Impact of Corporate Real Estate Strategy on Corporate Sustainability: A Case Study of the Papua New Guinea University of Technology

Abstract

This paper investigates the challenges and opportunities associated with the pursuit of sustainability goal by corporate institutions through the adoption of a viable corporate real estate strategy. This issue has become a highly topical one in contemporary real property research because corporate real estate accounts for the second or third largest expense of most corporations around the world, after workers’ salaries and perquisites, and it is a factor that correlates directly with business success. The paper focuses on the corporate sustainability of tertiary educational institutions, with particular reference to the Papua New Guinea University of Technology, the only University of Technology in the South Pacific region. The central thesis of the paper is that the demonstrated viability of an overdue large-scale, real estate project (a permanent graduation hall) can be used by the university as a pedestal for boosting its corporate profile and achieving sustainability in its coveted position as an urban “magnet” and “enclave” even amidst the current financial uncertainty that has engulfed the institution due mainly to the current downturn in global economy. In addition to survey findings based on a questionnaire survey of 150 respondents conducted in the City of Lae in 2014, which revealed that the proposed project is overwhelmingly supported by the local community, the paper answers three research questions that are then reinforced by a set of viability and sensitivity analyses aimed at exploring whether or not the university should really embark on the project as an investment opportunity in these austere times.