EHL and Sustainability
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Quality Education
Inclusive and equitable quality education, skills and expertise for greater sustainability and life-long learning for everyone form the agenda here. SDG 4 wants to make sure that all people have access to quality education – independent of gender, origin, economic conditions or other factors. The EHL materiality analysis confirmed “training and education“ as one of the five most important areas of activity for internal and external stakehold- ers. Both issues have had high priority for EHL ever since our founding. EHL places high value on excellent training and education. All our employees receive regular branch-specific training and are also able to register for additional sessions during working hours. In 2023, our employees took part in a total of 1,393 hours of training and further education. Of these, 863 hours were completed by women and 530 hours by men. We provide full or partial financing for educational costs. By 2025, we will have identified the individual training needs of all our employees and prepared suitable offers. As part of the safety briefing, we inform all employ- ees about the risks to health and safety as well as the measures to prevent hazards when starting work, transferring or changing their area of respon- sibility and in the event of changes within the safety guidelines. This is an instruction that conveys the ability, knowledge and willingness to work safely. Employees’ knowledge of this is tested once a year by means of a survey.
EHL employees can take part in webinars and sem- inars on issues related to housing regulations free of charge. The well-known housing rights expert Christoph Kothbauer holds these courses at our invitation. EHL’s cooperation partners include the following in- stitutions, universities and other research facilities: ACE Vienna University of Technology, the Univer- sities of Applied Sciences in Vienna and Wiener Neustadt, the Danube University Krems, ÖVI Im- mobilienakademie, ImmoZert, FIABCI International Real Estate Association, ULI Urban Land Institute, ÖGNI, RICS and Immo ABS Alumni Association of ACE Vienna University of Technology. We share our discussions with experts and practical experience in real estate on our EHL podcast “Let’s talk about housing“. Examples of these subjects include changes in housing laws, building certifica- tion, property appraisal, sustainable construction, digitalisation in real estate marketing and living in the age of home office.
Gender Equality SDG 5 is designed to counter discrimina- tion and violence against woman and girls. It calls for gender equality and full partic- ipation in political, economic and social decision processes – and is also directed to promoting equal access to education, healthcare and other fundamental social services. Gender equality and diversity are of funda- mental importance for EHL. We are commit- ted to achieving an equal share of women and men at all levels of our company. The EHL workforce currently includes 46 women, who represent 58 % of the total staff. Apparently, qualified women see us as an attractive employer and trust our organi- sation.
Highly qualified women currently hold 47 % of our management positions. This clearly shows how seriously we take diversity in our decision processes. Moreover, women head three of our four subsidiaries. We are also committed to maintaining a balanced distribution of genders in our company in the future. This is reflected in our constant efforts in support of a diverse and integrative working environment with numerous opportunities for advancement. Our plans include the expansion of the pa- rental leave model for both genders and the improvement of re-integration after parental leave and part-time return to work.
EHL is also a member of the RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors).
This worldwide professional association plays an im- portant role in training and education as well as the development and implementation of quality stand- ards. Michael Ehlmaier and Franz Pöltl are “Fellows of RICS“, while 10 other EHL employees are classi- fied as “Professional Member of RICS“. One point not to forget: Our EHL market reports have provided readers with first-hand, up-to-date information and analyses of markets and locations for over 20 years.
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