Tick the box or lead the change? Ethics and the future of corporate real estate leadership
Abstract
This paper explores the influence of ethical considerations on decision making within an organisation’s internal corporate real estate (CRE) function. CRE is increasingly recognised for not only its operational and financial implications, but also as a strategic asset that can shape organisational culture and overall effectiveness by influencing the employee experience, including collaboration, productivity and wellbeing. By examining the intersection of ethics and CRE, this paper aims to uncover the extent to which ethical considerations influence executive decision making within corporate occupiers’ internal real estate function — actions such as property acquisition, development, disposal and sustainability considerations, all of which have far-reaching effects on both organisations and society. This paper presents a qualitative study investigating the role of ethics in CRE decision making. Drawing on a research approach comprising semi-structured interviews with selected CRE executives, this paper identifies the key ethical principles that underpin and influence decision-making processes within the industry. The findings reveal that ethical considerations are often conflated with compliance obligations, resulting in inconsistent application across and within organisations. This highlights a need for CRE leaders and organisations to move beyond regulatory minimums and take active responsibility for embedding ethical principles into decision making. As the societal and environmental implications of real estate intensify, ethical leadership is arguably vital to fostering transparency, accountability and long-term value. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks.com/business/.
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Author's Biography
Lizzie Rolley is a corporate real estate professional and Chartered Surveyor with an MBA whose work sits at the intersection of workplace strategy, facilities management and real estate transformation. She has advised global occupiers and service providers on operating model design, sourcing, governance and performance improvement, often in complex environments where competing priorities, imperfect data and organisational pressure make decision making far less straightforward than it appears in theory. Alongside her consulting work, Lizzie has developed a focused research interest in ethical decision making in corporate real estate. Her MBA dissertation explored how ethical considerations shape day-to-day CRE decisions through qualitative interviews with senior industry leaders, examining the influence of values, incentives, risk, stakeholder power and organisational culture on choices related to cost, experience, sustainability and duty of care. Lizzie’s perspective is grounded in experience across complex portfolios and multiparty vendor ecosystems, where ethical dilemmas often emerge through recurring patterns such as ambiguous accountability, short-term budget pressure, misaligned KPIs and trade-offs between people, place and profit. Through her writing, Lizzie aims to translate academic insight into practical frameworks that support more transparent, defensible and trust-based decision making in CRE.
