Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has prompted such a unified response from the international business community that has probably not been observed since the creation of the internet. Companies across the world are standing with Ukraine, discontinuing their operations in Russia and taking their part in helping the victims of the war. Real estate companies in CEE have also stepped up to donate money, space and other resources to those in need. We’ve compiled a list of the humanitarian efforts announced by local and global companies. Luckily, the list below is not complete as many new announcements are made every day. We’ll keep updating it.

VGP has announced a charitable contribution of €3 million to support refugees from Ukraine in Slovakia, Hungary and Romania.

Futureal-Cordia-HelloParks Group and its employees have made a number of commitments to help refugees from Ukraine.

CPI Property Group has committed to significantly reducing its portfolio’s carbon footprint and, at the same time, encourages its tenants to do the same. The Group also invests heavily in special building management systems to reach sustainable operation even faster, says Mátyás Gereben, Country Manager at CPI Hungary who talked to Property Forum about the company’s asset management strategy on the local market.

CTP has committed €10 million to the UN refugee agency UNHCR to provide humanitarian support for more than one million people, mainly women and children, who have fled the war in Ukraine into neighbouring countries.

There is scepticism in the market regarding the correlation between sustainability and financial performance but it is beneficial to be sustainable if you consider the overall life-cycle of the building, explains Oana Stamatin, ESG Chief Officer | CEE & Romania at Colliers. She talked to Property Forum about the challenges and opportunities owners of real estate face in striving for ESG compliance. 

S IMMO has recently made major commitments towards building a fully ESG-compliant office portfolio in Budapest with a large acquisition and an ambitious green energy initiative. Géza Barabas, Country Manager of S IMMO Hungary talked to Property Forum about upcoming investment plans and the company’s ESG strategy for the Hungarian market.

There is a belief that ESG costs money but in fact, the opposite can be true, says Stefan de Goeij, Head of Property Management at Avison Young in the Czech Republic. He talked to Property Forum about compliance, commitment and tackling all the components of ESG in the real estate industry.

Heimstaden continues to invest in its portfolio in the Czech Republic. This year it will spend almost two and a half billion crowns on thermal insulation, new projects and repairs, the company announced.

In the past twelve months, retail properties have tried to make up for the challenges faced in the first year of the pandemic. Summarizing 2021 for the modern retail space sector, experts from BNP Paribas Real Estate Poland pointed to several key phenomena regarding the sector, including: a quick return of shoppers to retail facilities, retail parks standing becoming stronger, e-commerce continuing the way of the stable growth, as well as the increasingly important role of sustainable development and ESG policy.