SGS : Sonae Sierra and SGS Partnered to Ensure the Highest Hygiene and Cleaning Standards of Shopping Centers

To ensure the safety and wellbeing of the visitors, tenants, suppliers and employees of the shopping centers managed by Sonae Sierra, the company has decided to take a step forward and verify and certify the current hygiene and cleaning processes.

That is why Sonae Sierra has partnered with SGS, the world's leading testing and certification company to verify the hygiene and cleaning standards being used at Sonae Sierra's managed shopping centers and awarded the Hygiene Monitored and Disinfection Assessment Mark. This confirmed a stringent compliance with the state of art applicable protocols and regulations, reassuring Sonae Sierra's commitment toward safety and prevention.

By undergoing this rigorous process, Sonae Sierra ensures enhanced control of its current hygiene and cleaning protocols for managing and mitigate COVID-19 risks and provides increased assurance to its visitors, tenants, suppliers and employees worldwide, through specific measures such as increased cleaning frequencies, enhanced training and specialization of cleaning staff, social distancing measures and correct sanitization and disinfection at all shopping centers globally.

This verification complements the adopted safety measures such as the installation of disinfecting gel dispensers in several locations, installation of automatic handrail disinfection equipment on the shopping center's escalators and reinforcement of the ventilation and air conditioning systems cleaning procedures.

'As the safety and wellbeing of visitors, tenants, suppliers and employees of the shopping centers managed by Sonae Sierra is a priority for us, we must ensure hygiene protocols are taken to the next level. This is why we chose the support of an expert company. With this strategic decision, Sonae Sierra reaffirms its long-term commitment to its stakeholders and its proactive attitude in managing the new challenges facing the real estate sector,' explains João Correia de Sampaio, Executive Director of Property Management and Leasing of Sonae Sierra.

'Thanks to our approval mark, we are able to offer the reliability needed by real estate companies like Sonae Sierra to continue building safety and trust in people. Shopping centers have thousands of visitors every day, and SGS can contribute to ensure the necessary disinfection and cleaning measures are in place to protect them,' says Frankie NG, CEO of SGS.

The verification process held by SGS included the validation and recommendations over Sonae Sierra's Shopping Centers reopening procedures and an assessment visit to ensure these procedures are being correctly implemented on-site. It also included on-site sampling analysis of high-touch areas and surfaces to validate the cleaning efficacy.

About Sonae Sierra

Sonae Sierra is a property company and full real estate services provider, globally active from Europe to South America, Asia and North Africa. As the partner of choice, we create shared value for our business and society by applying our unique know-how to deliver world-class solutions - including investment management, architecture & engineering, property management, leasing and sustainability services - covering the whole real estate life cycle. Sonae Sierra has 5 development projects currently underway and approximately €9.8Bn of assets under management, for which it provides property-level services. The company currently manages 12 Investment vehicles, worth €5.5Bn in OMV, with a Sonae Sierra stake of €1.4Bn, targeted at institutional investors, qualified investors or retail investors.

For further information, visit www.sonaesierra.com

About SGS

SGS is the world's leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company. SGS is recognized as the global benchmark for quality and integrity. With more than 94,000 employees, SGS operates a network of over 2,600 offices and laboratories around the world.