GreenSpaces

Posts Tagged ‘serviced offices in india’

NOT JUST A PANTRY – A GREEN PANTRY IN THE OFFICE

Thursday, August 20th, 2015

As a matter of fact kitchen or the pantry emits a huge amount of pollutants and waste. Hence, it becomes a potential case of study as to how to improve its efficiency in terms of being environment friendly. You must have heard of a pantry in the office, just that but……

How to create a green pantry?

Here are few ways of converting your conventional pantry into a green one.

Use BEE 5 star rated appliances as they guarantee sustainability by means of performing in an energy efficient manner.

All the appliances have to be maintained properly. A lot of serviced offices in India take this seriously while many just waive it out of their routine. An energy inefficient appliance will demand more energy, further leading to huge energy bills. Additionally, they pollute the indoor environment even.

Raw materials procured should be tested for their quality. Procurement from a local vendor decreases the carbon footprints. A food safety management system should be put into action. In addition, they should be washed properly; stored hygienically in appropriate conditions and prepared in suitable conditions. These days, serviced offices have started paying attention to the quality of food served in the cafeteria and pantry.

Use zero VOCs and bacteria free tiles in the pantries. It will add to the hygienic conditions. Green seal certified chemicals for cleaning and other housekeeping should be used to ensure that less amount of pollutants are emitted

Use the food waste for creating vermin-manure by decomposing them in vermin-compost pit. You may recycle some of the waste products like paper wraps, polythene etc.

WHY IMPLEMENT HEALTH & WELLNESS MEASURES IN OFFICE?

Tuesday, June 2nd, 2015

Can you imagine a home without a family or a building without people?

The answer would be, ‘’Never’’.

Who would enjoy or avail of the facilities, infrastructure, etc if there are no occupants?

Buildings won’t be worthwhile then. Therefore, while looking for a commercial space focus should be donned on the betterment of the people, apart from location, infrastructure and other amenities.

We spend more than 80% of our time, indoors – be it in the office or at home.
Working class spends their most productive hours in office. They work; get exhausted; feel stressed; gather courage and start working again. This is the cycle that they follow. Needless to say that medical science has been a witness to the increase in sick building syndromes and other health hazards that are caused due to unhealthy work atmosphere. Even improper cooling and lighting can affect one’s health.

There are many luxury serviced offices that give a good look and feel. However, not all of them are able to keep the occupants well. Thankfully, architects, doctors and scientists have realized this just in time. As a result, sustainability added another dimension to itself, “indoor environment quality”. It’s no more about just making buildings, green but also benefiting occupants by increasing their productivity level and helping them in reducing their medical bills. Hence, it is imperative that indoor environment quality is well-maintained as it alone can raise the bar of health and wellness quotient in the office.

This concept has been appreciated by a lot of commercial building owners. There are many business centres in India that have also started practicing certain activities that help in enhancing the human experience.

What are the areas that are targeted for improving indoor environment quality?
• Lighting systems
• Acoustic Levels
• Air Quality
• Water Quality
• Food and Nutrition
• Workstations and more. .

There is a business centre that provides furnished office space in South Delhi has been able to improve its indoor environment quality by:
• Improving the indoor air quality
• Replacing CFLs with LEDs while maintaining the Lux levels
• Maintaining the sound levels
Indoor Air Quality is their USP, which is a value to their customers. They grow their own fresh air. They do it with the help of +1,200 indoor air purifying plants which detoxify the indoor air and enrich it with oxygen.

Due to good indoor air quality, they have been able to reduce the incidences of eye irritation; respiratory symptoms, lung impairment and asthma of the occupants to a significant extent. Central Pollution Control board and the Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute have rated it as the healthiest ready-to-move-in office building in India.
It has also helped in increasing the productivity level of the occupants by 20 percent. Productive people stay active and healthy. They perform better which is symbiotic to the benefits of the business and the occupants.

Then, why not take health and wellness measures in the office?

PBC Becomes the First Building in India to Get NABERS Certified

Monday, May 18th, 2015

National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS) Announces Their First International Certification in India and outside Australia

NABERS Recognizes Paharpur Business Centre’s indoor air environment quality management for occupants’ health and well-being

 Melbourne based company CETEC Pty Ltd, a technical risk management consultancy focusing on occupational health and safety, environmental consulting, awarded  Paharpur Business Centre (PBC), a USGBC LEED (EB) Platinum Certified and BEE 5 Star rated, green office building, located in Nehru Place Greens, New Delhi with the first-ever certification under the National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS).

 

NABERS is a performance-based rating system for existing buildings, which rated the Paharpur Business Centre based on its measured operational impact on the environment on several parameters including indoor air quality, ventilation and levels of pollutants.

Paharpur Business Centre is India’s first retrofit building to earn top rating for its green space and its indoor air quality conforms to American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) World Health Organizations (WHO) standards.

 

Announcing the first international certification for NABERS, Dr. Vyt Garnys, Managing Director, CETEC Pty Ltd said, “ PBC qualified NABERS parameters by using unique technologies in combination with best practice and extremely high aspirational targets set by the owners.

PBC addressed achievement of high Indoor Environment Quality by attending to control all pollutants such as fine particles, CO2 and enhancement of oxygen levels by the use of plants and mechanical practices.

The lighting levels, noise and comfort parameters were controlled by continous recording and attention to data of the building’s operation. The outstanding feature of the NABERS rating was the exceptionally high ‘occupant-satisfaction score’. This is one of the highest score that has been achieved by the Australian NABERS protocol that we have measured so far. Satisfied tenants are gold for their own business as well as for PBC’s tenants’ retention. Finally, this high tenant satisfaction also indicates high occupant productivity which is vital for India’s recovery.”

Mr. Peter Varghese AO, Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade, Australia Government say, “Being performance based, a NABERS Indoor Environment rating provides proof that the technologies which have been implemented at PBC have been commissioned well, are being managed well, and are providing tangible benefits to the building’s occupants in the form of a more comfortable and healthy workplace.

 

This rating shows that the team at PBC understands that operating a truly sustainable building means not just minimizing its impact on the environment, but also maximising the wellbeing of the people who occupy it. The investments that have been made into making this a high performance building will provide widespread returns, as healthy, comfortable occupants become more productive employees and more energized citizens.”

 

Mr. Kamal Meattle, CEO Paharpur Business Centre and Software Technology Incubator Park, added          “Given that Delhi’s air is practically unfit for breathing, it is great that we have a third party verification of good air quality at PBC – for wellness and productivity of our occupants. People working in buildings need to keep well and it is a well known fact that indoor air is 10 times more polluted than outside or ambient air. What does one do, when the ambient air is itself unacceptable?

 

PBC has found solutions for it. We grow fresh air with the help of more than 1,200 air purifying plants that not only detoxify the indoor air but also enrich it with oxygen.

 

PBC cares for its occupants – their Wellness. This goes beyond its USGBC LEED Platinum and BEE 5 star rating. We have achieved a 4 star rating for our Indoor Environment Quality, in NABERS’ assessment. We hope to make it to a 5 star rating in the next certification after a year.

 

PBC’s occupant-centric approach and the efforts towards enhanced Human Experience has been summarized well by Mr. Varghese.”

 

Barun Aggarwal, Director, Breathe EasyTM, IAQ Division of PBC said, “We are delighted to be the first recipient of NABERS Certification outside Australia. It reiterates our commitment to Occupants’ Health & Wellbeing in a bult environment by ensuring excellent Indoor Environment Quality.

Air Quality has now started gaining momentum in India. It is one of the critical components of Indoor Environment Quality. PBC, now being certified with a clear International certification, paves the way for others to replicate healthy indoor environment at homes and offices.”

 

CETEC Pty Ltd focuses on reducing risk and providing solutions. CETEC’s scientific and technical approach to IEQ (Facility Ecology™) makes them a national leader in this field. CETEC has been a long term and firm advocate of improving occupant’s satisfaction and wellbeing, corporate productivity, and facility efficiency through the development and use of the National Australian Built Environment Rating Scheme (NABERS) for Office Indoor Environment.

CETEC was engaged by Breathe Easy to conduct an Indoor Environment Quality (IEQ) Study of their office building -PBC and because of their holistic approach, they also elected PBC to apply for the NABERS certification.

***

 

 

About NABERS

NABERS

 

National Australian Built Environment Rating System

BUILT ON PERFORMANCE.

Welcome to NABERS.

NABERS is a national rating system that measures the environmental performance of Australian buildings, tenancies and homes. Put simply, NABERS measures the energy efficiency, water usage, waste management and indoor environment quality of a building or tenancy and its impact on the environment.

It does this by using measured and verified performance information, such as utility bills, and converting them into an easy to understand star rating scale from one to six stars. For example, a 6 star rating demonstrates market-leading performance, while a 1 star rating means the building or tenancy has considerable scope for improvement.

For over ten years, NABERS has helped property owners, managers and tenants across Australia to improve their sustainability performance, reaping financial benefits and building their reputation.

If you’re new to sustainability, this website will help you to understand NABERS, what it measures, what it delivers and how to get started. You’ll also be able to read how others have used NABERS to advance their sustainability goals.

NABERS is managed nationally by the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage, on behalf of Commonwealth, state and territory governments.

 

About Paharpur Business Centre

Located in one of the largest and busiest business districts of South Delhi – Nehru Place, New Delhi, Paharpur Business Centre (PBC) is a green micro, small and medium enterprise (mSME) in the services and real estate sector that offers instant, managed & serviced Office Solutions on a “plug & play” basis in mountain fresh air ambience. Built to compulsory Government Design, it is the first retrofit building in India that is USGBC LEED Platinum EB Certified (under O & M category) in 2010 and a BEE 5star rated building with an annual energy hourly energy rating (AAhEPI) of 28 Wh/ hr/ sqm.

Currently PBC operates at 20 Wh/hr/sqm and the endeavour is to bring it down to 15 Wh/hr/sqm.

PBC and its suite of 27 support services are certified to ISO 9001, 14001, 22000, 50001; OHSAS 18001; SA 8000, and Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (under Act 2006).

Paharpur Business Centre is also a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) and Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEP). PBC is the only mSME among the 6 signatories to WEP from India.

Care for the environment has been an intrinsic part of PBC’s business strategy. Since inception, its USP, “Indoor Air Quality” (IAQ) is a proof of it. PBC grows its own fresh air with the help of over 1200 air purifying plants. PBC has a fresh-air treatment plant/ air washer in the Green House at the rooftop which is integrated with our IAQ system. IAQ at PBC conforms to American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) and World Health Organization (WHO) standards. It helps the occupants in the building to have better functioning lungs; a fresher mind; reduced number of sick days and 15-20 per cent higher productivity.

IAQ system adds value to the human experience in the building.

PBC was awarded by ET Now for Best Workplace, in February 2013.

PBC has also received special commendation from CoreNet Global in April 2013, for Industry Excellence, Economic Development and Sustainable Leadership. PBC has also been recognized for energy management practices and was presented the 15th CII National Award for Excellence in Energy Management in October 2014.

 

PBC has been a leading provider of office facilities and services to corporate houses as well as Fortune 500 companies planning a foray into the Indian marketplace, for nearly two decades now.

 

To know more, please visit the website: www.pbcnet.com and/or follow PBC on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

 

For Media Queries Contact:

Smruti S Samantray

Dy. Manager, Corporate Communications

Paharpur Business Centre

T: +91-11-4120 7171/ 7018

M: 9711215910

Business Centres Provide Effective Workplace Solutions

Friday, August 29th, 2014

It does not matter whether yours is a start-up or an established business centre; business centres provide flexible and cost-effective workplace solutions for every size and kind of businesses.

Why preferring business centres would be a smart choice?

Well, the answer would be:

–          No capital expenditure. You don’t have to spend setting up a new space. Ideally, an office space requires workforce for the maintenance, resources to manage the operations, devices, connectivity, security system and more. With the business centres, you don’t have to bother about these things as you get furnished offices.

–          Like a ready-to-eat meal, business centres offer space with state-of-the-art amenities and other facilities. You won’t to worry about the cleaning, housekeeping and maintenance, and security of the facility. These will be taken care by the business centres. Hence, you save time & money.

–          You get a good location as an advantage of associating with a business centre in addition to the professional environment.

–          There are many who also offer conference, training and meeting rooms in India, in the same facility.

If one is planning a foray into the Indian market then one can give a thought to those business centres in India that provide such a composite package as it will add to the convenience.

–          Business centres that offer serviced offices in India also offer space with a range of creative presentations. From interiors to the hospitality. You’ll get to see a reflection of the culture and tradition. A perfect example would be the paintings and sculptures placed in the lounges, reception hall and in other rooms. You also get to see a team of females in traditional attire like saree to welcome your guests. This entire presentation adds to the feel-good factor of the client. Wouldn’t you like to work in such a place?

–          The best part is you get flexibility of size and term at affordable prices.

With all these advantages coming your way, why not prefer business centres and take a smart step?