From their roots in the UK, IPD's occupier services have now spread to many other countries around the globe.  Here’s a taste of what’s happening in France, Germany and South Africa, and an introduction to GEMS – IPD’s Global Estate Management Standards

FRANCE
The French IPD Occupiers Databank was set up in 2002, and conforms to GEMS (see below for more details) – which allows international data comparisons to be made. The Databank sample has grown by some 25% each year, reaching 7 million square metres at the end of 2008, with information supplied by 30 contributors.
This Databank has been set up specifically for the needs of property end-users, and provides a sophisticated dashboard of real estate financial metrics. Using this data, IPD Occupiers also supports a facilities management group – the CRE Groupes - similar to that existing in the UK.  This year IPD Occupiers is undertaking a feasibility study on occupational benchmarking for the French government, and in 2010 it is planned to launch Eco Ledger, an environmental performance analysis and benchmarking service for occupiers.
For further information contact Philippe Fixel:  philippe.fixel@ipd.com or visit the website

GERMANY
IPD Occupiers' services are expanding in Germany and have recently been highlighted in several national publications including Immobilienzeitung, Börsenzeitung and Financial Times Deutschland. By establishing strong client relationships with German occupiers it has been possible to develop Occupier Benchmarking Services as well as Eco-Ledger environmental benchmarking.

To attract additional corporate professionals and end-users, IPD is holding a seminar entitled “Benchmarking for Occupiers and Measuring Environmental Performance” on 24th June in Frankfurt. Measurement experts from IPD, Deutsche Bank, Johnson Controls and METIS will cover topics including “New dimensions of efficiency”, “From performance measurement to performance improvements” and “International Total Occupancy Cost Code (ITOCC) - an instrument to implement an efficient and effective CREM control system”.

A special session will deal with property and facilities management in the banking sector. We expect 30 – 50 professionals to take part at this seminar and discuss the increasing importance of managing the real estate stock for non-property companies. 
For further information and registration visit www.ipd.com/germany,
or contact Elaine Wilke: elaine.wilke@ipd.com

SOUTH AFRICA
IPD Occupiers services were introduced in South Africa as a pilot study in 2007, with the first formal results presented to clients late in 2008. The initial database for producing IPD efficiency measures covered 790,000 m sq with R900m of costs, and was populated by seven major clients. The service has generated strong market interest in monitoring costs and space utilization, and the addition of a number of potential new clients is expected to increase the database substantially in 2009.

Environmental sustainability is also a hot topic in South Africa and there is a strong Green Building Council and various active lobbying groups. We expect that IPD’s Eco-ledger service will attract a lot of attention going forward.  IPD's  Environmental Code and Eco-ledger  were launched at a public event on the 10th of June, with good media coverage; and a client workshop will be held later in June to further promote the occupier service.
For further information contact Molefi Maome: molefi.maome@ipd.com

IPD GEMS: Global Estate Measurement Standards

IPD has now developed three Global Estate Measurement Standards (GEMS).  These are the IPD Cost Code, the award-winning framework for collecting occupiers’ property cost information in a globally consistent way - the IPD Environment Code, the recently launched good practice framework for collecting property-related environmental information – and the IPD Space Code, the standardised measurement framework for analysing and reporting on spatial performance.

The objectives of the IPD GEMS are to create a globally unifying set of definitions for measuring property performance, and to provide a transparent basis for measurement, comparison and benchmarking. In so doing they will support the communication of data, information and knowledge, and improve understanding of how organisations use and occupy buildings.  The GEMS will help property users to make better decisions in a rapidly changing environment.

Providing good practice frameworks for collecting, analysing and reporting on property performance, the IPD GEMS are an essential starting point for property executives charged with addressing the implications associated with an estate. With this robust set of baseline data in place, property occupiers are able to gain clarity on the costs, environmental performance and space usage in occupied buildings, and thus create realistic performance targets in these areas.

Download the IPD GEMS for FREE at:   www.ipdoccupiers.com/gems