GTC, concerned with the comfort of its tenants, is constantly improving the quality of the office space in its portfolio. Recent months marked the implementation of many amenities designed to make the space more accessible to people with disabilities. The most important among the solutions that have appeared in the buildings are: evacuation chairs, a sign language interpreter at the reception desk, induction loops for the hard of hearing, glazing wrapped in foil to mark glass as an obstacle, additional marking of stairs, handrails and floors in consideration of the visually impaired, installation of intercoms and access control panels at a lower height, equipping elevators with voice message emitters, as well as buttons labelled in Braille with convex symbols and numbers. The buildings also gained additional ramps and handrails to facilitate access for people with disabilities.
All of the implemented amenities have been recognized by the Integration Foundation. The concern for the common and universally accessible space has resulted in the “Barrier-Free Facility” certificate being granted to eight GTC buildings in three complexes. All of the buildings in the Korona Office Complex in Kraków and the Francuska Office Centre in Katowice were certified in December of 2022, while the University Business Park office buildings in Łódź were certified in January of this year.
All the remaining buildings of the GTC’s portfolio are in the process of certification, while more and more amenities are starting to appear in their interiors. The “Barrier-Free Facility” certificate testifies that a company takes social responsibility in a serious manner, making its facility more accessible to at least an additional 12 percent of the public. To obtain the certificate, a successful architectural accessibility audit is required.
“One of GTC’s priorities is ensuring that the buildings are an inclusive and welcoming work environment. We have gone to great lengths to provide facilities for people with disabilities to use our spaces without difficulty. We are pleased that in parallel with the certification confirming the environmental aspects, we have also improved the facilities for our tenants. This is extremely important to us,” said Witold Rafalski, Head of Asset Management at GTC.
Sustainable development and reducing environmental impact are important aspects of GTC’s operations. The company is consistently working to provide green solutions for its facilities. In 2022, GTC upgraded its LEED certification to Platinum for the Nothus building in the Aeropark Business Centre in Warsaw. This year, the Pixel office building in Poznań has received an additional BREEAM In-Use certificate at the Excellent level, raising the current level of the BREEAM certification. 100 percent of buildings in Poland and almost 90 percent of buildings within the entire GTC Group portfolio are LEED/BREEAM certified or in the recertification process, which confirms that energy- and water-efficient solutions are being used in office buildings.
At present, the GTC Group utilizes green energy in all of its buildings in Poland, Hungary, Romania, and Croatia and in the Advance Business Centre I and II office buildings in Bulgaria. The company has been publishing ESG reports for the past 2 years, providing a summary of its activities and describing its performance in the areas of sustainable development and construction. In the reports, GTC emphasizes its determination to achieve full certification of its portfolio.
In addition, the tenants of the majority of GTC buildings in its Polish portfolio have access to electric car chargers.
