Bureau Veritas: Italian schools at risk, human capital must be protected.

The safety of school buildings in Italy is a critical emergency . According to a recent analysis, approximately 700,000 people, including students and staff, work daily in 3,588 buildings without the mandatory safety certifications (approximately 9% of the total). These figures, however, are just the tip of the iceberg of a larger situation: 9 out of 10 schools do not fully comply with safety criteria , highlighting a systemic vulnerability of the country's school building stock. Furthermore, the risk increases in some areas of the country , such as the South or the islands, which are more exposed to seismic risks and where only less than half of schools have been static tested .

According to Bureau Veritas Italia, "the situation denounced in the recent Tuttoscuola report requires serious and rational solutions." Bureau Veritas's own observation post has recorded, over the past two years , an acceleration in requests for intervention from schools to fill these gaps , leveraging the resources made available by the PNRR .

Faced with an emergency situation of this kind, Bureau Veritas is willing to provide its methodological contribution , to promote a priority-based approach by addressing, in addition to the structural/seismic factor , also fire protection and any system deficiencies that could become a daily risk for thousands of students.

"It's difficult at this time to identify and define the form and timeframe of this collaboration. Bureau Veritas, true to its vocation as a Benefit Corporation, is certainly able to provide a wealth of experience that could prove invaluable in addressing this issue. We must also not forget the critical nature of temporary facilities, where students from a given school are temporarily relocated while the original building is fully secured. We are aware that it will take years to address the entire school building stock, but we also recognize that the country, following its precedents in the field of transportation infrastructure, must promote public-private partnerships supported by adequate funding," stated Diego D'Amato, President and CEO of Bureau Veritas Italia.