EDITOR’S COMMENT: This week, we announce the shortlisted entries for the EG Awards 2021.
And what a collection of potential winners they are. After more hours than they expected poring over entries, and two days locked in a (well-ventilated and very well-catered – thank you Avison Young) meeting room with me, this year’s judges finally landed on who should be stepping up on stage to collect property’s most coveted gong in late October.
The judging process is always a fascinating insight into how some of the most high-profile and promising individuals in the sector are thinking. It’s a window into what each of them values as important in the business of real estate today.
And, without exception, for every judge, purpose and the ESG agenda was as important – if not more important – than financial performance. Regardless of category.
Any business entering the awards was scrutinised not just on how it had traded during the year under review, but on how it ran its business. How it was tackling its carbon footprint, how it was valuing its people, whether it was delivering on diversity and inclusion initiatives, and how it was making a difference – or at least trying to – in society were big topics of debate around the table.
Those firms that couldn’t show what they were doing in this arena were instantly cast aside.
It is a massive pivot. I remember judging these awards not too many years ago and trading, deals and clear financial success were the basis for decision-making. They were now pretty much the last things on the list.
That’s not to say they’re not still important. Financial success still matters. But it is just not as compelling a story as it once was.
The why, rather than the what, has become so much more important. Our judges wanted to feel that each shortlisted party was deserving, that they were making a difference, that they were taking their responsibility in the property industry seriously.
Although it has been made abundantly clear by government over recent weeks that it doesn’t take what real estate enables seriously, our judges and all of our shortlisted entrants quite clearly do.
Real estate is a provider. Of space, of opportunity. It is an innovator, utilising tech, data and design to solve problems – our carbon footprint being one of them. And it is a facilitator with the potential to change not just our environments but people’s lives, too.
And yes, sometimes, it does exciting, big money deals. And yes, we love them still.
Everyone who entered this year’s awards deserves a tip of the hat. We’ve all had a tough year and anyone who’s had any kind of success, no matter how big or small, deserves a little recognition. I wish we could shortlist you all, but we all need a little loss sometimes to make us work harder.
To those who have made the shortlist, congratulations.
Now we all have to make it back to Grosvenor House so we can celebrate properly, in person, just how transformed the sector has become.
To send feedback, e-mail samantha.mcclary@eg.co.uk or tweet @samanthamcclary or @EGPropertyNews
