"I would like to highlight one word: real"

We met Edit Nagy, Head of Sponsorship and CSR at Market Építő Zrt., who has worked as a communications manager for almost five years in a wide range of roles at the company. In addition to her new role, we also asked her what led her to this new direction and how the new structure could benefit the company.

Let's start with a more personal introduction, and how did you come to Market?

Basically, I'm a very loyal person, and I'm not unlike my generation, I find it difficult to change jobs, I don't change jobs very often. At the same time, I am also lucky because throughout my career I have always found leaders who have inspired me and from whom I have learnt, and I have consciously "pushed" them. I like to say that I like standing on the shoulders of giants, because from there you can always see further, the perspective is broader. I spent eleven years working for a well-known 'black belt' television personality, who I came to work for at a very young age, and he basically socialised me into the world of work. Without him - and I'm sorry, this will sound cliché - I wouldn't be who I am today. I learnt a lot from him, not just about television and communication, but about life in general: openness, values-driven thinking, professionalism, perfectionism, humility, philanthropy, perseverance, love of work, daring to think differently, avoiding mediocrity, never being satisfied with doing something well, always striving to do what I do to the best of my ability. I don't like men's work, I am a perfectionist, accepting all the drawbacks.

My list included the founder and leader of Market for many years. I tried twice to get in, and five years ago I did.

I started as a communications manager at Market, and was responsible for internal and external communications, corporate social responsibility, sponsorship, marketing and a significant part of event management. It's a very complex task that we felt needed to be broken down into a number of areas to be effective. Sponsorship and CSR, and the marketing communications that go with them, is a task in itself that requires a full person. With this reclassification, I am still actively involved in corporate communications, only now in the context of sponsorships.

I find it useful to have a dedicated person in charge of this task, because it gives more attention to detail - it brings an overall improvement in quality.

How well have you settled into your new position and what strengths do you think are helping you?

Social responsibility has always been a matter close to my heart. I once had a colleague in the construction industry tell me that construction communication is like a bar fight. Well, you can decide for yourself whether that statement is true or not, but I know that neither bar fights nor bar brawls are my comfort zone. I am extremely tough, and I will go to the pub if the occasion calls for it, and I will fight back if I really have to, but the truth is that I am a very good person for social action. I bring that with me from my childhood. I also learned from my parents (who set an example of humanity that few can match) that you have to help where you can. And this is not just the duty of the financially wealthy, of successful corporations, but of everyone.

This world works well when everyone looks at what they can do at their own level. Fortunately, I can now absolutely live up to my claim in that direction.

In a company of this size, and with subsidiaries to manage, it seemed appropriate to have someone with a dedicated role in social engagement. We are running on a pretty hefty budget, 0.1 percent of total turnover, which is roughly HUF 300 million a year - so we have to be responsible.

What role does corporate social responsibility play in Market's values and how has this activity evolved over the years?

At Market, our commitment to society, our environment and improving people's lives has always been an integral part of our corporate values. Even in its early years, the company regularly supported people in need, although 20-25 years ago this was still called charity. Today, the new terminus technicus is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Market's support has ranged from simple material goods and building materials to multi-million dollar donations, and as the company has grown, so has the extent and awareness of its social responsibility.

What is CSR awareness? Can you give concrete examples of how different levels of CSR awareness affect the reputation and business performance of companies in the market?

I broadly divide companies into three groups in terms of their awareness of their social responsibility. At the bottom of the pyramid are those companies that operate fairly and in compliance with the law, but do not go beyond that. They do not have a CSR programme, they donate in an ad hoc way, which mostly consists of giving money to a sympathetic organisation. You don't even need a CSR specialist to do this, all you need is a commitment to a good cause and a fundraiser to press the "transfer" button.

Then there are the pragmatic companies who have already realised that if they communicate their support well, they can leverage it to their advantage, build their image and overall help increase profits. These companies will get behind a good cause and "sing" it as loudly and as often as possible. But for them, communicating the good causes is more important than CSR itself, as it does not cover all areas of the company.

And then there are the dedicated companies that have value-driven operations in their DNA, and I include Market in that. Responsibility at this level goes far beyond marketing communications. These companies already have a CSR strategy, a long-term business plan and a planned budget for CSR. They have a dedicated person in charge and strategic partnerships. These companies are consciously looking for forms of support that are relevant to their activities and can be implemented with the involvement of their employees. It is no longer about 'getting away with' CSR, it is about action.

Who is Market supporting now?

There are two major organisations with which Market has a long-standing partnership, both providing support to seriously or chronically ill children and their families. I mention Camp Courageous first because there is a real shared mindset that has developed here today. It very quickly became clear that we share similar views on sustainability and the future. For example, when they wanted to make their buildings more sustainable by installing heat pumps and solar panels in their camp, Market, open to innovation, was happy to support them. Since 2006, we have consistently been a key strategic supporter of the Braves. This partnership was born out of shared values and a common mindset nearly 20 years ago. We consciously no longer call it sponsorship, but rather a partnership that fits our relationship. We have a common dialogue, a common way of thinking, and we are moving towards a future identified with common values.

During the summer, I attended an open day organised to give you a taste of the magical world of Camp Courageous. In addition to sponsors, camp children, their parents and volunteers were invited. I still get goosebumps from what I felt there. Everywhere I looked, I saw the Market handprint, and I saw the smiling faces of children engrossed in games and activities, the seemingly carefree parents, and I know the battles they fought. It is extremely motivating for a supporter to have a feedback. The help is tangible, palpable.

Our other key long-term strategic partner is the Smile Foundation, who support the healing process of seriously and chronically ill children through Smile Therapies. I would like to emphasise the word "long-term" here, because the biggest help for NGOs is to be able to make their operations predictable with a predictable grant. They are not fighting for their survival, but can concentrate on their task and develop, because those who do not develop, decline. In addition to being a key strategic partner, Market is a fixed annual donor to the Foundation and a major supporter of the Art-Craft-Design auction, one of Mosoly's biggest sources of income.

The Art-Craft-Design auction is one of the Foundation's biggest fundraising events, a win-win solution where donors can bid on contemporary art, artists gain exposure and the Foundation gains funds for its work with sick children. All in a fantastic atmosphere. It's a great scheme and a great feeling to be part of it year after year.

In addition to strategic partnerships, the Market CSR flagship is the ROM Vándor programme, which, through patriotic thinking, is saving a surviving sacred building of our history through our own profession.

In addition to the strategic partnerships, there are of course a number of priority areas where we will act as a supporter, in line with the five-year strategy of Market 2021-2025. In addition to the work to protect our built heritage, the health sector is a particular focus, and in this category I must highlight the Hungarian Cancer Research and Molecular Pathology Foundation, where highly innovative research is being carried out, and the support for patient care and research work in the CVC Intensive Care Unit of the City Major Heart and Vascular Clinic of Semmelweis University. Other focal points include poverty eradication, the promotion of equal opportunities, cultural and educational support (BME, MOME, Corvinus), sport and health well-being. The latter, in close cooperation with HR, is about employee wellbeing, fringe benefits - something Market is brutally strong in.

How is corporate social responsibility linked to Market's strategy?

Over the years, CSR has become an integral part of Market's corporate strategy. Not only among construction companies, but also among Hungarian companies in general, the company has an outstanding CSR (and ESG) performance. As an encouraging feedback of this work, in 2023 Market was the only construction company to be included in the HVG and Planet Fanatics' Network ESG TOP 25 list of the most responsible Hungarian companies in terms of environmental, social and corporate governance. It ranked 4th in the top 10 for the social dimension, but was also in the top 10 for the environmental and corporate governance dimensions. In 2024 it was ranked 3rd in the "Enviromental" section. I think these are very good results for a company in the construction sector.

Let's go back to the CSR flagship. How did the ROM Vándor start?

A key part of the much-mentioned strategy was to set up a programme, preferably related to heritage conservation and our construction activities, which fits in nicely with our credo "We love to build", which creates value, which can be implemented in the long term and with a national extension, and which we can involve our employees in, so that we can educate them, so that we can spread social responsibility as a value throughout the entire company system. In 2021, Péter Belecz, the programme director, came up with the idea and everyone said "yes, this is what we want, this is what we've been looking for". In the first year, we didn't have any handovers, instead we did a thorough tour of our facilities and the monuments - most of them in person - that we could deal with.

 Not only does Market fund 100% of this programme, but we also do the technical preparation, the stakeholder relations and the construction work itself.

After some preparatory research, we decided that the Töki churchyard would be our first location. In 2022, we handed over this pilot project, which was a great success. In 2023, a larger scale undertaking followed, the rescue of the church ruins of Kövesd in Asoofő. In the process, we made valuable archaeological discoveries that really moved the science forward. After Aszófő, in 2024 we opened the Csákányospuszta temple ruin near Tatabánya, and in October the Varjaskeri temple ruin in Somogyszentpal was restored. It has become a tradition that where a ruin is reborn under the ROM Vándor programme, we also organise a volunteer day to support local communities. This has been the case for all four projects so far and we plan to continue this tradition in the future.

I understand that ICOMOS has also recently awarded the programme.

Recently, Péter Belecz, Programme Director, and I were invited to a professional programme where we discussed Market's CSR activities and ROM Vándor within it. We saw that the programme creates a genuine "wow" feeling in the companies, they wonder how comprehensively it fits into the profile of our company. It fits with the construction industry, we involve the staff, we do all the work ourselves, self-funded; it is undoubtedly value-adding, and it is also nationally scalable and sustainable in the long term. If I had to define the ingredients for a recipe for a classic CSR programme, I can think of no better example than ROM Vándor.

Our heritage conservation programme has attracted the attention not only of the corporate sector but also of professionals. Every year, the Hungarian National Committee of ICOMOS awards prizes to the most outstanding heritage restoration projects completed within the last three years. In 2024, the Market Építő Zrt. ROM Vándor programme was recognised by the Committee with the "Exemplary Monument Care Award". Incidentally, we were nominated by a professional associated with the program because he found our work so forward-thinking and professionally commendable, we were surprised to receive the award.

The award for ICOMOS is also outstanding because they not only read our technical documentation, but also went on site and saw for themselves what we had created. They were fully aware of the technical content, so this is really a significant recognition for us.

A stable professional team has been formed around the programme: the programme director Péter Belecz, the project manager Tamás Krenn, the construction manager Tamás Szabadosi, the staff of Market Épületszervíz Kft., the landscape and environmental planning manager Maria Windisch, the technical preparator Ágnes Jung. Among the external professional partners, I would like to highlight the name of the design company KÖZTI Zrt., including architect Bálint Kelemen, and Mapei Kft., who are providing us with the historic mortar. Perhaps few people know, but complying with the complex heritage protection law in force since 2016 is not an easy task. Our commitment to quality, our surprisingly short deadlines in this field and our transparency have combined to make ROM Vándor worthy of a professional award from one of the most prestigious international organisations in this field.

In addition, I would like to point out that no economic operator has received such an award in our country.

And we also have a fresh, crisp award - we recently won the Media Architecture Award in the Built Environment category for our Csákányospusztai church ruins project, renovated on the outskirts of Tatbánya.

Are there plans for a programme on the same scale as ROM Vándor?

The ROM Vándor is so good, so tailor-made for us, that it would be a shame to try anything else for the time being, everything would remain in its shadow. There are still plenty of sacred monuments worth saving, and we can see another 5-10 years in the programme.