The Commercial Real Estate Diverse Supplier (CREDS) Consortium is a first-of-its-kind coalition to provide more opportunities for minority- and women-owned businesses in the industry’s supply chain.

Today, an industry-wide group of seven real estate trade associations announced a first-of-its-kind alliance to foster supplier diversity in real estate. The Commercial Real Estate Diverse Supplier (CREDS) Consortium aims to expand economic opportunities for businesses owned by minority- and women-owned businesses (MWBEs) in the chain of providers that supply the real estate industry.

See the NAIOP Supplier Diversity Initiative.

In addition to NAIOP, CREDS Consortium associations include CREW Network, ICSC, Mortgage Bankers Association, Nareit, National Multifamily Housing Council and The Real Estate Roundtable. CREDS Consortium associations will highlight tools that their members can use to identify, track, report, and procure products and services from MWBEs and companies owned by veterans, LGBTQ+ persons, and persons with a disability.

Marc Selvitelli, president and CEO of NAIOP, said: “NAIOP is proud to be a founding member of this important initiative. By working together, we believe this powerful alliance of real estate associations can propel our member companies’ success in achieving their important ESG goals. Facilitating access to a minority- and women-owned supplier database is an important first step in creating future opportunities between diverse vendors and developers and owners of commercial real estate.”

The CREDS Consortium has launched a two-year pilot program that will run through the end of 2024 with SupplierGATEWAY, a leading supplier management software platform and minority-owned firm that automates and simplifies supplier and vendor management. SupplierGATEWAY's products include supplier sourcing, registration, risk management, compliance, and management — and provide support for corporate social responsibility, diversity, and inclusion goals.

Members of the CREDS associations can subscribe — at a discounted price — to SupplierGATEWAY's software platform to search for, connect with, and potentially hire MWBEs as contractors, service providers, vendors, and joint venture partners. CREDS associations’ subscribing members can access the vendor management software and a comprehensive database of MWBE suppliers through the Consortium’s portal page, hosted by SupplierGATEWAY.

Hiring companies can also post their purchase orders and other contracting opportunities through the CREDS portal. Tools available on the platform that measure and track MWBE procurement spending will support companies that intend to advance environmental social, and governance (ESG) and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) goals.

During the pilot program, the Consortium also hopes to gain broad insights into supplier diversity trends across the commercial real estate industry.

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

See what our partners are saying about the CREDS Consortium.