Financial institutions conduct stress tests to evaluate how their balance sheet and capital would fare under different economic conditions. What if companies applied this concept to their real estate strategy to prepare for future uncertainties, guide decision-making and unlock cost-saving opportunities? Today, business leaders are prioritizing ways to increase efficiencies, reduce costs and weather economic turmoil. Since real estate is typically the second largest cost in operating budgets, recent events have triggered a flood of subleasing activity and portfolio consolidations. With so many factors to consider and a bit of “fear of the unknown,” some organizations have even paused or completely cancelled real estate initiatives. Instead of striking line items out of panic or suffering the consequences of cutting the wrong thing, we will present a strategic solution: the real estate stress test. Our session will demonstrate how companies can leverage the concept of a stress test to develop “what if” scenarios for real estate. The exercise will help CRE leaders consider short-, mid- and long-term impacts, and how these scenarios can be a tool for leadership alignment, decision-making and budgeting. We’ll hear examples from occupiers and service providers of how they built and tested scenarios, navigated resistance and leveraged data to build stronger business cases for real estate strategy. Attendees will also learn how to build their own scenarios and discuss.