FIABCI, Global Compact Cities seal pact on sustainable development

The International Real Estate Federation (FIABCI) and the Global Compact Cities Programme, a United Nations international secretariat, have signed a high-level agreement of cooperation which confirms a strategic collaboration that began earlier this year in Dubai to write a Charter for Sustainable Property Development and also develop a set of associated tools and assessment processes.

This historic deal was one of the highpoints of the just-concluded 65th FIABCI World Congress in Luxembourg that had in attendance over 1,000 global leaders from the real estate industry, including Nigerians, to network, build business, share experience, and advance industry knowledge.

The Nigerian team to the congress which was led by Kola Akomolede, president, FIABCI Nigeria, included Chudi Ubosi, FIABCI Africa president, Joe Akhigbe, FIABCI Africa vice president, Gbenga Ismail, FIABCI Nigeria publicity secretary, as well as other senior members of the group.

A statement from the federation signed by Ismail informs that Robyn Waters from Australia was installed FIABCI World president at the congress.

“Waters has an extensive background in the global real estate industry and has been an active member of FIABCI since 1977, serving in several leadership positions. She has developed an outstanding reputation as a global real estate industry leader, not only within Australia but also throughout the world. Her expertise, commitment and dedication to the global real estate sector will serve to continue to position FIABCI as a real estate industry leader,” Ismail said in the statement.

According to him, the FIABCI World Congress is one of the most respected global real estate meetings, disclosing that this year’s congress, which had ‘Building Humanity’ as theme, saw several world-renowned experts and internationally-recognised business leaders from the global real estate and development industries share cutting-edge ideas.

“Positive and sustainable property development is complex. Agreeing on broad principles and assessment tools cannot be coordinated easily. There are many fields of property development involved, including legislators, builders, planners, realtors, financiers, architects, brokers, and plumbers, etc. There are thousands of different codes, regulations, principles and procedures, which are implemented according to each local country, and there is currently no charter of responsibility that manages or coordinates them in a unified process,” Ismail noted.

In her remarks, Waters noted that the subject of positive, sustainable property development could not be left to a few good developers and some innovative cities.

Chuka Uroko