ISSA NEWS COMMUNICATING CLEANLINESS WITH GBAC STAR The Global Biorisk Advisory Council’s GBAC STAR™ Facility Accreditation continues to be embraced by facility owners across Canada. To date, at least 34 hotels, convention centres forward-thinking hotels, convention centres, stadiums, and office towers across the country have achieved the accreditation, which denotes that the facilities are equipped with the tools and protocols to protect occupants not only from COVID-19 but from all infectious disease. In recent months, a variety of destinations have broken new ground when it comes to this accreditation. Toronto’s Yorkdale Shopping Centre became the first Canadian retail centre to pursue the program in November, Manulife Investment Management became the first real estate landlord in the country to achieve the accreditation by getting seven of its facilities in Montreal certified, and three Toronto theatres — Meridian Arts Centre, St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, and Meridian Hall — have all registered to pursue the accreditation. Recent weeks have seen another major milestone achieved, as Edmonton’s department of tourism, Explore Edmonton, has committed to achieving city-wide accreditation, including such venues as Edmonton International Airport, Edmonton Destination Marketing Hotels, Rogers Place, and the alreadyaccredited Edmonton Convention Centre and Edmonton EXPO Centre. In doing so, Edmonton has become the first Canadian municipality to make an overarching commitment to achieving the accreditation. “With rumblings starting to percolate about a possible third wave, now more than ever, building owners and facility managers must take the proper steps to ensure their building occupants are safe,” said ISSA Canada Executive Director Mike Nosko. “With its 20 program elements, the GBAC STAR Facility Accreditation helps facilities put protocols in place and have a trained frontline team to ensure proper cleaning and disinfection practices are occurring to combat not only COVID-19, but any other infectious diseases in the future.” “Many Canadian facilities have already committed to the safety of their occupants and embraced the GBAC STAR Facility Accreditation,” Nosko added. “Explore Edmonton has taken that one step further by pursuing city-wide accreditation of its multiple venues. This commitment demonstrates the city’s concern for its visitors and will certainly assist in the postCOVID-19 recovery process.” The full list of accredited facilities can be viewed through GBAC’s online Facility Directory. While the Facility Accreditation has been the major driving force of GBAC’s programs in recent months, it has been hard at work in other areas, too. In February 2021, the GBAC STAR Service Accreditation was launched for the building service contractor sector, designed to validate a cleaning service provider’s protocols and
work practices to prepare for, respond to, and recover from infectious disease outbreaks. GBAC also offers a Fundamentals course for individuals such as industry technicians. That course teaches cleaning professionals to prepare for, respond to, and recover from biohazards in the workplace, including a detailed education on infection and contamination control measures. “With the recently introduced GBAC STAR Service Accreditation, building service contractors have a competitive edge when it comes to their cleaning, disinfection, and infection prevention procedures,” said Nosko. “Accreditation also positions these forward-thinking BSC firms to assist their facility owner clients to achieve GBAC STAR facility accreditation, resulting in increased consumer confidence.” At a time when maintaining and increasing the visibility and communication of cleaning and infection control practices is more important than ever, the GBAC STAR program is making it easier to show off your credentials. 21_0327_Fac_Clean_Maint_MAR_CN Mod: January 22, 2021 8:45 AM Print: 02/18/21 8:46:11 AM page 1 v7
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