Green building experiences in japan and developed countries recommendation for vietnam

While the practices or technologies employed in green building areconstantly evolving and may differ from region to region, fundamentalprinciples persist from which the method is derived

VIET NAM JAPAN UNIVERSITY



THESIS MASTER OF INFRASTRUCTURE ENGINEERING

THEME: GREEN BUILDING - EXPERIENCES IN JAPAN AND DEVELOPED COUNTRIES RECOMMENDATION

FOR VIET NAM

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION 1

CHAPTER 1: GENERAL OVERVIEWS 4

1.1 Background of green building 4

1.2 The definition and rating systems of green building 6

1.3 The benefits of green building 9

CHAPTER 2: EXPERIENCES IN JAPAN AND DEVELOPED COUNTRIES IN GREEN BUILDING 12

2.1 Green Building in Japan 12

2.1.1 The concept of green building in Japan 12

2.1.2 Japan green building Coucil and Evaluation System 13

2.1.3 Energy use behaviour in Japan 16

2.1.4 Regulation for green building in Japan 19

2.1.5 Japanese experience in Green Building 25

2.2 Experiences of some developed countries in Green Building 45

2.2.1 United State 45

2.2.2 Canada 46

2.2.3 Germany 48

2.2.4 Australia 49

2.1.5 United Kingdom 51

CHAPTER 3: RECOMMENDATION FOR VIETNAM 52

3.1 Challenges of Vietnam 55

3.1.1 Overgrowing population 55

3.1.2 Predicted insecurity of energy supply 55

3.1.3 Environmental detriment and climate change 56

3.2 The green building movement 57

3.2.1 Impacts of construction industry and buildings 57

3.2.2 The green building movement in Vietnam 58

3.3 The barriers to green building in Vietnam 63

3.3.1 Education and Awareness 63

3.3.2 Cost and Funding 64

3.3.3 Technology, Products and Materials 66

3.3.4 Building Industry 67

3.4 The recommendation to promote green building in Vietnam 68

3.4.1 Education and Awareness 68

3.4.2 Programs, Initiatives and Government Action 69

3.4.3 Technology, Products and Materials 73

3.4.4 Business Case for Green Buildings 74

3.4.5 Building Industry 75

CONCLUSION 76

REFERENCES 78

Since global warming has become an undeniable fact, attention in thedeveloped world has focused on reducing resource consumption and the release

of greenhouse gases, and on the increasing conservation efforts andenvironmental protection The realization that the building industry was a hugeconsumer of energy and resources and a huge producer of pollution, waste, andgreenhouse gases meant that improvements needed to be made in this area

The green building movement aims to reduce resource and energyconsumption, increase the use of renewable energy, minimize environmentaldegradation and the production of waste, and maximize occupant health andcomfort These goals can be achieved through the use of sustainable buildingproducts and practices including modern building site environmentalmanagement techniques, utilization of recycled or locally-sourced buildingmaterials, efficient building designs to maximize daylighting, centrallycontrolled smart HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) systems,installation of green roofs and photovoltaic rooftop generators, application ofnon-toxic interior paints and finishes, use of water-conserving toilets, faucetsand showerheads, improved insulation materials and techniques, buildingdesigns that maximize open space and promote air circulation, and numerousother techniques Studies have shown that green buildings have longerlifecycles, lower maintenance and upkeep costs, reduced energy and water bills,and have higher rates of occupant satisfaction when compared to conventionalbuildings The economic, social and environmental benefits of sustainablestructures are numerous, and the increased construction and use of thesebuildings is a key component in maintaining the health of this planet

In a rapidly urbanising Vietnam, buildings consume about 36 per cent ofthe nation’s energy, and produce about one third of its carbon dioxide emissions.

As such, they make up a significant part of the country’s overall carbonfootprint With an average of 12 percent in annual construction growth in thepast decade, even greater ecological and financial losses will be sustained unlessbuilding inefficiencies are soon addressed At the same time, relevant policiesand practices can be implemented to unlock buildings’ huge potential to saveenergy, costs, as well as reduce CO2 emissions

Green buildings are a solution to Vietnam’s need to achieve sustainableurban development in an environmentally friendly manner Such structures aredefined as environmentally responsible and resource-efficient over their full lifecycles Cities – when built to green economic principles – can actually lessen asociety’s impact on the environment due to the lower levels of carbon dioxideemissions per capita from green buildings Green buildings also reduceoperating costs, improve workplace productivity, and use materials in asustainable manner

Green buildings also make good business sense If planned well, greenbuildings have little to no increase in capital construction costs, and will actuallysave significant amounts of money in the long run International FinanceCorporation’s (IFC) detailed technical study for the Vietnam Building EnergyEfficiency Code (BEEC) shows that with a 2-4 percent increase in capital costs,

a 25-30 per cent reduction in monthly energy bills is possible If implemented innew buildings across the country, this would save Vietnam billions of USdollars in energy costs, reduce the country’s dependency on imported energy, aswell as the need for developing costly new power plants

Looking at the experiences in Japan and developed countries, it’s clearthat the higher up-front costs for green buildings is offset by the higher salesprices (up to 9 per cent) and higher sales ratios (up to fourfold faster than otherbuildings) The higher asset value for green buildings is also attractive to banksand financial institutions who lend to builders and buyers The environmentaland financial benefits of green buildings are increasingly being recognised inVietnam and green buildings is key to sustainable urban development inVietnam This is reason that I choose the theme: “Green building: Experiences

in Japan and developed countries and recommendation for Vietnam” to

improve the comprehension of people and competent authorities (governmentagencies) that create the environment and improve some external factors tosupport the development of green building in Vietnam

CHAPTER 1: GENERAL OVERVIEWS 1.1 Background of green building

The concept of sustainable development can be traced to the energy(especially fossil oil) crisis and environmental pollution concerns of the 1960sand 1970s Green building (also known as green construction or sustainablebuilding) refers to both a structure and the application of processes thatare environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building'slife-cycle: from planning to design, construction, operation, maintenance,renovation, and demolition This requires close cooperation of the contractor,the architects, the engineers, and the client at all project stages The GreenBuilding practice expands and complements the classical building designconcerns of economy, utility, durability, and comfort

Green building is the practice of using healthier and more efficient land planning, construction, renovation, operation, maintenance anddemolition Today, it's much more than the original understanding of simplyincorporating recycled materials into a home Green building focuses on fivekey areas: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency,materials selection and indoor environmental quality

resource-It's important to build green to minimize the huge impact that theconstruction, operation and maintenance of homes has on the environment.Building green can ease the residential sector’s water use, energy consumptionand emission of carbon dioxide by requiring less resource consumptionthroughout the home's life cycle In addition to environmental benefits, greenbuilding has potential economic and social benefits, such as reduced operatingcosts, improved occupant productivity, minimized strain on local infrastructureand improved overall quality of life

From site planners to architects to general contractors—have the ability toincrease the use of green building practices as they select locations, designbuildings and specify materials and construction methods Additionally, homebuyers can drive green building by requesting or requiring green buildingpractices It's important for industry professionals to inform home buyers aboutthe benefits of green building and make green options available to them

Green building brings together a vast array of practices, techniques, andskills to reduce and ultimately eliminate the impacts of buildings on theenvironment and human health It often emphasizes taking advantage

of renewable resources, e.g., using sunlight through passive solar, active solar,and photovoltaic equipment, and using plants and trees through green roofs, raingardens, and reduction of rainwater run-off Many other techniques are used,such as using low-impact building materials or using packed gravel orpermeable concrete instead of conventional concrete or asphalt to enhancereplenishment of ground water

While the practices or technologies employed in green building areconstantly evolving and may differ from region to region, fundamentalprinciples persist from which the method is derived: siting and structure designefficiency, energy efficiency, water efficiency, materials efficiency, indoorenvironmental quality enhancement, operations and maintenance optimizationand waste and toxics reduction The essence of green building is an optimization

of one or more of these principles Also, with the proper synergistic design,individual green building technologies may work together to produce a greatercumulative effect

On the aesthetic side of green architecture or sustainable design is thephilosophy of designing a building that is in harmony with the natural featuresand resources surrounding the site There are several key steps in designingsustainable buildings: specify 'green' building materials from local sources,reduce loads, optimize systems, and generate on-site renewable energy

Although new technologies are constantly being developed tocomplement current practices in creating greener structures, the commonobjective of green buildings is to reduce the overall impact of the builtenvironment on human health and the natural environment by:

- Efficiently using energy, water, and other resources

- Protecting occupant health and improving employee productivity

- Reducing waste, pollution and environmental degradation

1.2 The definition and rating systems of green building

Green buildings are characterized by: • efficient management of energyand water resources • management of material resources and waste • protection

of health and indoor environmental quality • analysis of the life cycle costs andbenefits of materials and methods

The Office of the Federal Environmental Executive in United Statesoffers a useful definition This agency defines this term as: the practice ofincreasing the efficiency with which buildings and their sites use energy, water,and materials, and reducing building impacts on human health and theenvironment, through better siting, design, construction, operation, maintenance,and removal—the complete building life cycle

Similarly, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines greenbuilding as follows: The practice of creating structures and using processes thatare environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building’slife-cycle from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance,renovation and deconstruction This practice expands and complements theclassical building design concerns of economy, utility, durability, and comfort.Green building is also known as a sustainable or ‘high performance’ building

Both of these definitions mention life cycle assessment (LCA) LCA isthe investigation and valuation of the environmental, economic, and socialimpacts of a product or service In the context of green buildings, LCA evaluatesbuilding materials over the course of their entire lives and takes into account afull range of environmental impacts, including a material’s embodied energy;the solid waste generated in its extraction, use, and disposal; the air and waterpollution associated with it; and its global-warming potential LCA is animportant tool because it can demonstrate whether a product used in a greenbuilding is truly green

The green building rating systems were reviewed to gain a deeperunderstanding The five major rating is: BREEAM (Building ResearchEstablishment’s Environmental Assessment Method), CASBEE(Comprehensive Assessment System for Building Environmental Efficiency),

GBTool, Green Globes™ U.S, LEED® (Leadership in Energy andEnvironmental Design).

• BREEAM has a long track record in the United Kingdom, but it is notextensively used in the U.S and it is difficult to obtain current information aboutthe system Based on the information available, it would not be applicable to all

of the GSA project types (General Services Administration), specifically tenantbuild-out for leases BREEAM is updated annually; however, the currentversion is not publicly available for purchase and must be acquired through alicensed assessor The licensed assessor organization determines the BREEAMrating based on quantifiable sustainable design achievements Although most inthe sustainable design profession are aware of BREEAM and many ratingsystems have used it as their development basis, the rating system results areneither used nor recognized by U.S design professionals

• CASBEE is a relatively new system developed for the Japanese marketthat is available in English, but has not been tested in the U.S However,CASBEE is potentially applicable in the U.S market and offers the unique

“BEE approach” to representing the performance evaluation data Based on theinformation available, it would not be applicable to all of the GSA project types,specifically tenant build-out The system requires documentation of quantifiablesustainable design achievements which are assessed by trained, first-classarchitects, which have passed the CASBEE assessor examination Majormodifications are expected to be made to the system every year; however theprocess for those revisions is unknown A lot of buildings have used the systemand all of those are in Japan, thus it is relatively unknown in the U.S market

• GBTool is an international system that has been used to evaluate U.S.buildings for the Green Building Challenge, including one GSA building Withrespect to applicability to GSA project types, GBTool would be applicable forall but tenant build out and operations and maintenance applications; however,

an operations and maintenance version is under development A third party teamestablishes the qualitative and quantitative measures that are used to evaluatesustainable design achievements and expected building performance Thesystem has undergone 4 updates since its inception in 1998, which occur based

on the experiences gained through its use Due to the flexibility inherent in the

application of GBTool, it tends to require greater technical expertise toimplement than other rating systems, which has limited its exposure in the U.S.market.

• Green Globes™ US was adapted from Green Globes Canada in 2004and is the newest system considered in this review Currently, the U.S version isnot available for all of the GSA project types; however, Green Globes™ US isdeveloping tools that address the major renovation, tenant build-out, andoperations and maintenance applications The Green Building Initiative receivedaccreditation as a standards developer by ANSI and is working towarddeveloping Green Globes™ US as an official ANSI standard Currently,sustainable design and construction information is submitted on-line forthirdparty verification, which is provided by a Green Building Initiative-approved and Green Globes trained professional Following the completion ofthe ANSI process, it is expected the third party verification process will berevised The Green Globes™ US rating system was not consistently availableon-line during the review period and the current version of the on-line ratingsystem tool is still not available and no date is given for its expected completion.Although there has been much publicity around Green Globes™ US in recentyears, according to feedback provided by the Green Building Initiative, 4buildings have received Green Globes ratings and 63 buildings have registered,which means they may potentially pursue verification in the future

• Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a set ofrating systems for the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of greenbuildings which was Developed by the U.S Green Building Council LEED® iscurrently the dominant system in the United States market and is being adapted

to multiple markets worldwide The currently available LEED® rating systemsaddress all of the GSA building and project types A Product Development andMaintenance Manual is publicly available which governs how changes are made

to the LEED® rating systems The steps followed for the development of U.S.Green Building Council rating system products include technical development

by committee, pilot testing, public comment period, approval by councilmembership, and then release for public use For the existing LEED® ratingsystems, minor updates can occur no more than once a year, while major

updates are expected to occur on a 3-5 year cycle, and will follow a definedprocess including a public comment period Documentation of the quantifiablesustainable design measures are provided to the U.S Green Building Council,the developer of the LEED® rating system, for third-party verification Theassessors have been trained and must pass an assessor examination More than

400 U.S buildings have received LEED® ratings and more than 3400 buildingsare registered and therefore potentially seeking certification LEED® is not onlythe U.S market leader, but is also the most widely use rating system by Federaland state agencies, which makes it easy to communicate a building’s sustainabledesign achievements with others

1.3 The benefits of green building

Green building is not a simple development trend; it is an approach tobuilding suited to the demands of its time, whose relevance and importance willonly continue to increase The benefits to green building are manifold, and may

be categorized along three fronts: environmental, economic, and social benefits

1.3.1 Environmental Benefits

- Emissions Reduction: Pollutants released by fossil fuel fired electricitycontribute to global climate change, cause air quality issues such as acid rainand smog, and pose risks to human health Green building techniques like solarpowering, daylighting, and facilitation of public transport increase energyefficiency and reduce harmful emissions

- Water Conservation: Recycling rainwater and greywater for purposes likeurinal flow and irrigation can preserve potable water and yield significant watersavings

- Stormwater Management: Stormwater runoff can cause waterway erosion,flooding, and carry pollutants into water sources Harvesting and redirectingstormwater, building surfaces with permeable materials, and usinggreenroofs can control and utilize overflow

- Temperature Moderation: The heat retention properties of tall buildings and

urban materials such as concrete and asphalt are the primary causes of urbanheat island effect

- Waste Reduction: Construction and demolition generates a huge portion of

solid waste Building deconstruction as an alternative to full-scale demolitionresults in massive decreases of waste production

1.3.2 Economic Benefits

A common impression about green building is that the green premium istoo expensive to be considered economically feasible However, studies haveshown that the costs of green buildings are not substantially higher than regulardevelopment projects Higher construction costs can generally be avoided by theinclusion of green design from the outset of the project Additionally, greenbuildings provide an assortment of economic advantages

- Energy and Water Savings: The resource efficiency provided by green

design and technology leads to drastic reductions in operation costs that quicklyrecoup any additional project costs and continue to offer dramatic long-termsavings

- Increased Property Values: With energy costs on the rise, the low

operating costs and easy maintenance of green buildings make for lowervacancy rates and higher property values

- Decreased Infrastructure Strain: Efficient buildings exert less demand on

the local power grid and water supply, stretching the capacity of localinfrastructure

- Improved Employee Attendance: Green design emphasizes increased

natural lighting and control of ventilation and temperature-attributes thatimprove employee health and prevent absences

- Increased Employee Productivity: Employee productivity has been

positively correlated to indoor environmental conditions, and showsimprovements where green principles have been applied

- Sales Improvements: Studies show better sales in stores that utilize

natural light Retailers are increasingly using daylighting in an effort to harvestthe associated sales benefits

- Development of Local Materials: With increased attention being paid to

global climate change and the need for renewable energy sources, the field of

building design and construction is moving toward sustainability as a permanentobjective.

1.3.3 Social Benefits

- Improved Health: Poor indoor environmental quality (IEQ) resulting

from insufficient air circulation, poor lighting, mold build up, temperaturevariances, carpeting and furniture materials, pesticides, toxic adhesives andpaints, and high concentration of pollutants (typically 10 to 100 times higherthan outdoors) contribute widely to respiratory problems, allergies, nausea,headaches, and skin rashes Green building emphasizes ventilation and non-toxic, low emitting materials that create healthier and more comfortable livingand working environments

- Improved Schools: An estimated 40% of schools in the United States are

subject to poor environmental conditions that compromise the health andlearning of students The healthier environment and atmosphere in schoolbuildings utilizing green design and construction principles is shown to lead tosignificant reductions in student absenteeism and improvements in test scores

- Healthier Lifestyles and Recreation: A key element of sustainable design

is the preservation of natural environments, which afford a variety of recreationand exercise opportunities Green buildings also seek to facilitate alternatives todriving, such as bicycling and public transport, which eases local traffic whileencouraging personal health and fitness

CHAPTER 2: EXPERIENCES OF JAPAN AND DEVELOPED

COUNTRIES IN GREEN BUILDING

This thesis presents observations on the charactic, behaviour andexperiences of Japan and developed countries in green building Based on aresearch visit to Japan, a policy analysis and expert interviews carried out at theUniversity of Tokyo and practitioners, the thesis aims to answer the followingquestions, such as:

- What is concept of green building in Japan?

- How can the Japanese policy be improved to further reduce energyconsumption?

- What is experiences of Japan and developed countries in green building?

2.1 Green Building in Japan

2.1.1 The concept of green building in Japan

The Architectural Institute of Japan (AIJ) defines a green building inJapan as one that is designed ‘to save energy and resources, recycle materialsand minimize the emission of toxic substances throughout its life cycle, toharmonize with the local climate, traditions, culture and the surroundingenvironment, and to be able to sustain and improve the quality of human lifewhile maintaining the capacity of the ecosystem at the local and global levels’(AIJ, 2005)

Energy efficiency has gained much attention in Japan since the oil crisis

in the 1970s The Act on the Rational Use of Energy (It is commonly known as

“Energy Conservation Act.”) was enacted in 1979 The act imposed regulations

on energy intensive factories and widely prevalent household equipment such asvehicles, refrigerators, and air conditioners Since then, the energy efficiency ofthe targeted sectors and equipment significantly improved and exceeded theworld standard The scope of the act was subsequently expanded and strongermeasures were introduced However, the act did not cover buildings until 2005.Even by this 2005 revision, only large buildings exceeding 2,000 square meters

in floor space are regulated

The Japanese government recognizes that housing and other buildingsaccount for 30 percent of total energy consumption in Japan, with significantincreases in energy use by buildings in the past two decades compared withsectors such as transportation and industrial use Accordingly, buildings havebeen the target of a series of regulations, guidelines and incentives to improveenergy conservation reaching as far back as the Energy Saving Act of 1979.Since 2012, the Japanese government has embarked on a focused roadmap toroll out a series of building energy efficiency policies, including programs to:

1- Promote the construction of houses and buildings with higher energyefficiency performance (via labeling and energy efficiency informationprovision, promoting construction of zero energy homes in which the totalamount of energy used is roughly equal to the renewable energy created on site,promoting use of advanced carbon dioxide reduction technologies and use ofcertification programs);

2- Assure minimum energy efficiency performance of houses andbuildings via revised Energy Efficiency Standards for large, medium and smallbuildings (earliest mandatory compliance from 2017);

3- Improve energy efficiency of existing houses and buildings (viapromotion of renovations, improvement of building materials and equipment,and considering evaluation and labeling system for energy efficiency); and

4- Increase capabilities of individuals and organizations (trainings,evaluations, improving quality of building materials and equipment)

2.1.2 Japan Green Building Council and Evaluation System

The Japan Green Building Council (JGBC) (www.jgbc.com/) wasfounded in 1998 with 83 members The JGBC, with 126 members to date, iscurrently more of a service-based green building council compared to otherssuch as the USGBC It offers free services, such as energy audits and surveysmeasuring surface temperature, whether wood is properly engineered or not,water use and treatment, and lighting efficiency The goal is to gather data inorder to prove the validity of JGBC with this information in hand The JGBC isalso a member of the World Green Building Council (WGBC) The Japanesegreen building movement is younger than initiatives in many other countries and

Japanese architects continue to lack considerable interest in green building.Currently architects design for ecological resistance or modern attractiveness,but these styles are also changing to incorporate more green practices andprocedures To date, the JGBC does not have a rating system for greenbuildings Additionally, the Japanese government is helping to increase greenbuilding awareness as it demands that new buildings be green and that olderbuildings be greened Japanese materials manufacturers are also beginning tomake green products, but this continues to be at a relatively low level Cost-competition is very important among Japanese buyers because it is usually moreexpensive to obtain products from abroad About a quarter of the companiesregistered under the JGBC are based outside of Japan, and want to sell theirproducts to the growing Japanese green building market So, while the maingoals of the JGBC include the promotion of green building awareness and theprovision of greening services, encouraging Japanese manufacturers to createmore green products is also a large concern The aim of the JGBC is to reducethe environmental impact of the nation’s buildings through improvements inplanning, construction and waste disposal Certified as a national nonprofitorganization in 2003, its website already receives over 1,000 hits per month andmembership is steadily increasing Apart from its building auditing andsurveying services, the JGBC has not yet started many other green buildingprojects or procedures Apart from a handful national green building seminars,the JGBC has so far played the role of a participant in initiatives put forward byother countries Such initiatives include the 1999 Green Building Tour in theUnited States and various World-GBC meetings But for a country that looks togradually build up its own green building council, participating in initiativesstarted by other leading countries and learning from them is certainly aneffective approach that will make the JGBC a leader in the near future There isalso another large green building organization in Japan The Japan SustainableBuilding Consortium (JSBC) was established in April 2001 as a joint frameworkbetween industry, government and academia, under the auspice of the JapaneseMinistry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport The research activities of theJSBC have already provided numerous positive outcomes, the most importantbeing the Comprehensive Assessment System for Building EnvironmentalEfficiency (CASBEE) CASBEE is designed to evaluate the environmental

performance of buildings – similar to how the LEED and BREEAM (BuildingResearch Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) systems function.The intent is for CASBEE (along with LEED and BREEAM in their 39 ownjurisdictions) to be applied extensively by the building industry in each stage ofbuilding construction in the near future, and to gradually transform the market infavour of more sustainable development.

Provisions pertaining to fundamental “green” areas, such as energyefficiency, indoor air quality and water efficiency, are included in Japan’sBuilding Standard Law (BSL) On the market-based “pull” side of the equation,the Japan Green Building Council maintains the building rating system known

as the Comprehensive Assessment System for Built Environment Efficiency(CASBEE) Criteria for this voluntary rating system include energy (thermalload, natural energy, building system efficiency), water efficiency, and indoorenvironment (sonic, thermal, illumination, air quality), among other ratingcategories

Preceding the revision to the Energy Conservation Act, a national greenbuilding certification called CASBEE was launched in 2001 It wasapproximately ten years after BREEAM was launched in the UK and five yearsafter LEED was launched in the US As BREEAM and LEED, CASBEE adopts

a multifaceted approach to assessing sustainability It evaluates varioussustainability aspects including (1) indoor environment, (2) quality of services,(3) outdoor environment on site, (4) energy, (5) resources and materials, and (6)off-site environment CASBEE provides a comprehensive measure called BEE(Building Environment Efficiency), which is the ratio of the value of

“environmental quality (Q)” to the value of “environmental load (L).” At theend of March 2015, 16,471 buildings were certified In 2012, a variation ofCASBEE called CASBEE Real Estate was launched This is a simplifiedversion of CASBEE and designed to reduce the time and cost of evaluation

CASBEE, an environmental assessment method for buildings, hasbecome synonymous with the definition of sustainable building and its qualityassurance in Japan Unlike the case of European evaluation systems, thebuilding environmental efficiency (BEE) is addressed in relation not only to theenvironmental load (L) but also to the quality of the building (Q) (Murakami et

al., 2006) Environmental quality (Q) consists of the indoor environment(including acoustics, lighting, thermal comfort and air quality), service quality(including adaptability, flexibility and durability) and outdoor environment.Environmental load (L) consists of energy, materials and off-site environment.There are similarities to Western assessment systems such as BREEAM orLEED, although in the energy criteria, for example, a building achieves

‘excellent’ rating 50% more easily in CASBEE than in LEED (Kawazu et al.,2005) In the context of the outdoor environment, in CASBEE there is anabsence of biotopes in the assessment (no compensation for green space) andlimitation to urban environment, including a reduction for the heat island effect.The CASBEE assessment for new construction is valid for three years and theassessment for existing buildings is based on operation records a minimum ofone year after completion The use of the tool is voluntary but encouraged inseveral policy documents, for example the MLIT Action Plan and the KyotoProtocol Target Achievement Plan (Matsuo, 2006), but the expert interviewsindicate that, in practice, use is limited due to the excessive criteria – with its sixelements and numerous sub-categories the evaluation takes three to seven days,although a simpler version can be done in two hours In order to increase the use

of CASBEE it has been linked to other policy instruments in local governance

In Osaka City, for example, only buildings ranked above ‘A’ by CASBEE,based on a self-assessment, can apply for subsidies (Osaka City PlanningDepartment, 2009) In Kawasaki and Sapporo City, a ‘B+’ assessment mayentitle the holder to a lower interest mortgage In Nagoya City, ‘S’-rankedbuildings (the highest sustainability performance) are permitted to use apremium extra-floor area ratio and the CASBEE results for residential buildingsmust be displayed on sales advertisements

2.1.3 Energy Use Behaviour in Japan

It was observed during my visit to Japan, and confirmed by the expertinterviews, that there seem to be at least four characteristics typical of householdenergy use behaviour in Japan that need to be considered in order to understandthe energy performance and policies in the housing sector

First, the Japanese traditionally prefer to heat one room rather than awhole house Heating the whole house is considered as wasting behaviour – and

considering the low insulation levels it is The Japanese often use appliancessuch as convectors or the traditional kotatsu heating (a low table with an electricheater under the table covered with a kilt), whose use was estimated to be 76%

in 2004 (Murakami et al., 2009) Air-conditioners are installed in 87% of thehouses in Japan and an average household owns 2.3 units (Murakami et al.,2009) but house-wives who are at home in the daytime would not use the air-conditioning for themselves but only put it on in the evening when the wholefamily is at home The difference in energy use patterns between Europe andJapan could be described as the concept of person heating (Japan) versus spaceheating (Europe)

Second, greater fluctuations in comfort levels are accepted Indoortemperature is kept between 18 and 20C, and the night-time room temperaturescan be as low as 10C, although in colder climates such as Hokkaido higheraverage temperatures are common Lowering the indoor temperature has a greatimpact on energy consumption, In Britain, for example, for every degree that thethermostat is turned down, the heat loss decreases by about 10%, and turning thethermostat down from 20 to 15C would nearly halve the heat loss (MacKay,2009) Energy use behaviour is notoriously difficult to address in governmentpolicies, but in the commercial sector in Japan the acceptance of greaterfluctuation in comfort zone is encouraged by the ‘Cool Biz’ program Thevoluntary demonstration campaign encourages setting the air-conditioning to 28degrees in the summer and casual clothing in the commercial sector, as a part ofthe ‘team minus 6% campaign’ that aims at moderating temperature settings forspace heating and cooling and reducing the duration and frequency of use ofappliances The program is estimated to result in a saving of 460 000 tons ofCO2 and a public awareness of 96% has been reported (Murakami et al., 2009).The policy has recently been adopted by the United Nations

Third, there is a strong culture to turn off heating/cooling (and lights)when it is not necessary Research comparing energy use patterns in Norwayand Japan found out that Japanese heating behaviour is more disciplined than inEurope (Wilhite et al., 1996)

Fourth, in general the Japanese (especially women) seemed to have abetter grasp of energy consumption compared with Norway (Wilhite et al.,

1996) This may be due to a monthly billing system that can give a better grasp

of the actual energy consumption – instead of having an annual energy billbased on predictions

The share of hot water consumption is remarkable in Japan due to bathculture (also washing dishes under running water) Most dwellings have bothbath and shower, although the bath water is often reheated among familymembers There is potential for solar energy in heating hot water: 8% of energyfor residential hot water supply in Japan came from solar water heaters in 1990(Murakami et al., 2006) In contrast, hot water is not always used in doing thedishes or washing clothes Another difference is that fluorescent light ispreferred in Japanese homes instead of incandescent light as in Europe (feeling

of warmth and the atmosphere is regarded to come from materials notincandescent light) and ceiling lighting instead of lighting spots

The focused heating concept has been supported by the communal way ofliving but the lifestyle is in flux and has become more individual – now morerooms are heated or cooled because members of the family do different things

by themselves and go to bed later Furthermore, the average floor area of a newdwelling has increased to 107m2 (still modest compared with 211m2 in the US),which together with a decrease in household size are a factor for increasedenergy consumption The number of households in Tokyo, for example, isexpected to increase by 31% compared with the 1990 level by 2005 (Murakami

et al., 2006) If it is presumed that a person in a single-person householdconsumes energy with a factor of around 1.4 compared with a person living in afour-person household (Boardman et al., 2005), this will have drasticimplications for energy consumption figures in the household sector

Japanese research results indicate that lifestyle changes are more effectivethan increasing the thickness of thermal insulation (Murakami et al., 2006,2009) In a study by the University of Osaka, energy consumption in a casestudy was reduced with energy-saving behaviour by 38% (relative to thebaseline case), compared with 8% reduction if all buildings were brought up tothe 1999 standards There is not much research on the culture and the motivationbehind the disciplined energy use of Japanese households A monthly energybill may be an essential factor supporting the disciplined energy saving

behaviour: in Europe the impact of monthly feedback has been estimated at up

to 10% (Darby and White, 2005; Darby, 2006) Japanese survey results haveshown that electricity use can be reduced by about 10% by visualizing energyconsumption (Ueno et al., 2005) Yamatake Corporation, for example, hasdeveloped a web-based building energy monitoring and control system thatallows owners to estimate heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC)energy use for an individual tenant The Energy Monitoring System by MisawaHomes is capable of displaying information on room-by-room energyconsumption (including CO2 graphs), including electricity, gas and water andhome appliances, plus PVs or fuel cells; as part of the energy managementsystem lithium batteries can store cheap night-time electricity or solar surpluspower The use of the system, however, is at present limited by its costs (USD2,500)

The results of the study by Gatersleben et al (2002) suggest two measures

of environmentally significant behaviour: an intent-oriented and an oriented measure An intent-oriented measure focuses on behaviours that anactor considers as environmentally significant but that do not reflect the actualenvironmental impact of behaviour patterns; a low correlation between pro-environmental attitudes and household energy use has been reported(Gatersleben, 2000) Household energy use is primarily related to determinantssuch as income and household size Considering the not particularly sustainablewaste and water consumption habits, and the relatively new concept ofsustainability in Japan, the disciplined behaviour is likely to be attributable toculture rather than particularly pro-environmental attitudes or policies

impact-2.1.4 Regulations for Green Building in Japan

Japan’s regulation of building energy efficiency falls under the EnergyConservation Law that was first adopted in 1979 Subsequently amended severaltimes, the last major revision was in 1999 Within the Energy ConservationLaw, there are several sections that apply to the building sector, includingCriteria for Clients on the Rationalization of Energy Use for Buildings, and theDesign and Construction Guidelines on the Rationalization of Energy Use forHouses Beyond regulations, Japan has also fostered a number of non-regulatoryprograms to promote building energy efficiency, including an Energy Efficiency

Center of Japan (ECCJ), the CASBEE rating system for green buildings, and afour-level ranking system for housing performance In the two and a halfdecades since energy conservation was identified as a high priority for thegovernment, Japan has established a multi-tiered system for promoting buildingenergy efficiency.

In 2006, the Japanese government replaced the more quantity-focusedHousing Construction Planning Act with the Basic Act for Housing, and setsome key targets vis a vis carbon reduction By 2015, Japan wants 40% ofhousing to be energy efficient, a stretch up from 18% in 2003 In addition, the

2006 New National Energy Strategy committed to improving policy forinformation provision and financial support on energy efficiency in the housingsector The 1979 Act Concerning the Rational Use of Energy, through itsEnergy Conservation Judgement Standards, already prescribes things such asinsulation and airtightness for newly built or extensively renovated buildings.This law has been amended several times since it was passed so as to tighten thestandards, which are now comparable to those in Europe and the US Furtheramendments, due to come into effect soon, include mandatory indication of theenergy saving performance of residences and buildings

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), environmentalpolicy measures that have had a strong impact in Japan have been regulatory.The policy overview shows, however, that the impact of legislation on thebuilding sector is limited The Energy Conservation Law was introduced in

1979 and revised in 1999, with major consequences for new construction andappliances that are aimed at Canadian standards (Matsuo, 2006) As a result ofthe ratification of the Kyoto Protocol in 2002, the Kyoto Protocol AchievementPlan was published in 2005 (revised in 2008), putting more demands on theconstruction sector Despite the 6% CO2 reduction target, however, theemissions in Japan increased by 6% between 1990 and 2006; industry reducedits CO2 emissions by 5% but the housing sector increased its emissions by 31%(EU–Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation, 2008a, 2008b) Further pressure

to save energy is expected as the residential/commercial sector accounts for 30%

or more of final energy consumption and has grown remarkably compared withthe industrial and transportation sectors (Sakamoto, 2009), in a situation where

95% the Japanese energy supply is exported The housing sector is prioritized asone main area of the national energy policy, but complex energy savingperformance metrics, high costs, insufficient knowledge and a lack of incentiveshave been identified as main barriers in the building sector.

The Energy Efficiency Standard for buildings was introduced in Japan in

1980 In two decades, the thermal requirements have been sharpened In theTokyo region, for example, the heat loss factor 5.2W(m2 /K) in 1980 wasreduced to 2.7W(m2 /K) in 1999 (Hirano, 2008) Thermal insulationspecifications were set from 30 to 100mm (walls) and 40 to 180mm (roof).Since 1999 double glazing is expected in new construction Thermal regulationsare based on performance based standards for an annual heating and coolingload, and prescriptive standards and performance based standards for thermalloss coefficients, and they include a formula for passive solar systems Despitethe revisions of the Energy Saving Law regarding buildings and appliances,however, the impact of the thermal regulations is limited by the fact thatbuildings less than 300m2 are exempted Considering that 50% of the stockconsists of individual houses, in practice most thermal regulations do not applyfor residential buildings The lack of thermal regulations in the housing sectormeans there is a huge renovation potential in the existing stock The governmentaimed to increase the compliance with the 1980 energy efficiency standard (29%

of the stock in 1996) to 67% of the total building stock by 2004, but how thepolicy will be applied to private housing is ambiguous The interviews indicatethat there seems to be an ideology that private parties cannot be regulated andrequirements should be limited to industrial parties only Furthermore,discussions with practitioners indicate that there are many exemptions inpractice and a lack of monitoring regarding any building regulations andcompliance

During the research visit to Japan it became clear that the passive houseconcept has not reached Japan in full force 25 000 solar houses (based onpassive solar and collected warm air) have been built (Murakami et al., 2006)but they rely on passive measures without elimination of a heating source.According to Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry(METI), due to the hotand humid climate it is hard to eliminate the cooling need that makes a building

without any energy supply very hard to implement A zero energy building(ZEB) concept launched in 2009 by METI allows on-site energy supply Bydefinition, a ZEB achieves a 100% reduction in energy use through energyefficiency and the use of local renewable energy sources on site (Sakamoto,2009) The ZEB measures include passive solar energy, PV, use of naturalenergy and ventilation, high efficiency heating, high efficiency lighting, lowenergy equipment, use of intelligent technology to control lights and theencouragement of sharing energy facilities (heating cooling) among buildingsand the potential of urban thermal energy The ZEB program targets new publicbuildings to be zero carbon by 2030 with an economic stimulus package, eventhough, as recognized at METI, its impact is limited as it is a policy not a strictregulatory mechanism.

In the commercial sector, the revision of the Energy Conversation Law in

2006 set more obligations for building owners and Energy ServiceCompanies(ESCOs) to inform consumers about operational energy use andenergy saving measures in their estates The mandatory sustainable buildingreporting scheme requires owners of residential buildings over 2000m2 to reportenergy conservation measures to local authorities in new construction and large-scale refurbishment If the energy use is considered excessive after aninspection, improvements are suggested (ordered) If no action is taken at thisstage, the name of the building owner is published (a ‘name and shame’ policy)with a risk of a sanction of USD 11 000 (one Million yen) According to METI,

no actions were necessary for non-compliance until now

The market transformation strategy on energy efficient appliances plays akey role in the Japanese energy policy In the Top Runner program, an energyperformance target for each appliance is set based on the most energy efficientdevice in the market; usually a time frame of eight years is given for themanufacturers to maximize the energy efficiency, after which non-compliantappliances are not allowed in the market There are sanctions for non-compliance, for example setbacks in shipping values, and research andmarketing assistance for forerunners With the Ecodesign Directive(2005/32/EC, revised in 2009), the EU aims to implement a similar policy andinformation concerning the product's environmental performance and energy

efficiency must be visible if possible on the product, but there is no directprovision for mandatory requirements, making the Directive more of acommunication than a regulatory tool.

The Top Runner has become a minimum energy standard for all products

in the market and most products go beyond it In order to transfer the first curve

to the second one, and decrease the variation of energy performance in themarket, mandatory energy performance requirements are used to eliminate weakproducts from the market The mainstream market is greened with energy labelsand eco-action points Since 2009, Japan has been one of the first countries totest eco-action points for consumers (Kutsukake, 2009) When a consumermakes an energy efficient purchase (refrigerators, air conditioners or TV setsthat are verified by a simple voluntary energy label expressing in colour whether

a product is above/below the Top Runner Standard) eco-action points arereceived in return The points can be saved, donated or used for energy efficientappliances or train tickets within three years R&D subsidies are reserved for theindustry to facilitate new high-performance standards Based on these policyinstruments, the market will gradually be transformed to resemble the thirdcurve, where high energy efficiency has become a standard and the deviation ofenergy performances is small

The Energy Conservation Centre is responsible for controlling the TopRunner program and the results indicate it has been highly effective; energyefficiency standards have increased for air-conditioning by 70% as a result ofthe programme and for most other products by 50% (Matsuo, 2006) The totalenergy savings are expected to reach 0.35 EJ (Exajoules) by 2010, comparedwith the total annual household consumption of around 2 EJ in Japan (Geller etal., 2006) The annual cost of air-conditioning was estimated to be around USD

1460 before 1980 and USD 570 in 1999 (Hirano, 2008), suggesting a radicalimprovement in the energy efficiency of appliances There is a risk, however,that the technological cap of saving potential in the Top Runner program hasbeen achieved: most of the cost effective changes have been adopted already andfurther improvement in energy performance of the appliances may be costly(Energy and Natural Resources Committee, 2006)

Energy saving measures in buildings often have a low cost-effectivenesscompared with those for other sectors, and there is a lack of incentive to invest

in energy improvements due to the short life-cycle of the buildings Regardless

of the energy prices in Japan, which are among the highest in the world (but so

is the income level), most houses do not last long enough to make theinvestments worthwhile The land prices are very high in Japan compared withthe value of the houses, leaving little space for anything extra such asenvironmental measures (an average the price of a new house including land isaround USD 350,088 compared with USD 207,000 in the US) (Ministry ofConstruction, 1996) Moreover, the housing market is dominated by the owner-occupied sector (60% of the tenure) and there is a very small percentage ofsocial housing, so the target group of sustainable building policy is thenotoriously difficult private sector with little capital to invest The governmenthousing loan company (GHLC) has been privatized, limiting the possibility toinfluence housing with long-term low-interest loans, with advantageous loansfor better thermal performance

The Japanese government has recognized these gaps and introduced fiscalmeasures to facilitate CO2 reduction in buildings Between 1999 and 2006, USD49.8 million was allocated to home-owners for energy efficient improvements(excluding social housing), and USD 2.90 million for renovation (IEA, 2008).The ‘Leading project for CO2 emission reduction from housing and building’ –

a subsidy program – started with a budget of USD 50 million in 2008 The newenergy and industrial technology development organization (NEDO) allocatessubsidies for new energy and technologies in new construction and the existinghousing: most cover roughly one-third of the costs of energy efficient appliances

or renewable energy technologies such as PVs (Kutsukake, 2009) PVs, forexample, are subsidized around USD 2692 per household (USD 769 per kW) orthere is a possibility of a reduction of tax income (10% of the installation costs

of a PV system) Despite the USD 150 billion spent in the previous subsidypackage, however, there have been just 21 653 applications, whereas no lessthan 35 000 were expected (Japan Photovoltaic Energy Association, 2010) Thismay change in the near future resulting from the feed-in tariffs (FITs) In 2009,METI launched a New Solar Power Purchase System that requires ESCOs topurchase at fixed prices surplus electricity generated by PV panels installed for

household use The purchase price of electricity from solar power home ownerswill be double the current price at USD 0.53 per kWh during the contract period

of 10years (the price is reviewed on an annual basis and is expected to belowered when PV generating costs drop with the widespread use of PVgeneration) The FIT scheme supports the government's market-oriented plan toexpand the PV generation to 20 times the current level by 2020

2.1.5 Japanese Experience in Green Building

The Japanese realized long ago that energy efficiency and conservationwere crucial in saving money and in slowing global warming In 1978, theJapanese Government created the Energy Conservation Centre in order toaddress the looming energy crisis The mission of the Energy ConservationCenter, Japan (ECCJ) is to promote the efficient use of energy, protect the planetfrom global warming and encourage sustainable development It employs 128people (as of April 2005), and has a physical presence in 8 cities throughoutJapan The activities of the ECCJ are numerous and include: energyconservation audit services for all kinds of buildings; education and training onenergy conservation; examinations for energy managers; the distribution ofinformation (successful case studies; new energy conserving technology, etc);technological research and development; evaluations of energy efficientappliances; implementation of the Energy Star labeling program; energyefficient product retailer assessments; energy education and primary and middleschools; energy conservation campaigns and exhibitions; recognition of industryleaders; record keeping; survey work; and international work with othergovernments and NGOs Currently there are 2,834 Japanese companies thatbelong to the ECCJ, with expertise from a wide variety of different sectors andfields The ECCJ outlines current requirements under the Japanese energy policyand recommends ways that various groups (ie home owners, factory managers,building supervisors, etc) can act to conserve energy It has special criteria forfactories, houses, commercial buildings, and other specified equipment TheECCJ also has a section describing Japan’s current policy to deal with globalwarming, for reference purposes

The ECCJ also organizes financial assistance initiatives to accelerate theintroduction of energy efficient technologies and equipment into the industrial

and commercial sectors The Development Bank of Japan along with theOkinawa Development Finance Corporation will offers loans at reduced rates tocompanies for the following projects: installing additional equipment for thecollection of non-used energy, such as waste heat, or the installation ofequipment which raises the energy efficiency of the facilities by 20% or more;repair projects contributing to improvements in energy conservation; andprojects that will introduce cogeneration facilities with a minimum 60%efficiency rating and a 50kW or more output level The Japan FinanceCorporation for Small and Medium Enterprises, the National Life FinanceCorporation and the Okinawa Development Finance Corporation also offerssome incentives to SMEs for the following kinds of projects: projects which willresult in the improved energy efficiency of the facilities (including renovationsand updates of existing facilities); projects which will replace obsolete industrialfurnaces and boilers or projects that will install additional equipment which willincrease the efficiency of this equipment (such as appliances that run on waste-heat); and projects that will install equipment that uses alternative energysources as fuel.

There are also numerous commendation and recognition programs fromthe ECCJ to promote awareness of the importance of efficient energy use In theCommendation Program for Excellent Energy Managers, a commendationcertificate is given to individuals who have long been pursuing energymanagement and who have made an outstanding effort in efficient energymanagement The Commendation Program for Excellent Energy ManagementFactories gives a commendation certificate to factories or business facilities thathave made prolonged efforts to rationalize energy use, have long been pursuingenergy management, and who have made an outstanding effort in efficientenergy management Both of these programs are sponsored by the Ministry ofEconomy, Trade and Industry (METI) The ECCJ runs the National Contest forSuccessful Energy Conservation Cases, where the winner is decided based onhow well the technology or methods used can apply more generally to energyconservation The Commendation Program for Meritorious Energy ManagementPerformers gives a commendation certificate to individuals who have long beenplaying a central role in energy efficiency and who have made an outstandingcontribution to promoting efficient energy management The Commendation

Program for Excellent Energy Management Engineers offers a commendationcertificate to engineers who have incorporated efficient energy managementtechniques in their work and who have made an outstanding contribution topromoting energy efficiency The Energy Conservation Grand Prize is awarded

to the creators of equipment, facilities or systems with excellence in energyconservation, which have already been launched or are soon to be launched Theprize has three genres: homeuse, commercial use, and automobiles, and entriesare judged based on energy efficiency, originality, marketability andenvironmental effects The previous 4 programs are all administered by theECCJ, which runs an award ceremony every February in Tokyo and Osaka topublicly honour the recipients and give them their certificates of excellence TheJapan Machinery Federation (JMF) also runs a commendation program, calledthe Commendation Program for Excellent Energy Conservation Equipment.Under this program, a commendation certificate will be given to companies orteams for creating energy-efficient equipment and for the group’s generalcommitment to promoting the efficient use of energy On top of thesecommendation programs, the ECCJ also sponsors contests for students in order

to encourage energy conservation practices in younger generations Amongthese programs are the Energy Conservation Poster Contest and the EnergyConservation Essay Contest for elementary and junior high school students

In order to promote energy conservation as a nationwide activity, theJapanese government has established “Energy Conservation Day” on the 1st ofevery month (starting in 1980), “Energy Conservation Month” in February(starting in 1976) and “General Check-up Day for Energy Conservation” on the1st of August and December (starting in 1980) The hope is that people will takesteps to reduce their energy use in all areas of their daily activities on EnergyConservation Day and during Energy Conservation Month, and that people will

be able to identify areas for improvement in energy efficiency on the GeneralCheck-up Days for Energy Conservation and make these changes soon

To diffuse appliances and vehicles that are highly energy efficient, therevised Japanese Energy Conservation Law makes it obligatory formanufacturers and importers to ensure their products meet energy-savingstandards The Japanese government launched the Top Runner Program based

on the revised Law in 1999, under which the standards are set based on theefficiency level of the most efficient product commercially available in a givencategory For each manufacturer and importer, the weighted average efficiency

of all units shipped within the same category must meet the standards for thatcategory by the time established for each category The targeted products areones designated as machinery and equipment which are commercially used inlarge quantities in Japan, consume a significant amount of energy when usedand require increases in energy efficiency As for the designated products,manufacturers and importers are obliged to meet the target standard valuesconcerning the “energy consumption efficiency” of those products Targetstandard values are set on the basis of the value of the most energy efficientproducts of the same category in the market An acceptable energy conservationamount is established and products may not be sold in Japan if their energyconservation is below this amount by the specified date Target standard valuesare set in classifications considering a variety of models with different sizes andfunctions for each product For example, larger refrigerators obviously consumemore energy than smaller ones, and freezers consume more energy thanrefrigerators, which is why the standards are in the form of “percentage ofenergy conserved” and why there are different standards for different products.The Top Runner Program covers a variety of different products including:passenger vehicles, air conditioners, fluorescent lights, TV sets, Video CassetteRecorders (VCRs), copying machines, computers and their accessories such asscreens, magnetic disk units, freight vehicles, electric refrigerators, electricfreezers, electric toilet seats, space heaters, gas cooking appliances, gas waterheaters, oil water heaters, vending machines, and transformers Examples of TopRunner Program standards would be that computers must conserve 83% moreenergy than they did in 1997 by 2005, and that fluorescent lights must conserve16.6% more energy than they did in 1997 by 2005

The ECCJ also arranges free energy audits for SMEs and commercialbuildings Eligible SMEs are firms whose capital is less than 100 million yen orwhose total number of employees is less than 300 In energy audits of thesefirms, one or two auditors will spend one or two days analyzing the facility, andthen make recommendations for improvements in the use of heat and electricenergy Virtually all commercial buildings are eligible for ECCJ energy audits

In these audits, two or three audit experts make an interview with the people incharge of the management standards for the building Then, they conduct an on-the-spot survey of how the facilities in the building are operated After thesurvey (which usually takes between 2 and 4 days), the auditors draw up a list ofareas which need improvement and give advice for energy conservation andefficiency.

The International Energy Star Program, established in the US in 1992, is

a voluntary efficiency labeling program designed to promote efficient products Japan reached agreements to promote certain Energy Starqualified products in 1995 The products currently covered by Energy Star inJapan are personal computers, monitors, printers, fax machines, copyingmachines, scanners, upgradeable digital cameras, and multifunction printer-copier-faxes Japan’s Energy Star initiative is directed by the Ministry ofEconomy, Trade and Industry (METI)

energy-Another labeling program in Japan is the voluntary Energy SavingLabeling Program (also known as the Energy Saving Label) Launched onAugust 21 2000, the program provides consumers with information on energyconsumption and efficiency that is easier to understand This can lead toconsumers comparing energy efficiencies so that they can select more energy-efficient products when making a purchase As of August 2004, there were 13product categories under the voluntary labeling program The original 5categories established in August 2000 were air conditioners, florescent lights,TVs, refrigerators, and freezers An additional 5 categories were established inJune 2003 and include space heaters, gas cooking appliances, gas burningheaters, oil burning water heaters and electric toilet seats In May 2004, the final

3 product categories were added These products were computers, magnetic diskunits and transformers, bringing the number of product categories to 13 and tothe present amount

The Energy Efficient Product Retailer Assessment System (EEPRAS)was started by the ECCJ in order to recognize retailers that actively promoteenergy efficient products or those who provide appropriate energy conservationinformation The System’s logo is displayed on the storefront of any shopdeemed to meet the requirements of the System The EEPRAS targets large

home appliance retailers with a floor space of at least 1,000 square meters,where at least 50% of total sales come from home appliances Top “EnergyEfficient Product Promotion Stores” are selected each year and publicized alongwith their rankings The System began in 2003 and exists to let consumers knowwhich stores sell energy efficient appliances The goal is to have consumersrecognize the value in energy efficient products, and enable them to makeeducated decisions when choosing a home appliance.

The energy required to heat water represents about 30% of the totalenergy consumption of a household For this reason a rebate system has beenintroduced in Japan to promote the proliferation of energy efficient hot-watersystems The program covers CO2 refrigerant heat-pump boilers, latent-heatrecovery boilers, and gas engine boilers because they offer energy savings ofapproximately 30%, 15% and 10% respectively compared to conventionalcombustion-type boilers This results in savings of 3 to 9 percent on a home’soverall energy bill Rebates are granted from the federal government and thesize of the rebate depends on which type of water heater is purchased

There are also numerous ESCO businesses that exist throughout Japan(ESCO stands for Energy Service Company) An ESCO Business is one thatoffers comprehensive services on energy efficiency and conservation to clients,who in return will offer a portion of their energy savings gains to the companyfor an agreed time period In 1996, Japanese society was deemed fit for ESCObusiness services, and 13 companies began operations with others looking tojoin them in the near future The Japan Association of Energy ServiceCompanies (JAESCO) was established in 1999, around the same time as theKyoto Protocol’s emergence from COP3 and the government’s formulation ofthe Law concerning the Promotion of the Measures to Cope with GlobalWarming This led to the creation of a large market for ESCO services, whichcontinues growing based on rising energy costs and the increasing benefits forenergy conservation and efficiency practices The market for ESCO businesscurrently focuses on hotels, hospitals, office buildings, and governmentfacilities, although home assessments are possible and done on occasion.Through the creation of JAESCO and its ESCO business components, theprivate sector has taken notice of the energy consulting and improvement

market The demand for ESCO services is certainly increasing, from being a17.0 billion yen (approximately $162 million Canadian) market in 1998 to being

a 51.5 billion yen (approximately $491 million Canadian) market in 2002, and it

is estimated that the potential market for ESCO services in Japan could be ashigh as 2,470 billion yen (approximately $23.5 billion Canadian) The roleESCO business will play in Japanese climate change countermeasures isexpected to continue its expansion into the future

The Japanese are also working towards the development of a home energymanagement system (HEMS) for residences and a building energy managementsystem (BEMS) for commercial and office buildings The idea behind thesesystems (also called intelligent buildings) is to use various monitoring andcommunications technologies to optimally manage energy demand at home and

in the workplace For example, the HEMS would ensure that lights are not onand that the air conditioner is not running on high when people are not homethrough the use of a motion-sensor It would keep track of open doors andwindows, cut off stand-by power for such devices as VCRs and digital cableunits, and know to decrease the amount of energy consumed by a refrigeratorwhen it is unlikely to be opened (ie during the night and during the day whenresidents are at work or at school) The BEMS would operate in a similarfashion It would turn off the lights, heat or air conditioning in rooms that areused infrequently, automatically turn off printers, copiers, fax machines andscanners mid-evening when employees are not around, and reduce the amount

of energy used by the communal refrigerators during non-working hours.Information displays would be available around the building, which could beenabled to accept manual control These systems require various motion andsound sensors to function, and could be controlled externally or in a differentarea of the building Although these systems are not completely feasible at thepresent, many of the required advances in technology have already been made,which could make them available in the near future The energy-saving potential

of such systems is huge, and they would have a considerable impact on abuilding’s energy costs if installed

The ECCJ publishes various guidelines to help builders make theirbuildings more energy efficient These guidelines include information on

insulation, building frames and supports, ventilation, heating and cooling, and hot-water supplies, interior airflow, and interior open areas The guidelinesoutline the national standards, and then provide additional information toimprove the area for optimal energy efficiency The ECCJ also promotes “SmartLife,” which is a new lifestyle based around the efficient use of energy TheECCJ conducts a variety of activities promoting Smart Life and providesinformation on energy-saving products for realizing “Smart Life.” The goal ofthe EECJ with the Smart Life initiative is to make it seem trendy so that peoplevoluntarily take up the challenge, as forcing people with regulations isineffective.

cold-The ENEX Exhibition is run by the ECCJ with support from the METIevery February (Energy Conservation Month) and is one of the largest and mostcomprehensive exhibitions in Japan regarding energy efficiency andconservation It features various kinds of energy conservation measures and newenergy technologies to provide the public with a broad range of informationconcerning energy-saving subjects across all sectors The most recent ENEXExhibition, the 2006 “Changing and shifting the energy diet of our life-style”(translated from Japanese) was held in two locations, Tokyo and Osaka, to markthe Exhibition’s 30th anniversary and to allow more people to attend 40,148visitors attended the Tokyo Exhibition, and 23,523 attended in Osaka.Organizers of ENEX 2006 felt the Exhibition helped raise visitor awareness ofenergy conservation, new sources of energy, and global environmental thinking

In April 2001, the ECCJ started the Energy Conservation EducationProgram at selected primary and middle schools to promote energy conservationactivities in each community The role of the program is to educate the children

in energy conservation, and to establish leadership in the community throughinteractive collaboration on energy conservation activities The Program ran for

3 years and provided the following support: construction of a network betweenparticipating schools, homes and communities; promotion of energyconservation education in the classroom (provided textbooks and brochures, andadvertised the Energy Conservation Poster and Essay Contests); trainingsessions for school teachers and community inhabitants and general capacitybuilding for the spread of energy conservation practices; and publication of

various energy conservation activities The Energy Conservation EducationProgram lasted until 2003, and was run in 540 primary schools and 90 middleschools across Japan.

Along the same lines as the Energy Conservation Education Program, theECCJ has developed the Energy Conservation Republic Program to be runmainly in primary and middle schools The aim of the program is to get childreninvolved in the creation and running of their school’s energy conservationpolicies so it becomes natural to them Targets are set and programs aredeveloped for energy conservation, and then actions are taken to reach thesegoals The number of republics has grown steadily since the Program wasstarted in 1998 and by 2002 there were already 69 established republics acrossJapan Although the majority of the republics have been set up in schools, theycan also exist in community centres, clubs, sports teams, and otherneighbourhood associations To enhance the nation-wide activities of the EnergyConservation Republics, the ECCJ has held Energy Conservation RepublicSummits since 2001 At the summits, republic delegates come together to sharetheir experiences, the results of their activities, and learn from each other abouthow to improve the effectiveness of their own republics At the end of thesummits, the attendees leave with new ideas and rekindled inspiration for theirown republics The attendees of these summits have also recently been given theopportunity to run a booth at the annual ENEX Exhibition, where the republicdelegates come together to promote the Program to the public The ECCJ hopesthat other countries will adopt the Energy Conservation Republic Program, andplans to extend the summits to the international level when this happens

The ECCJ has also developed an information website that allows users tocompare the energy conservation performance of electric, gas and kerosenehousehold appliances The 13 product categories currently registered in thedatabase include TV sets, refrigerators, washing machines, lighting fixtures,electronic bidets, personal computers, gas heaters, kerosene heaters, gascookers, gas water heaters and kerosene water heaters The site also explainshow to choose eco-friendly products that meet the user’s needs or conditions,and briefly outlines the benefits of increased energy efficiency

Japan is heavily dependent on imported fossil fuel, so efforts to move torenewable sources of energy are increasing To promote solar power, thegovernment spends about three billion yen a year to help companies developmore efficient solar technology Since 1994, it has spent 116 billion yen ($971million) on rebates for homeowners who install photovoltaic panels Thesesubsidies are now being phased out, but falling prices for solar generatingsystems may help the industry despite these lost subsidies The cost ofresidential solar power systems has dropped by about 80 percent in the lastdecade, to around $6,000 US for each kilowatt of generating capacity Since

1999, Japanese home buyers have been able to buy a home that requires almost

no outside energy and that results in a near-zero electricity bill (also known as azero-utilitycost house or a zero-energy house) The Hybrid-Z home is built byMisawa Homes, one of Japan’s largest homebuilders, and MSK Corporation, theJapanese distributor for Solarex Photovoltaics The Hybrid-Z home features 20distinguished and comfortable living designs and offers either a 6 or 12.5kilowatt solar electric array that covers the house’s entire roof The homes use

no natural gas or oil, so all energy use is electric, including householdappliances, cooking facilities, and a water heater Because of national net-metering, the grid-connected home sells power to the electric utility at retailrates when the system generates more than the house uses The solar modulesare assembled at MSK Corporation’s facility in Nagano and are integrated intothe roof at Misawa’s factory While it takes three days for Misawa to build themodular home, it takes only eight hours to fully install it on site Misawa Homessold approximately 1,500 Hybrid-Z homes in 1999, and expects these strongsales levels to continue The Hybrid-Z home is the first residential structure inthe world to achieve energy self-sufficiency, although other manufacturers havesince become involved in the zero-utility-cost house industry These houses onlyemit about 1/5 of the CO2 emitted by a conventional house, and are alsosubsidized by the New Energy Foundation in accordance with the subsidyprogram for residential PV systems The subsidy ratio of this program isapproximately 1/3 of the total installation cost of the solar roof, which works out

to about 3 million Yen (about $25,000 US)

The New Energy Foundation (NEF) of Japan also runs some othersubsidy and incentive programs for the installation of residential photovoltaic

power generation systems From 1994 to 1996, the NEF carried out the

“Residential Photovoltaic Power Generation System Monitor Project” with afund from METI The purposes of the project were: to promote the massproduction of PV systems and cost reduction by creating initial demand for thesystem, and to establish PV systems best suited to consumer's needs based onthe operation data collected by monitoring Initially a subsidy covered about50% of the total cost of the PV systems Under this program, 3,590PV systemswere installed with a total power output of 13MW, averaging 3.7kW per system

In 1997, in place of the above monitoring system, the “Program forInfrastructural Development of Introduction of Residential PV Systems” wasstarted by the NEF It aimed for the large-scale introduction of solar powergeneration systems for private residences This program had its budget increasedfrom 4.1 billion yen in 1996 to 11.1 billion yen in 1997 With the expansion ofthe budget, applications for the subsidy increased substantially and installationsreached 8,329 in 1997 Owing to the reduction in PV system prices, the subsidywas reduced to about one third of the actual cost, and the selection was switchedfrom lot-based one to first-come-first-served basis, so as to accept as manyapplications as possible In 1998, the subsidy was expanded to cover theinstallation of PV systems for local government buildings and housingcomplexes This caused more demand, and the subsidy fund had to growaccordingly, from 11.1 billion yen in 1997, to 23.5 billion yen in 2001 Thevalue of the subsidy depends on the maximum capacity of the solar batterymodule making up the system It was approximately 100,000 yen/kW of solargenerating capacity in 2002, although this is likely to have decreased since thendue to the continually falling prices of PV systems The NEF started the

“Subsidy Program for Residential Solar Thermal Advanced UtilizationSystems” in 2002 with the fund from METI The program budget for 2002 wasapproximately 5.8 billion yen A Solar Thermal Advanced Utilization System isconstructed from a heat accumulator, a heat collector and a circulating pumpwhich circulates antifreeze through the unit The heat collector should beinstalled adequately on the roof to obtain the subsidy, and the system works forheating, cooling and water heating The purpose of this program is to reduce thecost of the system so that it becomes more affordable and widespread The grossarea of this system (total area per heat collector x number of units) must be less

than 25m2 , and the subsidy grants a maximum of 150’000 yen per system The

2001 “Interest Subsidization Program” gives companies installing renewableenergy generation systems lower interest rates when borrowing from financialinstitutions to cover these costs The energy systems covered by this programinclude geothermal heat, waste heat, thermal energy conservation, powergeneration using waste heat, wind power generation, waste power generation,solar power generation, and hydro power generation systems The NEFsubsidizes the financial institutions, which then provide the companies withreduced interest rates

The Building Centre of Japan (BCJ) is self-described as an incubator ofnew building technologies and helps their growth and acceptance into society.The BCJ performs a wide range of activities including evaluation, research anddevelopment of new building technologies, and international cooperation anddissemination of information The BCJ contributes to the advancement ofbuilding technologies and the building industry, while improving the quality oflife for Japanese people and people around the world The BCJ has beeninvolved in research involving many new building technologies and ideas,including hyper-buildings (a structure capable of housing 100,000 people thatcould stand for 1,000 years), arcologies (a term describing the merging ofarchitecture and ecology, usually used in context with hyper-building or todescribe a sustainable hyper-building), and sustainable building practices.Recently the focus of the BCJ has been on green building, assessment of the ISO

9000 and 14001 standards, globally disseminating building information, thereview of various Japanese building codes and laws, research into prefabricatedhouses, green roofs, research into sick building syndrome, and innovativebuilding technologies (recycling building materials, sound-insulated floors andwalls, building materials with low VOC content, heat-insulating materials thatare not easily ignited, etc) When conducting evaluations of various buildingmaterials, each product is stamped with the BCJ mark of approval to show it haspassed rigorous testing The stamp is also used as an advertisement and inimproving brand image

The Government Buildings Department of the Ministry of Land,Infrastructure and Transport (MLIT) is responsible for the greening of

government buildings As with most other federal governments promoting theincreasing use of green building, the Japanese federal government is greening itsbuildings to show what can be done to reduce the environmental load of abuilding from its planning stage through its construction, use, and eventualdisposal This governmental effort includes the building of brand new greenbuildings, as well as the renovation of older buildings to incorporate newtechnologies and to make them more sustainable In July 2004, the GovernmentBuildings Department established the “Environmental Load Reduction Program

on Government Facilities (Government Green Buildings Program).” Theprogram was established based on a thorough evaluation of the measures thatneed to be taken to ensure that environmentallyfriendly practices are promotedcomprehensively in government facilities and to demonstrate that thegovernment can play a leading role in the field of public buildings To promotethe program to the public, the Government Buildings Department will activelypublish information relating to the progress of this program and environmentalload reduction, through means such as websites The department will also createand publish an annual environmental report

While Japan has its own green building rating system (CASBEE), theMLIT’s Housing Bureau runs an applications program for the recognition ofOverseas Performance Evaluation and Approval Organizations in Japan For asystem like LEED or BREEAM to become recognized in Japan, a representativefrom these rating systems must apply to the Housing Bureau and have themreview the standards and performance measures of the system If the system isdeemed valid by the Housing Bureau, then it becomes officially recognized bythe Government of Japan as an applicable green building rating system

The Japanese Building Research Institute’s Department of EnvironmentalEngineering (DEE) is developing various methods and technologies toefficiently build resource- and energy-saving, healthy, and comfortablebuildings It also studies the life styles of people, which is directly related toenergy consumption, and develops methods for evaluating and examining theenvironmental performances of buildings Current projects by the DEE includeexperimental research for residential cross ventilation, sun shading design,soundinsulation, and efficient heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC)