As Jamaica pushes forward with plans to build a truly sustainable construction and real estate sector, industry leaders are calling for a balanced policy framework that combines voluntary incentives with clear, enforceable regulations to overcome cost barriers holding back widespread green building adoption.
Speaking at a recent Green Sustainability Panel Discussion hosted by the Realtors Association of Jamaica (RAJ), Richard Mullings, president of the Incorporated Masterbuilders Association of Jamaica (IMAJ), argued that current incentive-based policies are insufficient to drive change. Because sustainable construction often requires higher upfront costs that developers struggle to pass on to homebuyers in a competitive market, most firms avoid adopting green requirements voluntarily.
Mullings pointed to existing mandatory water harvesting rules as a clear example of unenforced sustainability standards. He noted that most municipal building approvals already require every new residential development to include a water collection tank, yet nearly all developers ignore the requirement with no consequences. Without uniform, enforced rules, any developer that voluntarily adds the extra upfront cost will immediately price themselves out of the market, especially for affordable, lower-cost housing developments.
“We operate in a profit-driven free market, and developers have no choice but to prioritize their bottom line,” Mullings said, addressing his comments directly to Gregory Bennett, deputy CEO of the Spatial Planning Division at Jamaica’s National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA). “Since most sustainability measures deliver widespread public and societal benefits, shouldn’t we pair the current carrot of incentives with a regulatory stick to push the entire industry toward sustainable practices? Could we use public systems, tax policy, and strict enforcement to shift market demand toward green building?” he asked.
In response to Mullings’ proposals, Bennett confirmed that Jamaican policymakers are already advancing new frameworks to encourage more businesses to adopt sustainable construction best practices at the ministerial level. He agreed with Mullings that effective change ultimately depends on robust monitoring, enforcement, and compliance, all while balancing the upfront cost challenges facing developers and homebuyers.
Bennett added that a growing segment of the private sector is already embracing green building voluntarily, with many developers integrating sustainable features into their projects without waiting for regulatory mandates. Still, he acknowledged that large-scale systemic behavior change will take time. The Jamaican government is currently mainstreaming sustainability across the sector, working to embed the value of green building into the long-term thinking of both developers and homeowners, and policy work to advance a national green business strategy is already at an advanced stage, he said.
Latoya Williams, assistant vice-president of lending solutions and business services at Victoria Mutual Building Society (VMBS), echoed Mullings’ concerns about upfront cost barriers, noting that the global built environment accounts for 37% of all energy-related carbon emissions, making the transition to green building a critical priority for Jamaica’s climate goals.
“Our end goal is not just meeting sustainability targets — it’s building better, more resilient, future-ready homes for all Jamaicans,” Williams said. “Through incremental changes across every project and every industry decision, we can collectively build a far more sustainable Jamaican built environment. Most importantly, we have a chance to make this transition inclusive, practical, and accessible to Jamaicans across all income levels.”
She emphasized that the transition cannot succeed if different parts of the industry work in isolation. Key challenges still to address include higher upfront costs for sustainable solutions, gaps in public and industry awareness, limited access to effective incentives, and uneven technical capacity across the sector. “This requires collaboration across the entire ecosystem — developers, realtors, financial institutions, and policymakers all have a critical role to play to move the industry forward,” Williams added.
To build industry capacity for the transition, RAJ will launch a new two-day Green Designation training course for Jamaican realtors starting in June, equipping them with the skills they need to promote sustainable properties to clients.
Heather Pinnock, a moderating associate for the panel and co-founder of the upcoming Jamaica Green Building Council, described realtors as the critical “sustainability link in every transaction” between developers and homebuyers.
“Green infrastructure cuts long-term utility costs for homeowners, improves living comfort, and increasingly commands premium prices for both sales and rentals,” Pinnock said. “We don’t need to convince clients of the ethical principle of sustainability — we just need to show them the numbers. A well-designed sustainable property is simply a better long-term investment, and our job is to make that case confidently with solid data.”
While environmental compliance is already a formal part of the development approval process in Jamaica, it has not yet been systematically embedded into property sales transactions, Pinnock explained. That gap is a major opportunity for realtors to drive change: when realtors consistently ask the right questions about a property’s environmental status, energy systems, flood risk, and planning compliance, they raise sustainability standards across the entire market. Every property listing, every offer, every negotiation is a chance to advance the industry’s sustainability agenda, she added.