In boardrooms, on construction sites, and around community consultation tables, property developers are constantly caught in a tug-of-war:
Do I maximise profit? Or do I serve a higher purpose?
The tension is real — and growing. Rising material costs, tightening regulations, environmental and social expectations, and community activism have put developers under more pressure than ever to do good while doing well.
But here’s the truth: profit and purpose are not enemies. In fact, when pursued with integrity, they can reinforce one another.
Let’s unpack how ethical, purpose-driven development can create long-term value — not just for investors, but for communities and the planet.
Redefining “Return on Investment”
In traditional models, ROI is purely financial — a simple ratio of gain versus cost. But that formula is increasingly outdated.
Today’s stakeholders — from investors to councils to end users — are asking deeper questions:
- Is the development sustainable?
- Does it support community wellbeing?
- How does it contribute to long-term resilience?
- What effect does it have on others in the supply chain?
This shift doesn’t mean abandoning profitability. It means redefining what’s valuable. Developers who build with purpose are increasingly seen as lower risk, higher trust partners. Indeed, they can be at the vanguard of a whole new way of attracting investment capital, as values change and wealth gets reallocated through the generations. I continue to research in this area and the data emerging through numerous studies is becoming entrenched – over slightly longer investment periods, purpose driven investment is seriously outperforming profit driven investment. I will have more to say on this in future articles.
Profit Without Purpose: The Real Risk
The perception that “ethical” development is a financial liability is one of the industry’s great myths.
In reality, the absence of purpose can be far more costly. Here’s why:
| Risk Factor | Short-Term View | Long-Term Reality |
|---|---|---|
| Community opposition | A PR challenge | Project delays, court appeals, reputational damage |
| Poor environmental design | Reduced upfront costs | Regulatory penalties, market devaluation |
| Ignoring ESG | Less red tape | Investor exclusion, asset discounting |
| Low-quality housing | Higher margins | Brand erosion, future remediation liability, inviting onerous government regulation to remove bad players |
Without ethical foundations, developments become fragile — vulnerable to policy shifts, environmental and ecological risk, and social backlash.
The Case for Integrated Thinking
Purpose and profit must be integrated — not siloed.
This means embedding ethical and social goals directly into the development process:
- Feasibility studies that assess community benefit alongside financials,
- Design frameworks that prioritise liveability and long-term usability – creating spaces to be lived in, not traded as a financial asset.
- Stakeholder engagement that informs and improves outcomes,
- Governance structures that reward ethical leadership, not just volume.
It’s not about compromise — it’s about expansion. Expanding the definition of what success looks like.
Ethical Development in Action: A Case Snapshot
Consider a medium-density housing developer who:
- Partners with local artisans to build community identity,
- Uses passive design principles to reduce energy costs for residents,
- Allocates a portion of yield for affordable housing,
- Preserves green corridors instead of maximising site coverage.
They may yield slightly less GFA. But the project:
- Wins faster DA approval with minimal objections,
- Attracts ethical investors and,
- Delivers resilient, differentiated value in a saturated market.
The result? A profitable development with de-risked delivery and long-term brand upside.
Professional Property Development Practice = Market Advantage
Christopher Alexander famously advocated for design that supports life — not just aesthetics. His principles of pattern language show how built form can nurture social cohesion, safety, joy, and peace.
What does this mean for us as developers?
It means the moral quality of our projects — their ability to improve life — can and should be our competitive advantage.
And in an environment where:
- ESG and other government imposed mandates are growing,
- Owners and Tenants demand more and,
- Investors favour impact-aligned portfolios,
…ethical development isn’t just good. It’s strategic. At Pleroma Property Investments, this is our main strategy embedded in our motto, “We should ask of an enterprise not ‘Will it pay’ but ‘Is it good’?”
What Purpose Looks Like in Practice
As much as I consider myself a bit of an amateur philosopher, you don’t need to be a philosopher to bring purpose into projects. What is needed is just a clear intention behind your decisions.
Here are some examples of the kind of questions we ask as we make development decisions:
- Design: Do our projects encourage interaction or isolate people? Does the design encourage outdoor activities and physical movement?
- Supply chain: Are the materials we intend to use, ethically sourced?
- Energy: Can we design in such a way that energy use is minimised, cutting future bills for tenants and reduce carbon footprint?
- Social value: Can our project support aged care (aging in place), childcare, or microbusinesses?
- Ecological value: Can we use more of the site for trees, plants, gardens and habitats rather than driveways, garages and hard stand? Can we locate our projects, so car journeys are minimised and walking to services is encouraged?
As you can readily see, these types of decisions taken at the front end of a project, shape not just buildings, but lives. And that kind of decision making, in turn, is what we want to shape our reputation — and our legacy.
Aligning Investors with Purpose
The good news? Investors are shifting too.
A growing portion of institutional and wholesale capital is flowing into funds with clear impact mandates. Meanwhile, unsophisticated or retail investors increasingly want to back developments that “do good” — especially when purpose is clearly articulated and outcomes are measurable.
The key to success is alignment:
- We frame our projects in terms of risk-managed value creation, not charity.
- We critically check, assess and where appropriate, use frameworks like UN SDGs, GRESB, or BCorp standards.
- We build trust with consistent reporting and transparent communications.
Conclusion: The False Choice
The idea that developers must choose between profit and purpose is a false dichotomy.
The real choice is between:
- Short-term opportunism, and
- Long-term resilience.
It doesn’t follow logically that developers who choose purpose — grounded in ethics, guided by community, and backed by real strategy — have to lose money. In fact, something totally different is emerging. They can however build trust. And trust is the foundation of all enduring value. Sometimes it just takes longer to make the financial return but let’s face it – some things are worth waiting for.
So, here’s the challenge:
If you are a developer, are you building for margin… or meaning?
We do both.
Though great movements of change may start with the one or the very few, in time, like little trickles of water become great streams of change. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you are interested in what we do, have patience, faith that change is possible and really do want to make a difference. You’re the kind of partner we’re looking for.
Coming up next: Real-world case studies where developers applied ethical principles — and the surprising value it unlocked.