World Autism Awareness Day marked at Centers managed by CBRE

To mark World Autism Awareness Day, which is celebrated today, April 2nd, the assets managed and marketed by CBRE launch, at an Iberian level, the “Quiet Hour”, which in Portugal will take place in ten Shopping Centers and six Retail Parks, managed by the consultancy. This action is part of the Caring for Communities program, an initiative from CBRE’s Property Management area, supporting the communities where it operates, through various causes on ESG themes.

During the “Quiet Hour” some adaptations will be implemented, in view of the normal operation of a shopping center. These measures, based on reducing visual and sound stimuli, aim to create a more comfortable environment for people on the autism spectrum and other sensory sensitivities.
In this way, and with the advice of the Portuguese Autism Federation, all Shopping Centers will adopt a period of one hour, which depending on the Center, could be daily, weekly or monthly, where sensory stimuli will be reduced. Turning off ambient sound, reducing light intensity, providing noise-cancelling headphones, team communication via earphones only, are some of the measures to be implemented by the Centers and recommended to stores.

Within the scope of the Hospitality culture developed and promoted by CBRE and in partnership with the Portuguese Autism Federation and its Regional Federations, the Centers will also provide specific training to internal teams and interested tenants, so that they are trained to identify and deal with incidents within the scope of the autism spectrum.

World Autism Awareness Day will therefore be marked on April 2nd, with the launch of “Quiet Hour” and implementation of the respective actions, at the 8ª Avenida Shopping Centers, Alameda Shop&Spot, Alma Shopping, LeiriaShopping, LoureShopping, RioSul Shopping , Torreshopping, Nosso Shopping, UBBO and Forum Madeira.

“For people with autism spectrum disorder, going to a shopping center can be challenging. Initiatives such as Hora Tranquila, part of our “Caring for Communities” program, aim to not only facilitate this moment, but also increase awareness and understanding of the community in general about autism and other sensory conditions” says Mónica Pinto Coelho, Marketing Iberia Director at CBRE.