Founder & Principal of The Green Guy
Don L. Brooks, LEED AP is the founder of The Green Guy, a sustainability and real estate advisory focused on turning decarbonization into NOI growth, resilience, and long-term asset value.
With over 25 years of experience across investment management, development, construction, and operations, Don helps real estate owners, investors, and developers implement sustainability strategies that perform financially and scale operationally. His work bridges capital markets expectations with on-the-ground execution—prioritizing data, energy, and technology solutions that move the P&L.
Don has led strategy and execution across multifamily, industrial, office, and mixed-use portfolios nationwide
Don brings more than 25 years of leadership experience across investment management, development, construction, and operations, giving him a practitioner’s perspective that differentiates The Green Guy from traditional ESG and sustainability advisors. His work focuses on converting decarbonization, energy strategy, and technology integration into NOI growth, operational efficiency, risk reduction, and portfolio resilience—without slowing deals, design, or delivery.
Before launching The Green Guy, Don held senior leadership roles across some of the industry’s most respected real estate and sustainability platforms. Most recently, he served as Director of Sustainability at Crow Holdings, a global real estate investment and development firm with over $30 billion in assets under management, where he helped shape portfolio-level sustainability and decarbonization strategy across various investment and development strategies. His work supported major capital raises, improved GRESB performance, advanced data and technology integration, and launched initiatives centered on energy cost reduction, ancillary income, and operational value creation. He also contributed to strategic investments in solar and EV infrastructure companies, reinforcing a pragmatic, infrastructure-first approach to sustainability.
Previously, Don was Vice President and General Manager of Commercial Services at US Eco Logic, where he doubled revenue, expanded margins, and built new service offerings including solar, battery storage, net-zero consulting, and advanced energy modeling. Earlier in his career at The Dinerstein Companies, one of the nation’s largest multifamily and student housing developers, Don built and led the firm’s sustainability program—delivering more than 12,000 LEED-certified apartment units, greening over $1 billion in real estate, and securing $6+ million in incentives and tax credits, while also supporting large-scale development and due diligence efforts nationwide.
Don’s advisory approach is grounded in finance, data, and execution. He specializes in portfolio-level sustainability and decarbonization strategies aligned with GRESB, UNPRI, and TCFD, while remaining relentlessly focused on what matters most to real estate decision-makers: returns, risk management, scalability, and speed.
He holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Texas A&M University, is a LEED Accredited Professional, and is an active member of ULI, ULI Greenprint, The Real Estate Roundtable, and USGBC. Don also serves on the board of Jewish Family Service of Greater Dallas, contributing to strategy and facilities governance.
Through The Green Guy, Don works directly with leadership teams, investment committees, and project stakeholders to turn sustainability from a perceived obligation into a repeatable, value-creating capability across real estate portfolios.