The SOCOTEC group, leader in risk management and technical consulting in construction and environment, and Hopscotch, international communication group and leader in the events sector in France, join their strength and launch “MEETING READY”, the reference sanitary protocols to accompany the events sector and the resumption of face-to-face meetings.

Defined by the two groups and validated by SOCOTEC‘s scientific committee, the reference system lists the verification points and prevention and health safety measures before, during and after the event. The reception areas, meeting places and public circulation areas are subject to precise measures and verification points listed in the reference system.

The two companies had already worked together on the health safety of several events, in particular at the end of August 2020, on the organization by Hopscotch of LaREF (La Renaissance des Entreprises de France) for the MEDEF, event which took place at the Hippodrome de Paris Longchamp. The reception and circulation areas, the common and catering areas, as well as the conference venues were subject to strict protocols defined for the occasion and evaluated on the basis of sanitary standards. These protocols were custom-designed by SOCOTEC for this event, and a scientific committee composed of specialists in biological risks (doctors, pharmacists, hygienists, chemists, etc.) monitored their effectiveness at all times, in particular via a hotline. The stakes for this event, which is traditionally held at the end of each summer and is closely followed by political, economic and social figures, were high in the context of a pandemic situation that is still active in France.

For Hervé Montjotin, president of the SOCOTEC group: “The event industry is a demanding industry with its own codes. Our role is to define a reference system and control stages that guarantee the safety of all audiences. Our experience with shopping centers, high-traffic industrial sites and “essential” public services enables us to provide an appropriate response and controlled management tools. ”

For Frederic Bedin, President of the Board of Directors of the Hopscotch group: “The specificity of the event industry is to adapt the organization to the inherent constraints of an event. In this sense, creating a reference partnership with a leader in health risks such as SOCOTEC, allows Hopscotch to secure its customers who are major French or international event organizers. Hopscotch, a major communication group linking public relations to events, innovates and is at the forefront of a controlled health management, on first class events so that the industry continues to remain active in the context of a long term health crisis. ”

All the work carried out between the Direction of the Global Performance & Quality of Hopscotch and the Direction of the Environment & Safety branch of SOCOTEC, which made it possible to define the sanitary standards applicable to all the types of gathering, will be placed at the disposal of the professional sector in the general interest.