A lot of thought went into the building hosting Gundeep Singh’s business- it took 30 months to design his showroom and 18 to build it.
That is because his aim was for it to qualify for the highest certification under an international accreditation scheme for green buildings - the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design benchmark.
Now it looks like the 5,110-square-metre showroom will obtain the certification in about three months.
“It has not been awarded yet but we are quite confident we will get platinum,” said Mr Singh, founder and chief executive of The Change Initiative, which sells sustainable consumer goods - everything from food and cosmetics to paints and bathroom fixtures.
The showroom is fitted with solar tubes that allow sunlight to penetrate and when artificial lighting is needed, it is provided by efficient LED lights.
About 40 per cent of the energy used in the building is produced by photovoltaic systems on the roof that transform sunlight into electricity. The building also uses water heated by solar power.
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