Social Infrastructure for Resilient Communities

We make deep retrofits investable, developing the collaboration models, financing tools, and partnerships that move markets.

Proven in Los Angeles, designed to scale nationally.

For 20 years, we have worked at the forefront of building decarbonization and resilience, evolving from commercial and industrial buildings to focus on affordable housing in the communities that need it most.

The retrofit market is still fragmented, with no shared infrastructure to build pipeline or attract capital at scale. We are on a mission to change that.

It's time to move from silos to systems.

Explore our Impact
Explore our Impact

Systems Approach

Pilot to Pipeline

A Learn-By-Doing Approach to Aligning Policies, Programs and Capital through Deals as Systems Events

Shared Infrastructure

Building Shared Infrastructure to Enable Systemic Investments

Silos to Systems

Catalyzing Transformative Partnerships
and Enabling Collaboration Across Silos to Reduce Friction and Unlock Impact  

building a $1B pipeline of resilience retrofits from the ground up and from the top down

What we Do

The path to sustainability requires transforming fragmented markets into functioning ecosystems. We operate through two interconnected entities, designed to address key aspects of this challenge:

LABORATORY

Our nonprofit affiliate works to catalyze a paradigm shift by generating and amplifying learnings at the intersection of climate resilience, health, equity, finance, policy, and economic development to make sustainability investable.

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APPLICATION

Bridging the gaps from demand generation to project development and finance, we provide program design, capacity building, training and advisory services to navigate a complex and shifting market to drive impact. 

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Creating Possibilities

What Some Of Our Clients Say

  • "Dave is able to shift between working with community advocates and major business players, and is trusted and sought after by both. it's a remarkable trait!"

    — Lauren Faber O’Connor, City of LA

  • "One of the biggest barriers to efficiency investments is communication. sustento group is able to simplify complex information to make it resonate with different audiences -- such a unique quality."

    — Pegah Noori Khah, C40

  • "It's rare to find a program that really understands the real estate business, climate policy, and buildings. sustento group is able to work across stakeholder groups to flush out issues and develop workable solutions. I can say from first-hand knowledge that without dave and the sustento team, LA's existing buildings energy & water efficiency ordinance would not be possible."

    — Hilary Firestone, NRDC