Sustainability has always been a priority for CPI Hungary. Three years ago, the company was the first in the Hungarian real estate market to have certified and qualified its portfolio, then most of the company’s office buildings, as well as the Campona and Pólus Shopping Centers, obtained the Access4you certification mark. In our interview, we asked Ferenc Gergely, CPI’s Senior Project Manager, about the cooperation between the two companies.
How do you recall your first impression of Access4you?
My first as well as most surprising and positive experience was that when it comes to accessibility, Access4you takes into account everyone who has any kind of disability, while the general professional approach only talks about people who use wheelchairs or people with limited mobility.
How did the collaboration affect your way of thinking?
It had a great impact on our approach. We consider it important that the building is accessible to everyone; therefore we are thinking of solutions that ensure accessibility for everyone. It is already self-evident for us that we work with Access4you on our buildings; not only in case of existing buildings, but we also prepare the plans with your cooperation. Your suggestions can be integrated into the building in a completely organic way, and the building itself will be significantly better as a result. From the small information signs stuck on the glass to the small Braille maps, the loop-amplified microphone at the reception, a lot of such small things could be listed. At the level of such a building, they do not even represent significant costs and additional energy.
In my personal opinion, what Access4you represents in this area gives our buildings such added value, thanks to which they can fulfill their intended purpose in a much more refined way.
What is the business advantage of the Access4you certification mark for you?
As a real estate developer, thinking innovatively, we are very happy that thanks to Access4you there is another area where we and our products can perform much better. Currently, one of the biggest concerns of our tenants is the availability of labor. Not only the hiring of labor, but these companies also invest a lot of energy in bringing their employees back to the office buildings, and the Access4you certification mark is also a very important part of this effort.
Why is accessibility important to you personally?
I believe that all people are limited in some of their abilities to a certain degree. We cannot say that there are perfect people and there are people with limited abilities. Everyone is limited – some less, some more. If we start paying attention to this, it can create a more beneficial, more comfortable and better (work)environment for everyone.
Original interview: Andrea Szilágyi
Translation: Dalma Ecseri
Access4you is a social impact startup: we survey and evaluate buildings to provide detailed, credible information about the built environment for the special needs community. Based on the results, we issue a certificate stating that the location is entitled to use the ‘Access4you’ European certification mark, and the detailed data of the site will be publicly available in the access4you.io database and mobile application.
For more information: https://access4you.io/b2b
