The Green Impact Report Quick take: Quick take: This week’s episode goes beyond bricks and beams. Brian Sheng, co-founder and CEO of Aquaria, is tackling one of the planet’s most overlooked sustainability challenges: water. His team is building clean water infrastructure by literally harvesting water from air — a breakthrough that could redefine how communities access one of life’s most critical resources.
Meet Your Fellow Sustainability Champion
Brian Sheng is the co-founder and CEO of Aquaria, a company pioneering atmospheric water generation at scale.
A first-generation American who grew up in New York, Brian studied at Princeton before building a career as both an entrepreneur and investor in future-focused technologies.
After leading Fresh, an early-stage venture firm that backed AI, climate, and government tech, Brian shifted to operating in climate innovation.
At Aquaria, he’s on a mission to make reliable, abundant, and sustainable water accessible to communities everywhere.
Breaking Ground on Better Building
In this episode, Brian Sheng revolutionizes traditional thinking about water and infrastructure
Key Insight #1: Water is the overlooked frontier of sustainability
The Challenge: Infrastructure projects are stalled by insufficient access to clean water.
The Solution: Aquaria generates water directly from air, creating a new and abundant supply chain.
ROI: Reliable, decentralized access to clean water for homes and communities, reducing strain on existing systems.
Key Insight #2: Startups can shift how infrastructure is built
The Challenge: Water infrastructure is costly, slow, and dependent on outdated systems.
The Solution: Aquaria approaches water like solar — distributed, scalable, and technology-driven.
ROI: Faster deployment, more resilient communities, and the potential to scale from individual homes to entire cities.
Key Insight #3: Mission-driven innovation requires intentional culture
The Challenge: Founders often struggle to balance speed with sustainable talent growth.
The Solution: Brian builds teams with intentional mentorship, complementary co-founders, and a mix of in-person and distributed collaboration.
ROI: A resilient, mission-aligned company culture that scales alongside the tech.
Sustainable Soundbite
Your Green Building Action Plan
Transform your next project with these steps:
This Week: Evaluate where water access could bottleneck your building or community projects.
This Quarter: Explore distributed water solutions like atmospheric generation to reduce risk.
This Year: Build partnerships with innovators that scale sustainable infrastructure, not just energy, but also water.
Connect & Learn More
- 🌿 Explore resources from this episode: Green Building Matters Podcast
- 🔗 Connect with Brian Sheng:
- Website: https://www.aquaria.world/,
- Brian on LinkedIn
- Brian on Instagram
- 🗒 Read the transcript here.
Don’t forget to catch more episodes and resources for all of your green building news at the Green Building Matters website.
Want More Green Building Insights?
Get sustainability tips 2x a week.
Subscribe to our FREE newsletter here:
Green Building Matters, Inc © 2025 | Good Green Fun