Fight air pollution with innovative Clean Air solutions

Air pollution is a global problem that poses a serious risk not only for the planet, but also for the well-being of people. The WHO estimates that poor air quality is responsible for 4.2 million premature deaths a year, and, in addition, contributes to a wide range of health problems. Also, the World Bank has rated air pollution as the fourth highest risk factor for attributable deaths, just below tobacco smoke.

Today, we are aware that 99% of the world's population breathes polluted air, thus exceeding the air quality limits established by the WHO according to the latest update of its database. The monitoring of the air quality of more than 6,000 cities in 117 countries has shown how their inhabitants continue to breathe unhealthy levels of fine particles and nitrogen dioxide.

An important initiative to raise awareness and promote global participation in the fight against air pollution is the celebration of International Clean Air Day for blue skies on September 7th. This year, under the slogan "The Air We Share", the aim is to reinforce the role of the transboundary nature of air pollution.

At Colonial we are aware of the consequences of the poor air quality we breathe on many occasions, and we have adopted measures to reduce and prevent pollution. For this reason, we collaborate with Aire Limpio to improve the health and sustainability of our assets.

Used solutions

Taking into account the ESG criteria, we have installed air filtration and purification solutions in nineteen buildings in Madrid and Barcelona. Specifically:

• Active Polarization Filters: high efficiency filters (F7 and F9) with a filtration capacity of between 70% to 90% on suspended particles greater than PM2.5. These reduce maintenance costs since the filter change sequence is longer and the waste they generate is less.
• Photocatalysis System: designed to treat the air flow of ventilation/air conditioning equipment, reducing the risk of contamination by chemical compounds (NOx, VOC's, SO2, etc.) and microorganisms (Virus, Bacteria, Fungi, Yeast). It replaces the activated carbon filter in the elimination of gases and optimizes the operation of the air conditioning battery.

The advantages:

These two solutions provide benefits for people's health because they are capable of reducing suspended particles, volatile organic compounds and chemical pollutants.

Also, they eliminate biological agents (viruses, bacteria, and fungi) and reduce the risk of hospital admissions, cardiovascular diseases, asthma attacks, and lung cancer.

The health improvements, in this case, are derived, therefore, from reducing the concentrations of pollutants (PM2.5 and NOx) in the exposure time of a working day (8 hours). If the 8 hours (average office hours) of work are carried out in an environment in which the pollutants from the outdoor and indoor air have been effectively filtered and there is a ventilation that renews the air; the improvement in health is clear.

In addition, these measures also lead to energy savings that benefit the environment. The energy savings are produced by improving the performance of the AHU fan: the fan has to make less effort to get the air through the filters.

Clean Air filters have less air resistance than traditional filters and, therefore, less energy is needed to achieve the necessary ventilation flows. With this greater energy efficiency in buildings, the carbon footprint is reduced, and the useful life of air conditioning systems is increased.

Thanks to Clean Air filtration and purification solutions, 419 tons of CO₂ have been saved, 590,664 kWh.

Objectives:

Within the United Nations Sustainability plan, the Clean Air project in Colonial´s buildings directly involve the objectives of:

• Health & Wellness
• Industry, innovation & infrastructure
• Sustainable cities & communities
• Responsible production & consumption

In short, healthy, and sustainable buildings that take ESG criteria into account increase the interest in sustainable investment, thus improving their attractiveness to users