May 6, 2015, New Delhi: 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. The association between CETEC Pty Ltd/NABERS and Paharpur Business Centre is an outcome of a Victorian Government led Trade Mission to India.

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 continuous 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 said, "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 minimising 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."