Fair trade means that farmers get a better slice of the profit, so they are better able to provide for their families. But back in the 90s you had to go into a special store to purchase fair trade coffee. And it didn’t taste very good. It was also more expensive. I bought it once and then never again.
We’ve learned a lot since then. The social imperative in our supply chains still has to balance quality and cost to deliver viable products. Now we can find good quality coffee, and honestly, the pricing to us as consumers is reasonable.
Social and economic benefits need to go hand in hand. It can’t be one without the other.
It is the same with real estate. Investors in our multi-families want strong returns, and they should. But they also want to know that tenants are treated fairly, that rents are stable, that people live in quality housing they can call home, and they have opportunities to build community where they live.
So how do we do it? In my work in countries in Africa I have visited many coffee businesses and farmers who tackled the challenge of getting quality coffee to market in a way that also benefitted those farmers. This is where thinking outside the box led to new ways of producing as well as preparing coffee for the market. Innovation enabled us to be socially responsible while getting high quality coffee to the general market, not just into the fair trade market.
For real estate we need to take advantage of out-of-the-box thinking to ensure social or environmental benefits for our tenants, while also making financial sense to our investors. What are the innovative ways to bring social benefits that impact positively on the financial bottom line? How can we drive environmental impact in ways that make buildings more efficient and effective?
We need more great minds in this space. I would love to hear from any of you who are working in new ways to change the real estate sector. Let’s get this conversation going.
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