Real Estate’s Cream of the Crop: IDRC Best Practices

Excellence. It’s something all firms strive for — to be the best.

Many companies today are working hard to make their real estate operations the best they can be. The International Development Research Council (IDRC), the world’s preeminent association of corporate real estate executives, recognizes the achievements of its member firms via the prestigious Best Practices Awards. The annual awards identify and promote best-in-class examples of how companies are meeting the major challenges facing corporate real estate professionals today.

This year’s winners are a veritable who’s who of the business world: Australia Post, Ford Motor Land Services Corp. (and its alliance partners Cushman & Wakefield and CB Commercial/Madison Advisory Group), IBM Corp. and Northern Telecom Limited (Nortel).

“As we move into the second year of the best practices program, it’s really interesting to see the many ways in which the winners are creating value for their corporations,” says IDRC Director of Global Research Services Robert Materna. “In the end, that’s what this is all about.” (In 1996, best practices honors went to high-profile firms like Bank of America, CLW Realty Group, Eastman Kodak and Johnson Controls.)

IDRC’s Research Committee sought best practices nominations in a number of areas crucial to top-notch real estate operations, and selected four companies to receive Best Practices Awards. Nominations were evaluated by panels of three to four corporate real estate (CRE) professionals on creativity and innovation; value creation for the corporation; implementation of principles limned in IDRC’s pioneering Corporate Real Estate 2000SM research; lessons learned and guidelines for others; potential use in professional education courses or seminars; and clarity of presentation.

Check upcoming issues of Site Selection — and SiteNet — for profiles of this year’s winners and their best practices activities.