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Responsible together, today and tomorrow

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The outbreak of the coronavirus has caught everyone by surprise, forcing us to reorganise the way we live and work, and creating numerous organisational and other challenges for business. This difficult time period demands increased sensitivity, responsibility, solidarity, commitment and dedication from individuals, local communities and entities (companies and institutions) alike. At Torus, we have been striving to follow these principles in our daily work, having undertaken a number of socially responsible activities over the years.

Local communities across Poland have been participating in initiatives to help overburdened hospitals and their staff, sewing face masks and overalls, delivering food and 3D-printing protective visors and goggles. Many people help in whatever ways they can, for instance grocery shopping for the elderly, or dropping by the hospital in the evenings with a guitar, to entertain doctors and patients. The business community, large companies and small ones, has also joined in. On 20 March, Torus owner Małgorzata Dobrowolska, along with the company management board, decided to donate PLN 110,000 for the purchase of two ventilators for the local health authorities, who had been calling out for support. The machines are expected to be put to use at the Pomeranian Centre for Infectious Diseases and Tuberculosis in Gdańsk within a few weeks.

We are all aware of the challenges facing the world today, as individuals and local communities. Today, responsibility and solidarity are becoming more important than ever. This is true for the business community as well, which is why we have decided to support one of our local hospitals – Małgorzata Dobrowolska, Torus owner, said.

It is not the first time we have done something like this for the community. While the core business of Torus is delivering office space, we also take part in numerous initiatives for the wellbeing of people and the local community. This multidimensional responsibility and partnership are the pillars of the Torus development strategy, which we call MORE THAN SPACE. Here are some of the projects and campaigns we have carried out in the last few years.

  • Every Torus building is certified under Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), the U.S. rating system for energy efficient buildings. Our flagship project that was finished last year, the Alchemia office centre, has obtained the highest rating – Platinum, attaining one of the highest scores in Poland. For our tenants and their employees, LEED is a guarantee of a healthy, friendly work environment and low office maintenance costs. LEED is also a guarantee of decreased negative effects on our environment.

  • In 2019, during two Saturdays in October, we brought nearly 1,500 people – employees of various companies and institutions across Tricity – to replant 11 hectares of the Kashubian forest that had been brutally destroyed by the extreme storms in 2017. We planted some 110,000 saplings of birch, larch, pine and other species – over twice the projected amount. Our call to action was met with tremendous acceptance and engagement within the business community and by individual people alike. We have even published a children’s book together with the Adamada publishing house designed to teach kids about the importance of our local forests. The second edition of our Ready to Plant campaign was originally scheduled for the beginning of April but, given the current situation, had to be postponed until October.
  • In 2019 we also kicked-off our plasticOVER campaign, encouraging our tenant community to give up using plastic and introduce environmentally friendly practices in their workplace. To set a good example, we made some changes in our own office, reducing the use of plastic bottles in favour of water coolers and glassware. We then moved on to educate and support others. One such example is our ECOlogical pack, consisting of a glass water bottle, lunchbox and tote bag, a welcome gift that we hand out to the employees of our newest tenants.

  • In August 2019 we became the strategic and main sponsor of the Wybrzeże Gdańsk men’s handball team. This marks a new stage in our three-year working relationship with the club. In addition, we have been supporting amateur and professional triathletes, young fencers (from the Atena school sports club) and women’s beach volleyball teams (Torus AZS UW BV Team).
  • In 2018, we set up an apiary on the roof of the Argon building to help combat the diminishing population of bees around the world. Currently there are some 500,000 bees working inside five hives, producing honey that we often gift to our tenants. Some of our resident companies have also joined in and set up their own hives.

  • We continue to support the blood donation centre in Gdańsk by organising mobile blood donations near our buildings, beginning with Arkońska Business Park and later moving to Alchemia. Since 2012 we have managed to donate nearly 300 litres of blood that has helped a lot of people. Given the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, we are unable to organise mobile blood drives near Alchemia and so we ask all donors to visit the regional blood centre directly.
  • Torus Triathlon In Da House is a competition for the business community held entirely indoors, in the winter. It has become our best-known sports event, held annually within Alchemia’s sports facilities since 2014, where we also raise money for a charitable cause. The most recent, sixth edition was held on 28 February and gathered 41 corporate relay teams and over a dozen individual triathletes. We donated nearly PLN 70,000 raised from entry fees for RaceRunning Trójmiasto, a charity that supports the rehabilitation of people with disabilities.

Author: Marcin Uske, PR Manager, Torus