CPI first to support new accessibility initiative
CPI Hungary is the first business in Hungary to receive certification from Access4You, which aims to make buildings accessible for people with disabilities. CPI says it is determined to ensure the right to equal access to its own buildings for everyone, says a press release sent to the Budapest Business Journal.
“We were standing in front of our accommodation in Lisbon at midnight, shortly after our plane had landed,” says Balázs Berecz, wheelchair user and founder of Access4You. “We were facing four huge steps towering in front of us – even though we had been in correspondence with our host for two weeks, confirming every detail of accessibility... And the stone-cold fact hit me that we were never going to make it in there... The situation was awkward and rather desperate... That was the moment I decided to create Access4You.”
CPI Hungary is the first to support the initiative of Access4You, in which the company audits premises from the viewpoint of people with special needs, proposes improvements, rates the result of the audit, and provides a European certification for qualifying buildings.
Access4You regards wheelchair users, people with physical disabilities, the elderly, pregnant women and people with baby carriages, deaf and hard-of-hearing persons, blind and partially-sighted persons, and people living with cognitive impairment all as people with special needs.
“Today, ensuring freedom of movement for people with disabilities when they are using our buildings is not only a matter of courtesy but it is our obligation, as almost 15% of the Hungarian population has some kind of special need,” says Mátyás Gereben, manager of CPI Hungary. “That means that we have to pay special attention to aspects of accessibility, and we must design and operate buildings that meet the criteria of accessibility. In the light of this, we are going to upgrade our existing buildings in line with professional recommendations regarding accessibility.”
CPI Hungary involves most of its real estate in the certification process, comprising approximately 295,000 square meters of its office and commercial portfolio.
In the coming weeks, the company’s five existing office buildings and its newest development, Balance Hall, built with a conscious building design, will be subject to Access4You’s assessment process. The Campona and Pólus shopping centers, also part of the group, will also be involved in the process, adds the press release.
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