Project Narrative Provided by Paharpur Business Centre
Paharpur Business Centre (PBC) is situated in Nehru Place Greens, one of the largest commercial districts of South Delhi – a state of the art Instant Office & a hassle-free Business Centre.
It is a partner of choice for companies planning to set up their operations in India. It is a preferred supplier of a suite of twenty-eight support services, while being sensitive to care of environment and a socially responsible corporate.
PBC is set up in a pollution free & green environment. It is the preferred supplier of business services to corporates in the larger Delhi area, offers an integrated business environment with fully furnished ready to move in offices on a “plug n play” basis.
Established in 1990, the Centre and its services are certified for six international standards viz. ISO 9001:2008 for Quality Management Systems, ISO 14001:2004 for Environmental Management Systems, SA 8000:2008 for Social Accountability Management Systems, OHSAS 18001:2007 for Occupational Health & Safety Management Systems, ISO 22000: 2005 for Food Safety Management Systems. It is also a participant to UN Global Compact. It is perhaps the only Business Centre to be certified for five International Standards.
The Indoor Air Quality of PBC meets the specified ASHRAE (American Society for Heating Refrigeration and Air conditioning Engineers) Standards.
A three- pronged approach was used to initiate the programme at PBC.
* Improvement of surrounding areas
* Improvement of Indoor Air
· Maintaining IAQ
A six acre area that was a veritable slum full of dirt & squalor in front of the building was taken up under a MoU with the relevant authorities. More than 2,000 trees were planted & the area converted into a beautiful park. This not only improved the ambient air-quality but also created a micro- climate in the area & became the only Green Lung in an otherwise concrete jungle.
Various initiatives taken to address IAQ in 1994-1995.
· Air purification plant comprising filters, Air scrubbers and Dehumidifier installed
* Constructed a Green House with toxin absorbing plants to rejuvenate the fresh air supply. This biotechnology concept was developed by Dr. Bill Wolverton at NASA, USA.
* Air Handling Unit (AHU) with MERV 13 filter installed on each floor
* Air purifier with HEPA filter, activated carbon filter and ionizer installed
A full fledged Indoor Air Quality division equipped with Indoor Air Quality lab was been set up to continuously monitor and improve the indoor air quality. It ensures:
* Low CO2 levels that result in higher blood oxygen and higher productivity.
* The occupants remain alert & fresh at all times
The IAQ programme at PBC has based on Prof. Bill Wolverton’s research on bio - technology for improving the IAQ using plants to increase the oxygen and reduce toxins It has evolved a natural system of air purification by using biotechnology using plants. This has led to a dramatic decline in toxins in the indoor air.
The Indoor Air Quality at PBC meets the specified ASHRAE (American Society for Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers) standards.
PBC uses plants to clean the toxins from the air before supplying the air into building. As a thumb rule we maintain four plants per person & PBC is equipped to accommodate 440 people at a time.
At PBC there are more than 2,000 plants comprising - Sensevieria Trifasciata, Arica Palm, Syngonium, Oxicardium, Money Plants etc are used to absorb pollutants i.e. Carbon Dioxide, Nitrous Oxide, Carbon Monoxide, Sulphur Dioxide & SPMs & to give out maximum amount of oxygen.
These plants also absorb pollutants such as Benzene, Formaldehyde & Trichlorethylene & generate fresh air that is then circulated in the building. The plants are nurtured in PBC nursery & are maintained by HappiGreens – PBC’s Horticulture Department. These plants are kept healthy & pest free at all times.
The fresh air is sucked from top of the building ( because of lower pollution levels) and then it passes thru an air scrubber using DM water and high UV light to dissolve SOx, NOx, SPM’s, and to reduce the Bacteria and Fungus content in the ambient air.
Subsequently the air passes thru the filters and into the AHU’s after passing through an energy – wheel to recover energy from exhaust air. Eventually this clean air passes thru a Green House that is used as pressure equalization air tank and then fed into the AHU’s based on demand depending on the number of people present in the area served by the particular AHU. This helps in giving the customers & visitors to PBC a near mountain fresh-air experience.
There is a green house at the top of the seven-storied building that provides higher levels of natural oxygen to its occupants.
A positive pressure is maintained in the building. High Efficiency Air curtains are installed at all entry & exit points to reduce infiltration of hot and polluted air.
All incoming material is thoroughly cleaned before it enters the building.
Zero VOC carpets have been installed in all the rooms at PBC & tight vacuuming is done to reduce the SPM levels in the building.
AHU filters are cleaned on a daily basis to reduce energy consumption.
A dedicated IAQ team does a 24X7 monitoring of Oxygen level, humidity, etc.
PBC is a retrofitted twenty year-old building & it aims to achieve LEED EB Platinum Certification for existing building by 2010.
It has taken various environmental initiatives such as water resource management, solid waste management & energy management in order to make the building an energy efficient Green Building
