The best companies in the world to work for all have one thing in common: they take care of their own. And they use the best science and data available to support their decisions to improve workplace productivity and keep their people happy.

But more and more companies realize that they’ve been missing a crucial part of the equation: indoor air quality, or IAQ.

Poor IAQ contributes to enormous losses in productivity, revenue, and employee satisfaction. And yet, few air quality standards for office buildings exist beyond, for example, the prominent Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and Energy Star certifications, neither of which have much to say about air quality issues.

One company decided to take the extra leap into ensuring the best possible workplace when they approached their employees with some great news: brand-new offices!

And in a groundbreaking move, Unicom Pay decided to build their new offices from the ground up by using eco-friendly materials, energy-efficient facilities, and a recruiting tool that few global companies can claim: world-class air purification solutions ensuring the best possible IAQ for their employees.

Unicom Pay: No stranger to innovation

Unicom Pay, a subsidiary of China Unicom’s Wo-Wallet, runs a comprehensive personal payment business as well as manages online personal finance services for individual users through the Wo-Wallet client. It’s also well known for its integrated payment and financial services aimed at both government and corporate clients.

China Unicom is headquartered in Beijing, with offices in Shanghai and Hong Kong.

Unicom Pay provides a reliable and easy payment application that rivals many of the world’s best financial services companies while also committing to protecting its users’ privacy and information security. As a result, its growth, stature, and success have skyrocketed in the few years since its founding as it offers increasingly innovative financial solutions.

But the rapid expansion of its business brought about the need for the construction of a new office building. And Unicom Pay’s workforce was excited, sure, but not just for the usual reasons: Unicom Pay decided to make history again by making IAQ the primary focus of their new facilities.

The Problem: New offices and formaldehyde

Like many companies building new offices, Unicom Pay was wary of the notorious presence of chemicals like formaldehyde in its new offices. But even though the company ensured that it used the finest and greenest materials, not even the most eco-friendly building can avoid formaldehyde off-gassing from materials used in paint, flooring, and other furnishings.

The serious harm that formaldehyde can cause has made this substance a huge headache (quite literally) for anyone doing building renovations. The fumes alonecan cause symptoms like coughing, skin rashes, respiratory tract infections, and more. And even with proper ventilation and air purification, formaldehyde can remain in the indoor air for years after a building’s complete.

Formaldehyde is just one of a number of chemical and biological components that put building occupants, whether residents of a home or apartment complex, or office workers at risk of suffering from sick building syndrome. A global health problem, the British National Health Service identifies symptoms as including:¹

• headaches
• runny nose
• dry, itchy skin, eyes, or throat
• cough or wheezing
• rashes
• tiredness and problems focusing

To make sure that its employees got the healthiest, cleanest, and most productive environment possible, Unicom Pay didn’t spare a dime in actively seeking out the technology to remove even the invisible health and wellness threats for its entire organization.

And Unicom Pay knew exactly who to ask for the best IAQ solution in the world: its longtime partners at IQAir. 

The Solution: IQAir

Knowing that Unicom Pay’s employees were anxious to move into their brand-new offices, IQAir quickly came in and performed an extensive survey of the new facilities and research on the environment’s air quality. 

In record time, IQAir's team of professional indoor air quality experts recommended the perfect product for their new spaces: the CleanZone SL, a commercial-grade, stand-alone air purifier designed for newly renovated offices and commercial buildings to fill them with the cleanest possible air at high volumes.

IQAir developed the IQAir CleanZone SL to enhance indoor air quality in offices, schools, hotels, clubs, and other high-traffic, open-plan public areas. This model is especially suited for places like offices and schools because of its ultra-quiet yet ultra-high performance: 

• The CleanZone SL has a high airflow capacity of up to 800 cubic meters per hour (about 470.862 cubic feet per minute), providing unequaled air filtration while meeting even the strictest noise standards.
• Equipped with ColdFire™ filter media for formaldehyde, the CleanZone SL features leading-edge catalytic technology with formaldehyde purification efficiency drastically higher than any existing formaldehyde removal methods.
• The high cumulate clean mass (CCM) rating of the CleanZone SL’s filter media guarantees stable, long-term protection against the buildup of common, gaseous indoor pollutants.
• HyperHEPAfiltration removes more than 99.5% of particulate matter down to 0.003 microns, the smallest particles that exist – densely packed fibers continuously capture PM2.5 particles, bacteria, viruses, allergens, and numerous other contaminants before pumping pure air back out into the offices.
• Virtually silent even at the highest fan speed setting, the CleanZone SL delivers high performance air purification while fostering peaceful surroundings for office workers.

Before Unicom Pay’s relocation, several CleanZone SL air purifiers were already in position in its new office building, operating 24/7 to purify the indoor air. Better yet, IQAir engineers provided on-site services and carefully verified each step with Unicom Pay – and every single purifier received thorough performance testing before finally being installed on site.

Not just a one-time deal: A long-term relationship

The company’s roots with IQAir run deep: Unicom Pay and IQAir have done business before, and a successful years-long relationship ultimately led to the company’s decision to fill their new offices with the best air purification technology. 

Unicom Pay previously purchased several HealthPro Plus air purifiers to help their employees cope with air pollution.

With the HealthPro Series having captured more accolades and awards than any other air purifier, and with every product manufactured and individually tested in Switzerland, performance expectations were high.

The company was so impressed with IQAir’s technology that they purchased HealthPro Plus purifiers for every corner of their (now former) office space, providing fresh indoor air to Unicom Pay’s employees even during periods of record-breaking smog.

As a Unicom Pay employee said, “During the past two years while we’ve used IQAir products, we tested the air purifiers multiple times by placing an air quality monitor next to the outlet that delivers air. No matter how serious the pollution was, the particulate reading was always ‘0’! All of us around here have 100% confidence and trust in IQAir.”