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The AENOR certification obtained by Euskalduna Bilbao means it is the second music auditorium to achieve said accreditation.
AENOR certifies that Euskalduna meets the highest health and hygiene standards for clients and collaborating companies, reducing the spread of the virus to the utmost.
The Conference Centre will subject its safety protocols to regular audits in order to ensure the efficiency and adequacy to regulations as part of its plan of safety measures. In addition, a COVID-19 protocol follow-up committee will be appointed for every event made up of in-house and client staff.
21 September 2020. Euskalduna Bilbao is the first Conference Centre to obtain AENOR certification against COVID-19 thanks to the protocols implemented against the coronavirus. After passing the audit, AENOR certifies that Euskalduna ensures the highest health and hygiene standards, for its clients as well as for its collaborating companies and, thanks to these, minimizing the possibility of spreading the virus to the utmost.
This very morning, Lorea Bilbao, Provincial Councillor for Culture and Sports along with Andoni Aldekoa, Managing Director of Euskalduna have received the plaque verifying the AENOR certification against COVID-19 from Luz Emparanza, the Director of AENOR in the Basque Country.
“This certificate is a guarantee, for the public as well as for the companies who work in Euskalduna. And is, at the same time, the best example of its commitment to safety”, the Provincial Councillor for Culture and Sport assured.
In addition, it should be noted that Euskalduna will subject its safety protocols to regular audits in order to ensure their efficiency and adequacy to regulations as part of its plan of safety measures.
“We are very glad to announce we are the first Conference Centre and second Auditorium to receive the AENOR certification. We are firmly committed to safety and it is our priority to offer a safe experience to all the events we host in our premises. This recognition certifies the measures we have adopted to help stop the pandemic are adequate and efficient”, pointed out Aldekoa.
As for Luz Emparanza, the Director of AENOR in the Basque Country, she stated that “Euskalduna Bilbao demonstrates that its commitment to serving society is at the top of its considerations, coherent to its position. Its sound and now certified protocols give further drive to the necessary confidence for the events sector to swiftly recover its significant contribution to society and the economy”.
In particular, Euskalduna has assessed the risk and analysed the incidence, in the organisation and hosting processes of the different types of events, in collaboration with its external prevention service and health surveillance service, setting preventive measures aimed at minimizing the risk of COVID-19 transmission. A procedure applicable to the entire organisation, collaborating companies, concessionary companies and subcontractors, to their clients and related personnel, who intervene in the whole development process involved in an event, ensuring business continuity and adopting the necessary preventive measures, to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmissions.
Euskalduna has assessed the COVID-19 transmission risk based on the range of activities carried out in the different areas of Euskalduna Bilbao and has set the appropriate preventive measures. Furthermore, we have reduced our capacity as stipulated by the authorities, adapting the predetermined distribution of chairs and seats in rooms, as well as the different uses of the halls and other spaces.
Alternatively, we have set a specific cleaning and disinfection protocol for each of the areas, adapting the cleaning process to its use. In this respect, it must be remembered that a general cleaning of the premises was performed during lockdown, from the public areas, to the technical areas and facilities.
For every event Euskalduna hosts it will appoint a COVID-19 protocol follow-up committee made up of in-house and client staff. By doing so the Conference Centre shares responsibility with its clients in all things related to the hosting of every event (assembly, testing, rehearsals…).
Finally, as well as the compulsory required basic preventive measures (social distancing, wearing a mask, frequent hand washing and the cleaning and disinfection protocol), Euskalduna has set up specific measures such as work shifts in its different departments (favouring teleworking and off-site meetings) and encouraging payment methods alternative to the use of cash.
From all this work, an emergency and business continuity management Plan has been prepared seeking to reduce the possible effects of public alarms (as in a health epidemic).
About AENOR
AENOR is a professional services body which identifies and helps correct the competitiveness gaps in businesses, sectors and the economic fabric in general. It contributes to the transformation of society creating trust among organisations and people by means of conformity assessment services (certification, inspection and tests), training and information.
AENOR is the leading certification body in Spain, undertaking operations in 90 countries. More than 82,000 work centres throughout the world hold one of the AENOR certificates in fields such as Quality Management, Sustainability, Verification of Non-Financial Information, Animal Welfare, Occupational Health and Safety, Digitization or Compliance.
About Euskalduna
Inaugurated on 19 February 1999, the Bilbao Euskalduna Conference and Music Centre was designed by architects Federico Soriano and Dolores Palacios as a vessel under ongoing construction work emerging from the dock in which Euskalduna Shipyards once stood. The building combines spaces dedicated to meetings and show activities (Auditorium, congress and meeting halls, boardrooms, offices, foyers and a splendid Exhibition Hall) with the service areas, for warehouses, changing rooms, dressing rooms, rehearsal rooms etc.
It hosts numerous activities of an economic-business, academic, political, institutional, social and cultural nature. The ABAO Opera Season is held in it, one of the most important and prestigious in Spain and Europe, it also contains the headquarters of the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra (BOS), a magnificent musical institution, founded in 1920, that gave its first concert in 1922.
During these 21 years of history it has undergone transformations and expanded in order to suit the Territory’s needs and opportunities.
