How did it start?
They met at the Faculty of Environmental Engineering of the Warsaw University of Technology and from the beginning they were very fond of each other. Although they are only a few years apart, one of them was a student and the other a lecturer. Today they complement each other perfectly. One of them is walking hard on the ground, guarding operational issues, being open to new ideas, making quick decisions and not letting his intuition down. The other is more balanced, he can look at things from the side, he builds relationships with people perfectly. Both of them do not like the so-called being, they prefer to act.
„Tom was a student who is not forgotten. Committed, active, always full of ideas and energy, so the later company name Go4Energy was no accident. His characteristic temperament was contagious and made him unlikable. – recalls Piotr Bartkiewicz, Managing Partner of Go4Energy.
„Piotr is a great knowledge and openness to new and at the same time great sense of humour and distance to himself. He has always been an authority for me, a man to talk to, to learn something, to look at things from a new perspective. – Introducing Tomasz Augustyniak, Managing Partner of Go4Energy.
After graduation, their paths have been diverted for some time. When they met again in 2006, Tomasz worked at Skanska, where he and his team were given the task of checking how much energy the buildings use after the upgrades. He came to the university to Piotr, who was already a doctor at the time, to think together about how best to present it. This was the first time they started to think about the fact that since their cooperation brings such interesting results, maybe it is worth doing something more together.
The beginnings of business
When they founded Go4Energy in August 2008, they already knew that they would combine the enthusiasm and business experience of Tomasz with the knowledge and skills of Piotr. „Tomek brings with him knowledge of the market, reality and business sense, which is essential for the proper functioning of the company. On the other hand, Piotr manages to smuggle in the novelties that appear in the world of science. We try to apply these technological visions taken from the scientific cloud in real life. Thanks to this, we are up to date with what is currently happening in the world in terms of directions of development”. – says Go4Energy Managing Partners Tomasz Augustyniak and Piotr Bartkiewicz.
They started with energy consumption analyses before the real estate industry started to see value in it. Then various building assessment systems appeared. Undoubtedly, the success of Go4Energy was the entry into LEED and BREEAM certificates, which are currently the most widespread and recognizable on the Polish market. WELL also prepared for certification processes in the system well in advance. At a time when the construction industry was focused on energy-related issues, they had already paid attention to what was coming from the world with regard to shifting the emphasis on the comfort of the building user.
Go4Energy’s first office was a 2-room apartment in Warsaw’s Ochota district, which was even planned to be certified in ISO, because there were no other options available in Poland at the time. In 2009 the company leased another, already larger office and since then it has been gradually growing, which brings with it further changes. „From the beginning we gave people a lot of independence. We wanted them to feel responsible for their area and see that they had a real impact on the company’s development. Their commitment and passion made it possible for us to introduce new services, create new departments and expand the existing ones. – says Go4Energy Managing Partners Tomasz Augustyniak and Piotr Bartkiewicz.
Sustainability
The vast majority of the people who started their professional adventure at Go4Energy stayed and continue to develop. Those who at a certain stage came to the conclusion that they would like to try something different, were met with understanding and were supported in the possibilities of pursuing their interests. „With almost all employees, we have a cordial relationship. People are really the most important thing to us. Fulfilled, satisfied with themselves and their shared achievements, full of energy and passion to take on new challenges – that’s what we have the pleasure of working with and building the value of the company. We want people to feel good here and be able to grow. – Tomasz Augustyniak and Piotr Bartkiewicz, Managing Partners of Go4Energy, are convinced.
„Our development was natural and sustainable. We never took any credit, we did not use anyone’s help, no international corporation was behind us. When working with our clients, we built relationships with them and took care of the highest quality of service. If someone was moving in a new direction, wanted to implement unusual solutions, which were not yet on the market, we were a partner for him, who helped him to translate these ideas into cost-effective solutions.