Groundbreaking group aims to increase engagement with minority and women-owned business enterprises

Today, ICSC announced their participation in an industry-wide alliance to foster supplier diversity in the real estate industry. The Commercial Real Estate Diverse Supplier (CREDS) Consortium, made up of seven real estate trade associations, aims to meet growing interest from companies in real estate to further diversify their supply chains while also encouraging procurement of services from Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprises (MWBEs).

As a founding member of the CREDS Consortium, ICSC is joined by CREW Network, Mortgage Bankers Association, NAIOP, Nareit, the National Multifamily Housing Council and the Real Estate Roundtable. Each participating association has a shared mission of identifying tools to help members source, track and hire MWBEs. The CREDS Consortium has launched a two-year pilot program with SupplierGATEWAY, a leading supplier management software platform, to help their members identify, track, report, and engage with MWBEs.

“ICSC is committed to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in the Marketplaces Industry and giving our members ways to identify and source MWBEs is one way we can do this,” said ICSC President & CEO, Tom McGee. “The CREDS Consortium helps meet the growing demand for diversity in service providers and offers our members direct access to the tools and resources they need to support their own DEI goals. We are proud to be a founding member of the Consortium and look forward to working closely with the partner organizations to further this important initiative.”

ICSC members can subscribe—at a discounted price—to SupplierGATEWAY's software platform to search for, connect with, and potentially hire MWBE suppliers. They also will be able to post their purchase orders and other contracting opportunities through the CREDS portal. During the pilot program, the Consortium hopes to gain insights into supplier diversity trends across the real estate industry.

Visit https://creds.suppliergateway.com to learn more about the CREDS Consortium’s pilot program. An FAQ document can be found here.

About ICSC

The member organization for industry advancement, ICSC promotes and elevates the marketplaces and spaces where people shop, dine, work, play and gather as foundational and vital ingredients of communities and economies. ICSC produces experiences that create connections and catalyze deals; aggressively advocates to shape public policy; develops high-impact marketing and public relations that influence opinion; provides an enduring platform for professional success; and creates forward-thinking content with actionable insights – all of which drive industry innovation and growth. For more information, please visit www.ICSC.com.

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