Bureau Veritas Announces SafeGuard™ Certification of Westfield Shopping Centers in the U.S.

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Sep 17, 2020, 11:29 ET

NEW YORK, Sept. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Bureau Veritas today announced it has certified a select group of Westfield's U.S. shopping centers with its industry leading hygiene and safety excellence label, SafeGuard^TM. The Bureau Veritas' SafeGuard^TM Hygiene Excellence and Safety Certification designates a facility that has met stringent requirements to minimize the onsite risk of virus spread and is adhering to best-in-class hygiene and safety protocols.

Shelly Schembre, Senior Vice President of Shopping Center Management, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, commented:

"The well-being and health of our retailers, shoppers, and employees is our top priority and Westfield is taking every measure possible to ensure our shopping centers are safe for the community. With the support and guidance of Bureau Veritas, our customers can be assured that we carry the Bureau Veritas SafeGuard^TM Hygiene Excellence and Safety certification, serving as an important mark of trust. We look forward to continuing to serve the community knowing that we have implemented procedures that meet the highest sanitation, health, safety and hygiene standards."

Bureau Veritas reviewed and certified the procedures implemented at 28 of Westfield's U.S. centers, including flagship destinations such as Westfield Century City and Westfield Topanga in Los Angeles, Westfield UTC in San Diego, Westfield San Francisco Centre and Westfield Valley Fair in the Bay Area, Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus, NJ, and Westfield Montgomery in Maryland, just outside of Washington, D.C. Each of the 28 participating centers have addressed the health and safety of the communities in which they operate as they navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic by implementing new practices, services and amenities including:

Increasing the frequency of cleaning measures following CDC and local health department guidelines, with a focus on high-touch areas such as restrooms and common areas;
Monitoring and controlling the number of guests entering the centers and crowds in dwell areas;
Implementing and enforcing relevant policies related to social distancing, face masks, and other preventative measures; and
Providing an increased number of hand sanitizer stations and other amenities available on an as needed basis.

The independent third-party SafeGuard^TM Hygiene Excellence and Safety Certification by Bureau Veritas includes:

Detailed review of safety guides and protocols to achieve hygiene and safety excellence using industry best practices, local laws and requirements, and leading medical expertise;
Best-in-class digital solutions to conduct audits of Westfield's properties to ensure compliance of hygiene protocols and operational requirements; and
Administration of the Bureau Veritas SafeGuard^TM Hygiene Excellence and Safety Label upon achieving a successful audit which demonstrates Westfield is in compliance, thus providing an extra layer of assurance to the general public, employees, and retailers.

Shelly Orel, President – Certification, Audit & Assurance, Bureau Veritas North America, commented:

"For nearly ten years, Bureau Veritas has proudly partnered globally with Westfield to ensure the highest standards across their shopping centers. Today marks another critical milestone in our journey together, as Westfield leads in the retail industry and we deploy Bureau Veritas' SafeGuard^TM Hygiene Excellence and Safety Label across their North American shopping centers. We commend Westfield for continuing to put safety first––and implementing the industry's highest hygiene and health standards to protect their employees, retailers and shoppers."

Since 2012, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield has worked with Bureau Veritas to ensure the highest health and safety standards across their global shopping centers through Bureau Veritas' testing, inspection and certification services. In April 2020, Bureau Veritas announced an expansion to this partnership through the launch of the SafeGuard^TM Hygiene Excellence and Safety Label within Westfield's European Shopping Centers. Today, this certification is now expanded to include its retail shopping centers across the United States.

"Restart your Business with BV"
The SafeGuard^TM Hygiene Excellence and Safety Label is a suite of services offered through Bureau Veritas' "Restart Your Business with BV" program. As an independent third-party partner, Bureau Veritas provides hygiene and safety protocols, independent third party audits, e-training programs, surface testing, and continued monitoring of safety protocols to ensure businesses restart operations safely. Protocols, standards, and guidelines for the program are developed in partnership with leading epidemiologist as well as members of the scientific community, and in compliance with local government agencies across North America. The Restart your Business with BV service offering supports the restart efforts for all places where people live, travel and work including retail centers, restaurants, transportation hubs, hotels, and more.

For more information on "Restart Your Business with BV", please contact [email protected] and visit: https://www.bvna.com/magazine/restart-resource-center.

About Bureau Veritas
Bureau Veritas is a world-leading provider in testing, inspection and certification. Created in 1828, the Group has more than 75,000 employees located in more than 1,500 offices and laboratories around the globe. Bureau Veritas helps its clients to improve their performance by offering services and innovative solutions in order to ensure that their assets, products, infrastructure and processes meet standards and regulations in terms of quality, health and safety, environmental protection and social responsibility.

Bureau Veritas is listed on Euronext Paris and belongs to the Next 20 index.
Compartment A, ISIN code FR 0006174348, stock symbol: BVI.

For more information, visit www.bvna.com, and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

About Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield is the premier global developer and operator of Flagship destinations, with a portfolio valued at €60.4 Bn as at June 30, 2020, of which 86% in retail, 7% in offices, 5% in convention & exhibition venues and 2% in services. Currently, the Group owns and operates 89 shopping centres, including 55 Flagships in the most dynamic cities in Europe and the United States. Its centres welcome 1.2 billion visits per year. Present on two continents and in 12 countries, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield provides a unique platform for retailers and brand events and offers an exceptional and constantly renewed experience for customers.

With the support of its 3,400 professionals and an unparalleled track-record and know-how, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield is ideally positioned to generate superior value and develop world-class projects. As at June 30, 2020, the Group had a development pipeline of €6.2 Bn.

Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield distinguishes itself by its Better Places 2030 agenda, that sets its ambition to create better places that respect the highest environmental standards and contribute to better cities.

Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield stapled shares are listed on Euronext Amsterdam and Euronext Paris (TICKER:URW), with a secondary listing in Australia through Chess Depositary Interests. The Group benefits from an A- rating from Standard & Poor's and from an A3 rating from Moody's.

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Media contacts
For Bureau Veritas Theresa Anderson
+1 917 344 4593
[email protected]

For URW Robyn Cottelli
+1 929 254 8309
[email protected]