Exhibition Place in Toronto is the first Canadian venue to earn GBAC STAR™ Facility Accreditation from The Global Biorisk Advisory Council® (GBAC), a Division of ISSA.
GBAC STAR is an industry accreditation focused on ensuring a clean, safe,
and healthy environment in public and commercial facilities of all sizes. The program outlines best practices, protocols, and procedures to control risk factors associated with infectious disease, including SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19. The program is administered by GBAC, a division of ISSA, the worldwide cleaning industry association.
“At Exhibition Place, we are ready to reopen safely,” said General Manager Laura Purdy. “We are committed to protecting staff, clients, customers, contractors, visitors, and our community and environment. We have implemented training and awareness programs for our employees that are aligned with the GBAC STAR program, Toronto Public Health and the Provincial Chief Medical Officer of Health guidelines. We look forward to welcoming in-person Business Events back to Toronto’s Exhibition
Place with the highest level of safety and cleanliness.”
The following facilities have earned GBAC STAR accreditation:
- Beanfield Centre in Toronto
- Better Living Centre in Toronto
- Enercare Centre in Toronto
- Queen Elizabeth Exhibit Hall in Toronto
Exhibition Place is working collaboratively with clients to plan and execute events within the thresholds established by the Medical Officer of Public Health and multiple levels of government. As part of this effort, all departments across Exhibition Place have been tasked with developing recommendations and best practices that will enable clients to operate within venues during the recovery phase of the pandemic such as:
- Staff training: Exhibition Place will have dedicated housekeeping staff assigned to the public spaces to clean identified high touch point areas.
Personal Protect Equipment: Exhibition Place has in place a detailed standard operating procedure for the use of PPE. All staff have been taught how to properly wear and install PPE according to regulatory protocols. - Revised venue space and usage: A well thought out exhibit hall plan keeping in mind consideration for traffic pattern, flow, and feature areas. Creating a traffic flow throughout the event may alleviate the additional cross over of attendees and may assist with physical distancing measures.
- New cleaning protocol: Hospital grade cleaning products are being used. Additional hand sanitizer units have been installed in common spaces.
- Signage: Exhibition Place will have venue signage that will be placed along the route(s) travelled to get to the event on the site. Informational Signage such as, common sense hygiene practices, physical distancing, be prepared for possible line-ups, specific event entrances and sanitization practice signage will be placed in key locations.
To review a full list of GBAC STAR accredited facilities, committed facilities, and industry supporters, visit https://gbac.issa.com/gbac-star-facilities-and-supporters/.
Additionally, hear from leaders of GBAC STAR-accredited facilities in the GBAC STAR Experience video series, available at https://gbac.issa.com/media/.
To apply for GBAC STAR facility accreditation, visit gbac.org/star.
About Exhibition Place
Exhibition Place is an iconic City of Toronto landmark featuring Enercare Centre, Canada’s largest convention centre, Beanfield Centre, one of Canada’s Greenest Conference Centres and a variety of entertainment and live-sporting venues. Set in a 192-acre urban parkland, Exhibition Place is enjoyed by Toronto’s residents and visitors as a cultural centre with significant heritage properties and public art collections.
Located on Toronto’s waterfront next to Lake Ontario, and accessible by transit and major highways, Exhibition Place facilities together offer over 1 million square feet of exhibition and meeting space for hundreds of national and international events annually.
SOURCE: MEDIAEDGE360
