Eurobuild Awards
Book your ticket

Ghelamco Poland

CATEGORY
ESG Real Estate Leader of the Year, CEE
Ghelamco is a pioneer of ESG in Poland. In 2022, Ghelamco started building its own photovoltaic farms that will power all of the skyscrapers owned by Ghelamco. This is an unprecedented situation in the whole country. This will allow Ghelamco to achieve energy neutrality by 2024. Warsaw UNIT will be the first skyscraper in Poland to be entirely powered by clean electricity. By using energy from renewable sources, CO2 emissions for the Warsaw Unit will be reduced by as much as 53% and utility consumption by as much as 70%. Warsaw UNIT is already the greenest office building in Poland. In 2021, it was the first skyscraper in Poland to receive the highest possible rating (Outstanding) in the prestigious BREEAM certification process. Currently Ghelamco is in the process of building The Bridge skyscraper. It will be the only skyscraper of this class connected to a historic building (Bellona), which shows the company's approach to sustainable development.
Name of the company
Ghelamco Poland
Name of the president or managing director
Jeroen van der Toolen
The company ESG reporting mode (short description)
For each project, Ghelamco prepares an ESG report. The report contains analyses of specialists, technicians and data approved by experts, confirming that the project meets all the objectives of the company's ESG strategy. The ESG strategy serves as a benchmark for all of the company's activities and a confirmation that the goals are being met. In 2022 Ghelamco together with CBRE specialists prepared a comprehensive report Delivery of sustainable development objectives at Ghelamco's Warsaw UNIT building.
Green certificates obtained for the investments developed or purchased by your company
Warsaw UNIT – BREEAM Outstanding, Green Building Standard, WELL Health-Safety Rating, Well core v2 (precertification), “Building without Barriers”, SmartScore (the first in Poland) and WireScore The Warsaw HUB – BREEAM Excellent, WELL Health-Safety Rating, “Building without Barriers”
The company activities in environmental protection
Ghelamco is the first developer, which introduced to Poland system of BREEAM ecological certification. In 2022 Warsaw UNIT was the first skyscraper in Poland to receive the highest possible rating (Outstanding) in this process. UNIT was awarded for solutions reducing water consumption, energy efficiency, materials used and waste management. In 2021 Ghelamco also carried out an unprecedented action of replanting trees. Due to the reconstruction of Plac Europejski 42 Metasequoias were transported to one of Warsaw parks. Additionally, Ghelamco will plant 115 new trees in Wola. In all of its projects Ghelamco uses solutions that reduce energy and water consumption, such as: lifts equipped with energy recovery systems, LED-based lighting, heat recovery used in ventilation and cooling systems and many more. Also, hazardous materials were eliminated from the building’s operations in accordance with WELL v2 certification requirements. Ghelamco's buildings are also equipped with charging stations for electric cars and special lockers and parking spaces for cyclists.
The company activities in social responsibility
In 2021 Ghelamco financed two innovative firefighting sets for extinguishing fire in high-rise buildings in Warsaw. This is the first such equipment in Poland that enable water supply at a height exceeding 200 meters. At Plac Europejski, Ghelamco has also created the first open art gallery ArtWalk, unique in the landscape of Warsaw's public space - a specially designed structure suitable for year-round exhibition of paintings, sculptures and artistic installations. For many years, Ghelamco has supported young, talented Polish artists by financing their exhibitions and providing them with exhibition space. Among the artists who have received support from Ghelamco are Rafał Olbiński, Patka Smirnow, Jakub Słomkowski, Karolina Mełnicka and many others. Ghelamco builds cities friendly to everyone - buildings adapted to the needs of people with disabilities, limited mobility, parents with children and the elderly. This has been confirmed by numerous titles of "Barrier Free Facility" awarded to buildings by the Integration Foundation. The company attaches great importance to the care of cultural heritage. This is exemplified by the spectacular revitalization of the tenements at Foksal 13/15 as well as the ongoing construction of The Bridge skyscraper, which will be connected to the historic Bellona building. Ghelamco provided vacant spaces to Ukrainian war refugees. We have already helped more than 500 people, giving them accommodation, food, clothes and medical assistance.
The company activities in the corporate governance issue
Ghelamco makes sure to have sustainable supply chain. When making decisions on selecting suppliers and subcontractors for the project of Warsaw UNIT, Ghelamco has taken into account: environmental impact of the selected goods and services, effect of materials used on their surroundings, choosing local suppliers, choosing materials manufactured as close to the project site as possible, effect on local community, economic aspects of the materials selected, minimum waste generation. Ghelamco makes sure to include clauses in contracts with the tenants such as: compliance clause – confirming both parties’ compliance with anticorruption policies, fair and ethical practices in making contracts and paying liabilities, as well as tax havens clause – confirming that no party is making settlements with other parties domiciled, based in or managed from territory or country applying harmful tax competition The Company also pays lot of importance to employment and equal treatment of their employees. The following documents are in force: legal regulations on equal treatment when hiring employees, procedure on preventing discrimination in employment and mobbing, Ghelamco has also strict anti-corruption policies and data and privacy protection policies.
The company website
https://www.ghelamco.com/pl/projects/poland/