talk and work toward a cleaner, net-zero future. Learn more and subscribe at lesstalkmoreaction.com.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode of Less Talk, More Action, Joel and Owen talk with Maze Works Founder and CEO Milene Pardo Figueroa about shifting sustainability from theory and reporting to real, project-based action. They start by critiquing Anthropic’s big carbon removal investment as greenwashing compared to funding energy efficiency and affordability near data centers. Milene then shares her journey from the UN and NGOs to corporate roles and ultimately founding Maze Works to embed sustainability across finance, HR, marketing, and operations instead of isolating it in a siloed sustainability team. The conversation also explores how jargon and endless frameworks have alienated people, why sustainability roles are shrinking as specialist and project-based work grows, and how honest, provocative LinkedIn content can cut through the noise. Key takeaways: talk sustainability in the language of each department, tie it to ROI and business cases, focus on concrete projects over reports, and don’t be afraid to challenge the climate “industrial complex” in public. 

Highlights from this week’s conversation include:

The nexus of business, policy, and sustainability is more divided than ever, but Less Talk, More Action is here to cut through the noise. Hosted by clean energy experts Joel Cesare and Owen Barrett, this podcast dives into the front lines of decarbonization, net-zero real estate, and entrepreneurship. Each episode features bold questions, real solutions, and stories from leaders in science, tech, and business who are taking action to make the world a better place. Join us as we move beyond talk and work toward a cleaner, net-zero future. Learn more and subscribe at lesstalkmoreaction.com.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode of Less Talk, More Action, Joel and Owen talk with 24-year-old HVAC engineer and founder Austin Riesenberger about Swerv, his window-mounted energy recovery ventilator designed to improve indoor air quality without wasting energy. They explore how current climate solutions like “electrify everything,” ductless mini-splits, and LED lighting can unintentionally harm comfort, health, or affordability when implemented without enough empathy or systems thinking. Austin shares his journey from childhood asthma and open-windows-for-fresh-air habits to obsessing over building science, living in the machine shop at Columbia, and bootstrapping Swerv from a student project into a real company. The conversation dives into why CO2 and ventilation matter so much for sleep, cognition, and long-term health, how Swerv complements mini-splits and ERVs rather than replacing them, and what it’s like building climate hardware out of Greentown Labs. Key takeaways: solving climate change must also prioritize human health and household economics, modern homes are often “too tight” without enough fresh air, and there is huge opportunity for practical, hardware-first innovation in HVAC led by mission-driven founders like Austin.

Highlights from this week’s conversation include:

The nexus of business, policy, and sustainability is more divided than ever, but Less Talk, More Action is here to cut through the noise. Hosted by clean energy experts Joel Cesare and Owen Barrett, this podcast dives into the front lines of decarbonization, net-zero real estate, and entrepreneurship. Each episode features bold questions, real solutions, and stories from leaders in science, tech, and business who are taking action to make the world a better place. Join us as we move beyond talk and work toward a cleaner, net-zero future. Learn more and subscribe at lesstalkmoreaction.com.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this episode of Less Talk, More Action, Joel and Owen talk with Passive House expert and Wythe Windows co-founder Darren Macri about why windows and airtight building envelopes are critical to cutting building energy use and improving comfort. Darren explains why standard American double-hung windows perform so poorly, and how European-style tilt-turn, triple-pane windows dramatically improve insulation, airtightness, and noise reduction. He walks through the five core Passive House principles, emphasizing airtightness, mechanical ventilation with heat recovery, and eliminating thermal bridges. The conversation also tackles the confusion homeowners face when trying to build efficient homes, the economics and misconceptions around Passive House, and the massive role buildings play in national emissions. Darren then shares his work on prefab retrofit façade panels inspired by the Dutch EnergieSprong model, supported by NYSERDA, as a pathway to scaling deep retrofits in the U.S. They close on an optimistic note about individual agency: meaningful climate action will come from many people in many sectors pursuing practical solutions like high-performance windows and better building standards.

The nexus of business, policy, and sustainability is more divided than ever, but Less Talk, More Action is here to cut through the noise. Hosted by clean energy experts Joel Cesare and Owen Barrett, this podcast dives into the front lines of decarbonization, net-zero real estate, and entrepreneurship. Each episode features bold questions, real solutions, and stories from leaders in science, tech, and business who are taking action to make the world a better place. Join us as we move beyond talk and work toward a cleaner, net-zero future. Learn more and subscribe at lesstalkmoreaction.com.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.