Business Interview: Heimstaden Brings the Concept of Friendly (2. strana)

insulation, water savings or new greenery. Heimstaden promotes positive values, is motivated to improve the high quality of our real estate and locations wherever they are, and we want all of these to contribute to a better quality of life for our clients. There are obvious efforts to make our homes energy-efficient and climate-change resistant. One of our most important projects, therefore, is additional heat insulation of entire blocks of flats, which includes 8,644 flats in prefab and 612 flats in brick blocks. In 2020, we installed this insulation in 1,100 flats and, in implementing this project, we annually decrease CO2 emissions by 1,794 tons. From 2021, we will be investing 350,000,000 CZK annually in order to install heating insulation in up to 2,000 flats every year. Another significant project in ecological sustainability is represented in 104 new flats heated in a more ecological way, as well as reduced water consumption where economizers have been installed. About 80,000 inhabitants of the Moravian-Silesian Region live in Heimstaden flats. How much social responsibility does that mean? Even though our company’s priority is to maintain a high-quality portfolio of real estate, to keep all legislation, to renew and improve our property, we are also busy in other initiatives beneficial to wider communities of citizens in our region. The long-term project Home with Us (S námi domů) supports young people leaving foster homes and foster care, starting independent lives by providing them with homes on preferential terms and with a social support service. We run programmes for various client groups, we are one of the greatest providers of rental homes for those in need, we cooperate with twenty non-profit organizations, rank among the main partners of the Clean Beskid (Čisté Beskydy) event, etc. We placed second in the Governor of the MoravianSilesian Region in Social Responsibility Awards for these activities. Sweden and other countries in northern Europe pay great attention to seniors. Heimstaden has been a good example in this aspect for many years. Crucial services offered by Heimstaden include Senior Assistant, which is suitable for seniors and individuals with physical challenges, limited in their power or ability to look after their personal needs. “ The key values of Heimstaden include care -- dare -- share. ” The community centres Archa in Ostrava– Poruba, Karviná and the Multigeneration Centre Lučina in Havířov are very well-received, as is the project Hello, You’re Not Alone (Haló, nejste sami!), which provides phone assistance from students to seniors in the pandemic. Two blocks in Havířov are being renovated to provide small, barrier-free flats for seniors which include services the seniors need. Demographic studies show these services will be highly sought after, however, the market does not offer enough products of this kind. The terms “care -- dare -- share” represent the key values of the company. What is the perspective here? Besides the high-quality maintenance and administration of our current flats, Heimstaden is also developing the vision of a growing portfolio and future investments. In 2021, we want to spend a total of 1.5 billion CZK on maintenance and investments, which is twenty-five per cent more than in 2020. The money will be spent on heat insulation, garrets, renovations in the locations V zahrádkách in Ostrava, Kunčičky, Ostrava, Michálkovice and Havířov-Šumbark. Our investment plan in 2021 covers over 300 entrances and over 5,000 homes. In 2021, we will be finishing our strategy for housing colonies where we own about a thousand houses to be renewed. A very important step to highlight in the protection of the environment is the increase of investments in heat insulation by fifty per cent and speeding up that process. Within five to seven years, we intend to eliminate coal heating and considerably reduce emissions of CO2. We want to offer our clients attractive and modern homes, and we want to protect the environment as well. We mean to promote a good image and competitiveness in the MoravianSilesian Region through our sponsorship programmes. We want its people to live happy lives here and to be happy when coming back. You are a Moravian-Silesian patriot. Where in our region would you take foreign visitors, and what would you recommend to eat? I would certainly invite them to the mountains, either to my beloved Beskids, the peaks of Lysá Hora or Radhošť, or to the Jeseník Mountains. They could try traditional goulash, sirloin with cream sauce, or blueberry dumplings. I would love to show them round the Lower Area of Vítkovice in Ostrava to introduce them to the industrial history of our region. Thank you for the interview. POSITIV 1/2021 ǀ 13