Chairman’s Message: Introducing Our New Mission Statement

One aspect of ULI that sets it apart from other real estate organizations is our mission, the essence of which is our ability to bring members together from across disciplines, sectors, and geographies to make an impact in our communities.

As a ULI member for over 30 years, I have had the privilege of seeing firsthand the power of ULI and the difference that our collective knowledge and expertise can make to our industry and our communities.

We live in a rapidly changing word, and it is important that as an Institute we keep pace with the members and communities we serve and convey our purpose in a way that makes us meaningful and relevant.

Following feedback from our members, ULI’s Global Board of Directors thought it was the right time to review our mission statement to ensure that it achieved everything we wanted it to and did justice to the work of our organization. Over the past year, with the help of our board, regional executive committees, staff team, and a working group made up of members from around the world, we have created a new articulation of our mission to better communicate the scope and impact of our activities as well as our future aspirations.

It is important to say that we are not changing our mission. The same ethos of providing leadership in responsible land use and creating and sustaining thriving communities that inspired you to join ULI remains at our heart. Instead, we are articulating our mission differently to better capture the breadth, spirit, and purpose of ULI through a more memorable, more inspiring, and more relevant statement.

I am proud to say that this is our new mission statement:

Shape the future of the built environment for transformative impact in communities worldwide

Our new mission statement is supported by three commitments that expand on our objectives and explain how we deliver on our mission. These mission commitments are:

CONNECT active, passionate, diverse members through the foremost global network of interdisciplinary professionals

INSPIRE best practices for equitable and sustainable land use through content, education, convening, mentoring, and knowledge sharing

LEAD in solving community and real estate challenges through applied collective global experience and philanthropic engagement

The mission statement and commitments capture our forward-looking nature, our global footprint, and our commitment to delivering real-world impact in our communities. The commitments emphasize ULI’s role in bringing together all sections of the real estate industry and the key part our members play in delivering change through knowledge sharing and applying collective experience.

In keeping with our strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, we explicitly reference the need for diversity in our membership and our belief that communities can only truly thrive if they are equitable.

Having the right mission statement is important to our position and impact as an organization. It aligns us all as members and staff around our shared values and objectives, while also communicating to the wider world who we are, what we do, and what we are looking to achieve. Our new statement not only reflects what we are today, but also what we want our organization to become in the future, inspiring us all to achieve more in delivering our mission.

You will start to see the new mission statement and commitments used in the weeks and months ahead. Our hope is that by this year’s Spring Meeting, we will all be consistently using the new articulation of our mission and spreading the word about ULI and its impact.

I hope the new statement and priorities will inspire you to deepen your involvement with ULI and that you will help us shape the future of the built environment for transformative impact in our communities worldwide.

Owen Thomas, ULI Global Chairman