NAIOP Supplier Diversity Initiative

NAIOP is joining forces with national trade associations to promote supplier diversity in the real estate industry.

NAIOP Supplier Diversity Initiative

NAIOP has launched an initiative that advances supplier diversity among NAIOP member companies and across the commercial real estate industry. As part of the Commercial Real Estate Diverse Supplier (CREDS) Consortium, NAIOP joins an alliance of national trade associations rallied around a common cause to promote supplier diversity in the real estate industry.

Visit the CREDS Consortium website.

Read the press release and see what our partners are saying.

See FAQs on the CREDS Consoritum.

A first-of-its-kind partnership, the CREDS Consortium was established to meet the growing demand from companies in real estate to further diversify their supply chains and help advance Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) goals.

Through the end of 2024, NAIOP member companies can engage in a pilot program to access SupplierGATEWAY, an online supplier management platform to better identify, track, report, procure services from, and increase spending with Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprises (MWBEs).

During the pilot program (2023-2024), NAIOP’s member companies receive a discount to subscribe to SupplierGATEWAY to access the vendor management software and a comprehensive database of MWBE suppliers. Hiring companies will also be able to post their purchase orders, contracting, and other hiring opportunities through the CREDS portal.

By subscribing through the Consortium, NAIOP’s member companies will provide insights on supplier diversity trends across our industry. Aggregated, anonymized industry data on MWBEs hired using SupplierGATEWAY’s software and accessed through the CREDS portal page will be reported to the Consortium. Individual, specific company information on any potential or actual hiring transactions between a procuring company or an MWBE supplier remain confidential between SupplierGATEWAY and the subscriber at all times.

Members can visit SupplierGATEWAY or contact Diana Tucker, CAE, NAIOP vice president for membership and chapter relations, to learn more about how to participate in the pilot.

More information

The annual cost for a subscription to SupplierGATEWAY’s vendor management software is $10,000 USD.

This price is only available to NAIOP member companies that sign subscription agreements with SupplierGATEWAY through December 31, 2024 (the duration of the 2-year pilot).  

If a company does not want to participate in the CREDS program, it can directly purchase the Supplier Diversity program from SupplierGATEWAY at the standard rate of $18,500/year.

​NAIOP encourages its member companies that qualify as a Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprises (MWBE) to sign up, at no cost, as an eligible supplier in SupplierGATEWAY’s vendor database.

An MWBE is any bonafide U.S. or Canadian citizen or resident-owned business that is 51% owned, managed and controlled by one or more of the following diversity categories: minority, woman, veteran, disability, or LBTQ+. The CREDS Consortium’s definition and criteria of MWBE follows those used by SupplierGATEWAY.

SupplierGATEWAY lists MWBEs in its vendor database at no cost, after they create an account and fill out a profile.

A listing in SupplierGATEWAY’s database can enhance opportunities and help build connections that may lead to more work in real estate’s supply chain. However, there is no guarantee that a business listed in SupplierGATEWAY’s database will be hired as a contractor by a company that is a member of or represented by one of the CREDS associations.

SupplierGATEWAY is a leading supplier management software platform that automates and simplifies supplier and vendor management for some of the most recognized companies in the world. Products encompass supplier sourcing, registration, risk management, compliance, and management, as well as support for corporate responsibility, diversity, and inclusion goals.

SupplierGATEWAY is a minority-owned software company founded in 1997.