In Hungary, the number of buildings to renovate is constantly growing, and work must follow sustainable guidelines. How much market participants are willing to pay for the job is an important question, however, according to experts the main decisive factor now is: who can deliver on time?
The construction industry has great responsibility when it comes to environmental protection and sustainability. Several regulations, certifications and directives have already been adopted. The most cited may be the ESG (environmental, society, governance) – a collection of guidelines that describe how a company should operate in a sustainable way.
More than half (60%) of the companies present at the conference would sacrifice up to € 500 a year to neutralize their carbon footprint, 35% up to € 1,000, but only € 5,000 to € 5,000. Based on experience, the cost of a fit-out of a square meter of an office building in most cases comes from 500 euros or more, writes Portfolio.hu.
All actors must make compromises
In addition to high-quality projects delivered on time, the efficiency of the sector is determined by factors such as the economic environment, innovation, regulation, and the distribution of EU funds. Even with problems like the shortage of labour, the price and the availability of raw materials, sustainability efforts still play a key role in the industry.
“ESG will also appear in building materials, and it is expected that sustainable solutions gain even more territory in the future,” said Gusztáv Lovas, Managing Director of Decor Floor Hungary, who said that price is no longer the primary consideration for developers, rather who can deliver the product on time.
Gábor Pados, Wing Zrt.’s project director responsible for office developments, also emphasized that all actors in the renovation today must be creative and open-minded, and sometimes they have to compromise in terms of deadlines.
Having time to prepare for a renovation can eliminate many problems
Péter Puskás, director of the fit-out business of B+N Referencia Zrt., reported that his colleagues performed energy and aesthetic renovations in 200 buildings of 17 hospitals in Budapest in 546 days, 2 million working hours. By comparison, he mentioned that it would have taken 8 years to build such a volume.
The expert also highlighted that the cost of energy modernization will return in 4-5 years, with hospitals saving 30% per year. According to Puskás, the sustainability of a building is becoming increasingly important for tenants and owners, and this must be taken into account when building or renovating.
He defined budgeting as the biggest challenge of the current situation. “It’s been very difficult to get the materials we need in the last 2 years. Fixed prices are hard to keep today, we really see daily prices for raw materials. It is also critical to have time to prepare for a renovation in advance because that will eliminate many problems.” – Puskás emphasized.
Photo: Portfolio.hu
