The road to COP26: Fifth Wall Launches Mural in Glasgow as part of its international "Choose Earth" Campaign

VC Firm Partners with Glasgow Street Artist Bobby "RogueOne" McNamara to Poke Fun at the Billionaire Space Race and Call for Increased Investment in Climate Tech

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Fifth Wall

Oct 29, 2021, 12:43 ET

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 29, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Fifth Wall, the largest venture capital firm focused on technologies for the global real estate industry, launches a mural in Glasgow as part of its international campaign to bring public attention to the real estate industry's need to invest in climate technology now. It is the first of an ongoing series of murals that will be installed as part of Portrayals' visual story-telling projects across Scotland in the lead up to and following the UN Climate Change Conference, COP26, using street art to inspire and express what science alone cannot. Fifth Wall's campaign began in late September in New York City, timed with ClimateWeek, followed by a second mural in October in Los Angeles, timed with the Milken Institute's Global Conference.

The mural is located at 5 Cresswell Lane in Glasgow’s West End and was created in collaboration with BBMG, a branding and social impact agency, and Glasgow artist Bobby McNamara, better known as “RogueOne”.

Artist Bobby McNamara, better known as “RogueOne," pictured in front of the mural. McNamara is one of Glasgow’s most well-known muralists, responsible for various eye-catching pieces throughout the city.

The mural features the headline "There's No Place Like Home. Choose Earth." and the installation depicts an astronaut on Mars longingly reaching toward Earth. The multi-city mural campaign pokes fun at the current billionaire space race while encouraging people to first prioritize our planet -- a topic which has recently been called out by Prince William, who urged companies to repair this planet before exploring multi-planetary civilization, and Bill Gates, who noted that "we have a lot to do here on Earth."

The mural is located on the gable end of 5 Cresswell Lane in Glasgow's West End and was created in collaboration with BBMG, a branding and social impact agency, and Glasgow artist Bobby McNamara, better known as "RogueOne". McNamara is one of Glasgow's most well-known muralists, responsible for various eye-catching pieces throughout the city. He has been creating street art for over 15 years and uses it as a way to raise awareness for important topics often disregarded by the public that directly affect his beloved hometown.

"The idea behind this mural is to playfully suggest that visionaries like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Sir Richard Branson prioritize real-world solutions to combat climate change and reduce carbon emissions on Earth before building on Mars," said Bobby McNamara. "I'm thrilled that Fifth Wall chose me for this project because it's a cause I personally stand behind. Being able to express this through my art and in my hometown is a true honor."

The Glasgow mural aligns with the largest international climate change conference, COP26, which aims to bring countries together to accelerate positive action towards reversing global warming. COP26 has dedicated November 11 to focus on the Built Environment. Accounting for nearly 40% of global energy, greenhouse gases, and raw materials, the real estate industry is the world's largest contributor to the climate crisis. It is estimated that $15 to $20 trillion will need to be invested into technologies to decarbonize the real estate industry. Unfortunately, most real estate firms are not investing nearly enough into this critical climate technology, and this is what Fifth Wall's mural campaign seeks to highlight.

"We must prioritize Earth and to do so we need companies, especially real estate companies, to make critical investments into climate technology. Climate change is a collective action problem that requires a collective action solution, so it is important that everyone across all industries do their part to decarbonize the economy," said Brendan Wallace, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Fifth Wall. "The real estate industry has historically underinvested into the climate technologies that are needed for the industry to decarbonize. We want to draw awareness to this underinvestment and offer a solution, and that is what this mural campaign and our Climate Tech Fund is all about. Fifth Wall's Climate Tech Fund represents an ever growing consortium of real estate firms that are committed to decarbonizing their industry through investments into climate technology -- the largest pool of capital ever assembled to decarbonize the Built Environment."

This campaign is part of Fifth Wall's larger mission of investing in clean technologies to better the real estate industry. The firm recently announced that its Climate Tech Fund raised over $140 million from major real estate players, including Equity Residential (NYSE: EQR), Hudson Pacific Properties (NYSE: HPP), Kimco Realty Corporation (NYSE: KIM), Invitation Homes (NYSE: INVH) and Ivanhoé Cambridge. Brazilian energy industry player, Cosan (NYSE: CSAN), represents the first investment from the energy industry in the fund. With its target of $500 million, Fifth Wall's Climate Tech Fund represents the first time the real estate industry has come together, collectively and cooperatively, to invest in climate technology aimed at reducing the real estate industry's outsized carbon footprint.

About Fifth Wall
Founded in 2016 and based in Los Angeles, California, Fifth Wall, a Certified B Corporation, is the largest venture capital firm focused on technology-driven innovation for the global real estate industry. With approximately $2.5 billion in commitments and capital under management, Fifth Wall connects many of the world's largest owners and operators of real estate with the entrepreneurs who are redefining the future of the Built World. Fifth Wall is backed by a global mix of more than 70+ investors from 15 countries, including Acadia Realty Trust, Azora, BNP Paribas Real Estate, British Land, CBRE, Cosan, Cushman & Wakefield, D.R. Horton, Equity Residential, Gecina, GLP, Hines, Host Hotels & Resorts, Hudson Pacific Properties, Invitation Homes, Ivanhoé Cambridge, Jamestown, Kimco Realty Corporation, Knight Frank, Lennar, Lowe's Home Improvement, Macerich, Marriott International, MERLIN Properties, MetLife Investment Management, Mitsubishi Estate, News Corp, MOMENI, Nuveen Real Estate, PGIM Real Estate, Pontos Group, Prologis, PulteGroup, Related Companies, SEGRO, Starwood Capital, Toll Brothers, Vanke, and others. Fifth Wall believes this strategic corporate consortium represents one of the largest groups of potential partners in the global Built World ecosystem, which can result in game-changing investments and collaborations in promising portfolio companies in retail, residential and multi-family, commercial, industrial, hospitality, and more. For more information about Fifth Wall, its partners, and portfolio, visit www.fifthwall.com.

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