An unprecedented concentration of corporate and commercial real estate (CRE) executives made CoreNet Global's first-ever Discovery Forum in Australia - New Zealand a success. A total of 28 senior CRE's from leading multi-national corporations, global regional companies and government agencies gathered in a demonstration of thought leadership, signalling the true influence of the industry's demand side in an otherwise under-represented industry marketplace for corporate end users.

The group explored a range of key issues that their companies, shareholders, staff, senior management, outsourced partners and other stakeholders confront in an unceasingly change-driven global environment that only CoreNet Global is qualified to address as the one professional association convening CRE, commercial real estate and economic development executives worldwide.

In addition to addressing strong concerns that the landlord and investor sides of the industry have under-responded to the needs of their major corporate clients, the participants looked intensively into other challenges and issues surrounding change management, corporate agility and competitiveness, flexible workplace practices and, of course, sustainability.

As seen through other CRE areas of leadership like M&A's, monetization of assets, emerging market entry, and the blending of multiple generations in today's work environments, corporate occupiers are fast gaining a position of influence over CSR- and sustanability-related areas.

It's all bringing CRE to the nexus of corporate global expansion and providing industry professionals with an exclusive "balcony view" of the corporate enterprise that no other internal support function or outside professional association can deliver.

With sustainability now ranking as one of the fastest-ever priorities rising on the corporate agenda, and CRE's natural positioning to play a leadership role in this broad area, the Discovery Forum particpants rated the following areas as the most important issues confronting their companies, service providers and other stakeholders today in an Australia - New Zealand global regional context:

The corporate view that landlords aren't delivering is a big issue in the sustainability context too, as the senior executives also strongly indicated about these two related issues:

Current supply-side property interests in the region are not representing corporate tenants' objectives to occupy more green leased space. If there was legislation requiring landlords to adopt green building standards for existing stock, it would advance the existing building retrofit need instead of addressing only the less extensive inventory of new building stock. Corporations perceive landlords and investors are interested in addressing only new buildings in this regard, yet the extent of existing buildings leased by companies is far greater in scale.