Turning a Passion for Nature into a Commitment to Activism: EMA Interviews Activist Board Member Alán Sneider

Seeing how passionate people can be about taking action for our planet is always exciting. We recently sat down with EMA Activist Board Member Alán Sneider, who talked about his journey, which started with his love of animals. Deeply committed to enjoying and preserving the outdoors, Alán saw business as a force for good early on and is now driven to use his knowledge on environmental issues in the real estate industry. Alán is a true thought leader, attending Columbia for a graduate degree in Sustainable Management to engage and inspire other changemakers. Read more of Alán 's wonderful insights below.

1.) What experience(s) would you say led you to become passionate about the environment?

Growing up, I had a love for and fascination with all animals. I vividly remember digging for earthworms, chasing lizards, catching spiders, and always begging my parents for a puppy. My favorite animals rotated (and still rotate) consistently; for a long time, it was dolphins, then elephants, etc. I attribute this to my dad, an avid explorer and adventurer and one of the most passionate people for nature you'll ever meet. Our pets were not dogs and cats, but scorpions, exotic fish, black widows (if you can call that a "pet"?), geckos, chameleons; the list goes on. Family time became a little out of the ordinary as my siblings and I got older. I became a certified diver at ten years old, was doing day-long hikes through alpine terrain, trekking the jungles of South America, and sleeping under the stars in the Sahara and Kalahari. Rather than fearing the unknown and being uncomfortable, I developed a deep respect for nature's power, beauty, and diversity. I cultivated a thirst to continue exploring all that it has to offer. 

2.) Does your passion for the environment influence your other passions of business, policy, economics, etc.? 

My deeper understanding of environmental issues on a scale beyond buzzwords like deforestation and greenhouse gases only began in my junior year of high school when I enrolled in AP Environmental Studies. Further, my passion for the environment began to couple with other subject matters until my undergraduate studies at the University of Southern California. As I became more familiar with the issues underlying climate change, I began to understand the role that business, consumerism, and policy play in it. For example, after an experience in China tracking wild Pandas in the Qinling Mountains in 2011, I learned how the species was endangered primarily due to habitat loss from deforestation due to business interests, but also how Chinese policy had stepped in to prevent further destruction of their forests so that populations may rebound. As a result, earlier this year, we received the great news that wild panda populations are rising. 

As I studied economics and learned about supply and demand, I better understood how our choices can influence corporate strategy and business plans. It became clear that perhaps one of the biggest impacts in driving change could be creating and offering accessible alternatives for consumers. I felt I could make the most impact in the private sector, focusing on putting tangible solutions in front of everyday people and facilitating that cultural shift. In exploring the private sector's effects on the environment and where progress could be made, I landed on the built environment and began focusing on sustainable development.

There is a complex relationship between how the environment is affected by business interests, public policy, and economic realities. That's why change has been so slow. There are many competing interests at play that have been operating undisturbed for hundreds of years, and we must completely restructure and transition those systems in a matter of decades. I think that it is easy to lose sight of that reality and how difficult a task it is, but I also am in the camp that believes none of that matters if we aren't here in 50 years anyway. We are finally starting to have buy-in from influential parties at corporate and political levels, but time is not on our side. As a society, we need to demand more from both the private sector and our elected officials, but also begin to reassess how our daily choices can contribute.

3.) You have mentioned your involvement with real estate; tell me more about how you fell into that and how you tie that in with sustainability.

I got into real Estate once I began studying at USC. While I applied and was accepted as an Environmental Studies major, I quickly transferred to the Marshall School of Business, believing that we could only achieve the necessary advancements in sustainability efforts if we had mass adoption of solutions, which the private sector would primarily drive. The built environment has a massive carbon footprint, responsible for about 40% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. Many technologies exist to retrofit existing building stock and plan for new construction to reduce that impact significantly. I grew up with a lot of family involved in real estate, so it became a perfect opportunity to align what I was passionate about (sustainability) with something that I was interested in and could be a tangible solution. Sustainable development became my focus and ambition. 

Four years ago, I began working at Primestor Development, a minority-owned, urban impact-focused commercial real estate development company that operates in undersupplied markets. In my time at Primestor, my understanding of sustainable development evolved beyond just the "green" side of sustainability to addressing social and economic sustainability issues. Real Estate as an industry is critical to tackling social inequities and creating economic access and opportunity. We can't be a sustainable society without addressing those issues; in many ways, real estate is at the center of sustainable development. Developers play and will continue to play an essential role in addressing environmental justice. As we transition our urban centers into sustainable cities, we must ensure that the transition is equitable.

4.) What are you most proud to have achieved in 2022? Which goals would you like to meet within 3-5 years? 

I'm not sure if this qualifies as an "achievement" per se, but at the beginning of 2022, I began my studies at Columbia University, pursuing a Masters's degree in Sustainability Management. At the beginning of Covid, witnessing the social unrest in the wake of George Floyd's murder, my resolve for the path I was on was reinforced and reignited. I felt there was so much more I could do to understand sustainable development and make a difference. So, I enrolled in a Graduate Certificate program in Sustainable Cities & Communities through the Harvard Extension School and found the program I am currently at. I planned for two years to get here, so I am proud that I am finally embarking on this journey and investing in myself so that I can make a difference in a meaningful and lasting way. 

I graduate from the program next year, so the focus in the next 3-5 is to bring all the knowledge, tools, and skills I acquire back to Primestor and advance the company's efforts in sustainable development to become a national leader and pioneer in the space. I am currently working on preparing the company to develop its first sustainability report throughout 2023 while developing official sustainability policies and practices within each department. We have a few large-scale catalytic projects in our pipeline that will materialize in the next 3-5 years. I would love to see significant strides in implementing a holistic sustainability approach to them. Outside of Primestor, I would really like to use my background and experience to raise awareness and encourage those around me to make sustainable changes in their lives. 

5.) Your work is very inspiring as it focuses on many climate-related issues. Where do you believe progress still needs to be made in 2022? 

We have a long way to go. A lot of the necessary changes are underway but will take time; we're already behind on meeting many 2030 goals, and hopefully, we can make them by 2050. I believe, however, that we, as individuals, can accelerate that transition drastically. It's frustrating to hear the argument that we can't make a difference because "it's the corporations." On a technical level, that is true, but that completely undermines two potent tools that we have: our wallets and our votes. If we, as consumers, pay more attention to where our money goes, we can pressure companies to accelerate their transitions and give us what we want. Consumer activism is real; three out of four Gen Z shoppers prioritize sustainability over the brand name, and companies do notice. 

Our voting makes a difference, too, especially in local elections. Political and public infrastructure is essential to meeting sustainable development goals, often at municipal or state levels rather than federal. Yet, participation in these elections is significantly lower. We need to stop taking voting for granted and be grateful that it is our right and exercise it. Not caring about what you can vote on is highly privileged because it stems from the belief that it doesn't affect you but does. Every official or every piece of legislation is a building block toward (or against) a successful transition to sustainability. We need everyone doing something imperfectly rather than a handful of people doing everything perfectly.

6.) In What ways can an aspiring activist become more educated on environmental issues? How can they then become involved? 

This is a tricky question because there are degrees to which we can get educated. If you want to have some current and high-level exposure to environmental issues, social media is going to be the easiest way, but be mindful. We know how algorithms can skew our exposure to misinformation or biased information, so ask your friends that are well-versed in environmental and sustainability issues what some good sources might be. There are plenty of accounts with helpful and easily digestible posts and reels. In addition, plenty of great websites generally provide unbiased coverage of issues through newsletter subscriptions if you want to get deeper into some issues. I subscribe to Grist, Sustainable Brands, and GreenBiz, but there are plenty of options that specialize in certain sectors if you're interested more in finance, tech, etc. 

Getting involved is easy. It starts with you and the easy changes you can make in your everyday life. Do you carry a reusable water bottle with you? Grocery bags? As you adopt more sustainable practices, encourage your friends and family to do the same. Most of them are easy and don't cost more (they often can provide savings). What about your job and office? Building off my previous response, dig a little into the footprint and sustainability practices of some brands you buy from and search for alternatives if available. Shop less in general. Educate yourself on upcoming elections, important races, and legislation that can influence sustainable policymaking. Finally, find organizations like EMA (shameless plug) that do essential work in spreading awareness and taking action that you align with and support.

7.) Outside of work, what do you like to do to take care of yourself and our planet?

If I'm going to be able to take care of the people and planet that I love, then I need to be healthy. My mental and emotional health are significantly tied to my physical health. I'm probably working out at least four times per week, but always changing it up. Soccer, yoga, and weightlifting are my constants, while I try to mix in boxing, swimming, tennis, running, or surfing. I go on walks frequently and will call my friends or listen to a podcast or playlist for a certain mood. At least once a year, I try to spend a weekend in the backcountry to make sure I'm disconnected and fully immersed in nature. I also am very conscious of my sleep; it is so critical for our health, and we don't place enough emphasis on it. I watch my diet carefully, allowing myself to indulge here and there but always ensuring I get enough protein, veggies, and fruits. I've recently started paying a lot more attention to the labels of the groceries I buy; our food industry sneaks in a lot of chemicals and sugars using creative language, so I try to identify and avoid those products in favor of cleaner ones. I go to therapy regularly for check-ins and to work through issues I may have; I recommend everyone try therapy. I don't know why there is a negative stigma around it, and there are so many cost-effective resources nowadays. I occasionally meditate, though I wish I were more disciplined, and I'll read books on self-improvement. I just finished The Untethered Soul, which completely shifted my perspective; I have been living on a happier and more relaxed plane of existence since then. Others I've enjoyed are Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, The Book of Joy, and Principles by Ray Dalio.

As for taking care of our planet, I have spent a lot of time making my day-to-day lifestyle pretty sustainable. I have no single-use plastics anywhere in my apartment, and most paper products are bamboo-based. I purchase cleaning supplies that don't use harmful chemicals or unsustainable packaging and will last longer, so I'm purchasing less frequently. I always go to the grocery store with reusable and produce bags. If I'm shopping on Amazon, I'll choose Amazon Day delivery to minimize packaging; the little things count! I'm living in NYC and either walk or take the subway everywhere, and back in LA, I was driving electric. I'm not perfect about it all, though, I don't buy clothes exclusively from sustainable brands (though I pretty much refuse to buy fast-fashion like H&M or Zara), I don't compost (yet!), and I'm not a vegetarian. However, I have decreased my red meat consumption. It's really about starting with the small and easy changes (reusable water bottles, bags) and then slowly ramping up changes that don't really make a difference to you but do for our planet. Anda again, you don't have to do everything, but do something.

8.) At EMA, we strive to bridge the gap between science and communication. What benefit do you see that storytelling can bring to the movement for positive change?

Storytelling is incredibly influential, especially in the development of children. In an age where babies can figure out how to work an iPad, all the content they are exposed to shapes their understanding of the world around them. Societal norms are created that way, so by weaving sustainability issues, practices, and sustainable products into our storytelling both passively and actively, we can really begin to shape the future. People protect things that they love, so telling stories about people, places, or animals that captivate audiences can foster deep emotional connections to them that will inspire people to act. Similarly, people internalize and reflect the beliefs and actions of those they admire, and in the age of celebrities and influencers, that holds a lot of power. The brands, products, and issues that find their way into storytelling associated with those people will find their way into the homes and lives of the everyday individual. Storytelling has the potential to subliminally instill the value systems, beliefs, and emotions that are necessary for the movement for positive change.

Learn more about our EMA Activist Board here!