Articles

The Power of GBAC STAR

Categories: Cleaning for Health & Safety, ISSA Insights, Sustainability & ESG

With GBAC STAR^™, you are not only demonstrating your commitment to protecting your employees’ and customers’ health and well-being in a safe, responsible, and sustainable way, but also shaping a healthier and safer world for everyone everywhere. Successful GBAC STAR facilities and organizations demonstrate their commitment to cultivating healthy environments with science-based practices.

Home for the Los Angeles Lakers hosts safe events with GBAC STAR

“Our goal is always to host safe events that guests will enjoy. Preparing for GBAC STAR accreditation enhanced the way we document and manage protocols, and it helped us create a process to identify and overcome the evolving issues created by the pandemic,” said Ignacio Guerra, vice president of Operations and Parking at Crypto.com Arena. Formerly the STAPLES Center, along with the Los Angeles Lakers, it is still home to the LA Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), the LA Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL), and the LA Sparks of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA).

In July 2020, STAPLES Center, now Crypto.com Arena, earned the GBAC STAR facility accreditation, becoming the first NBA, NHL, and WNBA arena to receive the accreditation. The facility continues its role as a steward of large-scale healthy built environments by maintaining this accreditation in what is now their fourth year. In 2023, 80%, or 23 of 29 NBA arenas, maintained and confidently displayed their commitment to safety and health through the GBAC STAR Accreditation.

GBAC STAR is designed to help facilities of all types and sizes establish a comprehensive system of cleaning, disinfection, and infectious disease prevention for their staff and their building. One of the biggest challenges for a facility like this one is the ability to thoroughly vet new products and technology that could potentially be implemented to improve the health of the building. With so many solutions on the market and additional options emerging in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the process of selecting what works is complex.

“We appreciated the guidance from GBAC’s leadership team when we had questions about vendors with new innovations. Throughout the process, they provided insightful feedback that was helpful in improving our operations,” added Guerra.

The Garlands of Barrington CLEAN TEAM

The Garlands^® of Barrington is a one-of-a-kind Life Plan community in Illinois, embracing The Fine Art of Retirement^®. The Garlands features 788,000 square feet of communal amenities, four restaurants, 14 hotel suites, over 260 independent living residences, 26 private villas, as well as 70 health care apartments.

With 400 residents and over 300 employees, Nancy McCaffrey, director of hospitality, states: “Our vision is to continue to build awareness among our community and to use GBAC STAR as a tool to educate members and staff in how to better assess risk and take action. Earning accreditation from a third-party and professional organization supports our credibility when speaking about the efforts made by our team in working to keep a safe environment. Elaborating on who the people are behind the accreditation and the connection to ISSA provided us with additional assurance.”

The tangible benefits of the GBAC STAR Accreditation for the community include the following:

• Enhanced sense of pride among residents.
• Increased employee morale and gratitude.
• A competitive advantage in attracting prospective
• Improved communication strategies for cleaning and disinfection protocols.

Coretrust Capital invests in cleaning for health

“Our motto is ‘Our buildings are smart, safe, and beautiful.’ We are using the smartest technologies to help us achieve that, and GBAC STAR keeps that goal front and center every day. From a cleaning standpoint, GBAC has helped us live up to our motto,” stated Thomas Ricci, managing principal, Coretrust Capital Partners LLC, a real estate investment firm that acquires and invests in dated trophy properties in urban areas to bring them new life.

Coretrust pursued accreditation for two of its locations:

• Located in downtown Philadelphia, 2 Liberty Place is a 57-story Class-A Trophy high-rise tower with approximately 950,000 square feet of rentable office area.
• FourFortyFour South Flower in Los Angeles is a 48-story Class-A Trophy high-rise tower with approximately 915,000 square feet of rentable office area.

Coretrust established a partnership with Allynt Solutions. Allynt Solutions is a consultant firm that focuses on maintaining clean and healthy interior environments in commercial buildings.

CEO of Allynt Solutions, Peter Henson, CPMR, C.C.E, CSBA, AAP, said, “We focused on readily available and leading-edge, proven technologies to help Coretrust’s property management and engineering teams achieve the highest possible standard for indoor environment quality.”

GBAC STAR helped Allynt Solutions and Coretrust standardize their use of cleaning and disinfecting products, policies, and procedures on a national basis. “We immediately decided GBAC STAR could reassure our tenants and ensure our buildings would be best in class,” added Ricci. “GBAC helped us implement and maintain cleaning standards for years to come. It made us think of how to improve performance in ways we didn’t think of prior to our accreditation.”

Explore Edmonton: A destination management and marketing organization

Explore Edmonton markets Edmonton as a destination for visitors, major events, meetings, and conventions to generate economic impact and social benefit for the city. Both Edmonton EXPO Centre and Edmonton Convention Centre remained operational throughout the pandemic. Even at the height of the crisis, they made regular use of their facilities by utilizing them as emergency response locations.

The Edmonton EXPO Centre served as the city’s largest vaccination and testing center; the Edmonton Convention Centre provided emergency shelter and other accommodations for the city’s most vulnerable. “This meant we had to introduce new processes and safe work practices quickly and in a relatively high-risk setting. Having direction through the GBAC STAR facility accreditation was instrumental in helping us to do this at the speed and precision that was required,” said Arlindo Gomes, vice president of Business Development & Venues Management at Explore Edmonton.

After the pandemic, Explore Edmonton still wanted to be able to host in-person events safely in the future. It knew that turning to GBAC STAR facility accreditation would provide the tools needed to ensure that the occupants who chose to host their events at Edmonton’s venues were in a safe and sanitary setting. “‘Caring for One Another’ is one of our organizational core values at Explore Edmonton,” said Gomes. “It is deeply engrained into our company purpose and what makes our employees proud to work here.”

Through GBAC STAR destination accreditation, Explore Edmonton achieved the following benefits:

An increased number of employees informed of and knowledgeable about infectious disease prevention practices, allowing Explore Edmonton to confidently provide answers to client questions about safety protocols in the building, leaving them with peace of mind.

The extension of the health and safety program to include infectious disease prevention through GBAC STAR accreditation is one way Explore Edmonton can continue to prioritize its people and guests.

Infectious disease risk assessment and response has been intentionally and deeply engrained in Explore Edmonton’s business systems.

Beto Carrero World: The largest world of fun in South America

“We have big plans for Beto Carrero World and hope to bring more tourists in,” said biologist Kátia Kassaro. “We are continuing to come up with new ideas along with the GBAC STAR team to make sure guests have the best experience when they visit our park.”

The amusement park is 14 million square meters in one of the most beautiful regions of the Brazilian coast, gathering in one place moments of immense joy and fun for all ages. There are more than 100 incredible attractions in addition to a complete structure of services, such as restaurants, snack bars, ice cream parlors, coffee shops, a 24-hour bank, changing room, lost and found, parking, lockers, pharmacy, outpatient clinic, and numerous souvenir shops.

By achieving GBAC STAR accreditation, Beto Carrero World has experienced the following benefits, stated biologist Kátia Kassaro and chemical engineer Clever Pirola Avila.

“GBAC helped us set up short-term safety technologies and work through legal procedures to ensure that guests could feel comfortable and safe during their visit to Beto Carrero World.”

“We plan to have GBAC STAR stamps on our website, flyers, and all forms of communication to the public moving forward so they know we take their safety very seriously.”

“We feel more confident than ever that we can provide guests a safe and fun experience because of the technology and information that GBAC STAR provides us.”

GBAC STAR accreditation benefits

The GBAC STAR accreditation program encourages a science-based system, supporting proper protocols, correct disinfection techniques, and cleaning best practices. GBAC STAR-accredited facilities are equipped and ready for what’s next; they can also adapt quickly and withstand challenges.

These are just some examples of the many facilities and organizations that have joined the GBAC STAR program to support their local venues and businesses to gain accreditation. You can find more information about the program and its benefits on the GBAC website. Visit gbac.issa.com. 

About the Author.

The Global Biorisk Advisory Council™ (GBAC), a Division of ISSA, helps organizations demonstrate their commitment to protecting the health and well-being of their customers and employees in a safe, responsible, and sustainable way. GBAC provides the training, education, consulting, accreditation, and certification services needed to help shape a healthier and safer world for everyone, everywhere. GBAC STAR™ facilities and organizations use their accreditation to support and show their commitment to health and wellness, and a more sustainable, resilient world. In addition, GBAC STAR Accreditation can support an organization’s commitment to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by assisting in achieving their environmental, social responsibility, and governance (ESG) objectives. For more information, visit www.gbac.org.