Benchmark Study on Green Buildings - Royal Architectural Institute ...

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7.4 Japan: Japan is one of the world’s leading countries in terms of green buildings because of its willingness to experiment with new technologies and practices and because of its commitment to sustainability and improving its environmental performance. Because Japan is an island and all fossil fuel must be imported, they are trying very hard to develop technology to harness the power available from renewable energy sources. Japanese firms conduct extensive R&D on alternative energy projects such as fuel cell technology, geothermal heat pumps, photovoltaic systems, and wind power generators to reduce their dependence on increasingly expensive fossil fuels. The Government of Japan creates policies and programs to promote energy conservation and efficiency through such measures as the ECCJ’s Smart Life Program, National Energy Conservation Days, National Energy Conservation Month, recognition programs for excellence in energy efficiency practices, the annual ENEX Exhibition, the publication of guidelines to improve residential energy efficiency, and more. There are also numerous initiatives in place to help consumers find and purchase energy efficient products, including the ECCJ’s Top Runner Program, the Energy Efficient Product Retailer Assessment System, and the ECCJ’s online database allowing consumers to compare the energy conservation performance of various appliances. Furthermore, Japan has two energy efficient product labeling programs (the international Energy Star Program and the national Energy Saving Labeling Program) to help consumers identify energy efficient products. So, it is clear how concerned the government is with its people’s energy consumption habits, and how strongly it is pushing for energy conservation and efficiency efforts in its country. Subsidies and incentives for greening buildings also exist in Japan. Companies who perform energy efficiency upgrades on their facilities can receive loans at reduced rates, as can companies who install renewable energy generating systems. Home owners who install PV systems on their roofs are also eligible for some cost-offsetting subsidies. The Japanese Government also recognizes that they cannot effectively push for green buildings if they do not make efforts in green buildings themselves. Therefore the Government Green Buildings Program was developed by the MLIT to provide a plan for the greening of government structures. Sustainability and resource efficiency policies are also having an influence on schoolchildren. Through the Energy Conservation Education Program, the Energy Conservation Republic Program and the Fifty-Fifty Program, children are becoming aware of these issues and are becoming involved in efforts to address them. The government’s goal through their programs aimed at schoolchildren is to promote the development and maintenance of sustainable energy and resource consumption habits from a young age. The ESCO market in Japan is also growing rapidly due to the Japan Association of Energy Service Companies (JAESCO) and the increasing societal value of energy efficiency. Other Japanese green building initiatives include R&D on home and building energy management systems, free energy audits for SMEs and commercial buildings, and the availability of zero-energy houses. Japan’s technological expertise, innovation and concern for the environment make it one of the places where green building breakthroughs are likely to occur. 21
7.5 Australia: Australia is certainly trying to show the rest of the world that it can significantly reduce its greenhouse gas emissions despite refusing to ratify the Kyoto Protocol. The Australian Government’s commitment of $1.8 billion towards their climate change strategy surely demonstrates this, and this funding has enabled the creation and maintenance of numerous multi-million dollar support programs for green buildings and related issues. Non-profit and privately run organizations are also playing a key role in supporting Australia’s green building movement. Organizations such as Sustainability Victoria, the Centre for Energy and Greenhouse Technologies, and the Sustainable Living Foundation all provide funding in various ways to green building initiatives. Other non-governmental organizations including Keep Australia Beautiful, the savewater! Alliance, the Australian Conservation Foundation, the Alternative Technology Association, and Urban Ecology Australia run programs aimed at preserving the Australian environment, increasing the use of renewable energy, conserving resources, promoting green building, and just generally supporting sustainability. In addition, numerous websites such as www.futureenergy.org, www.energyrating.gov.au, and www.thegreendirectory.com.au promote renewable energy, energy efficiency and the use of green products as well. As with most other governments in leading environmentally-conscious countries, Australia offers its share of financial incentives and rebates for businesses and home owners that buy and install a renewable energy generator, or who purchase a new energy efficient appliance to replace an old one. Australia’s Energy Rating Label and WELS water efficiency rating scheme are also playing important roles in helping consumers compare the resource consumption of various appliances, and are increasing the care being taken when purchasing new appliances. These rating systems are also putting pressure on product manufacturers to produce appliances that consume the least amount of resources possible, as they know this is becoming a key concern of consumers. Recently, the Australian Building Codes Board has updated and raised the energy efficiency requirements for numerous types of Australian buildings and homes, meaning that Australia is pushing to raise the energy efficiency levels of its new buildings. Australian SMEs also have their share of support, with a handful of government programs designed just for them to encourage the development of their innovative products and help them compete more successfully in the marketplace. Finally, Ecological Homes and ecoMaster are two leading Australian providers of green construction and home renovation services, and offer a wide variety of residential upgrade procedures at considerably low costs. 7.6 United Kingdom: Although they do not have a GBC just yet, the UK is still among the world’s leading countries in terms of its promotion of sustainable development. The number of UK organizations supporting sustainable building is very high, and includes notable organizations like the Construction Industry Council (CIC), the Home Builders Federation, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE), The Housing Corporation, and the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB). The UK also has the Ecotricity Energy Company, which only produces energy through sustainable and renewable means. Recently, the 22
Page 1: Benchmark
Page 4 and 5: Appendix A: Green Building Council
Page 6 and 7: B-4 Japan……………………
Page 8 and 9: • The Housing Corporation……
Page 10 and 11: sustainable buildings in these coun
Page 12 and 13: Levels of Certification LEED BREEAM
Page 14 and 15: Incentives for Use Other Comments L
Page 16 and 17: US Green Building Council (USGBC):
Page 18 and 19: Government of Canada, and is a foun
Page 20 and 21: 7.2 Canada: Upon the review of Cana
Page 24 and 25: TrustMark scheme was introduced to
Page 26 and 27: Along with the perception that gree
Page 28 and 29: 8.2 Recommendations & Areas for Imp
Page 30 and 31: Even in world-leading green buildin
Page 32 and 33: desires the greener development. Se
Page 34 and 35: know that they are not acting alone
Page 36 and 37: environmental quality, health and p
Page 38 and 39: A-3 Germany: Currently, Germany doe
Page 40 and 41: own jurisdictions) to be applied ex
Page 42 and 43: product approval (CE mark on a prod
Page 44 and 45: green buildings and technologies. E
Page 46 and 47: the rest of the SAI program is set
Page 48 and 49: groups. The ACEEE is not a membersh
Page 50 and 51: encourages students to apply the le
Page 52 and 53: conditions, and eventually they are
Page 54 and 55: companies conceive, propose and exe
Page 56 and 57: een called upon to reduce their ene
Page 58 and 59: 2005. The expanded program will hel
Page 60 and 61: voluntarily report on results. The
Page 62 and 63: the purchase and installation of a
Page 64 and 65: into a clean energy future and requ
Page 66 and 67: Energy Star & various rebates: The
Page 68 and 69: smaller-scale municipal infrastruct
Page 70 and 71: NGO & NPO programs and incentives:
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council has said that the municipal
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Deutsche Energie-Agentur (DENA) Nat
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natural open space caused by develo
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government covering a portion of th
Page 80 and 81:
took place in 1998 and 1999 togethe
Page 82 and 83:
ECCJ reduced rate loans: The ECCJ a
Page 84 and 85:
standards would be that computers m
Page 86 and 87:
ensure that lights are not on and t
Page 88 and 89:
ebates for homeowners who install p
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product is stamped with the BCJ mar
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esulting in about one-third the car
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initiatives proposed include accele
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the Australian Academy of Sciences.
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or enabling renewable energy techno
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home more energy efficient. It can
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energy, gas-fired generation and en
Page 104 and 105:
active solar technologies and passi
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ecological footprint of Australian
Page 108 and 109:
sustainable living and technologies
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work. As a non-profit association,
Page 112 and 113:
enewable energy target (MRET). This
Page 114 and 115:
electricity and invest it in clean
Page 116 and 117:
only single body able to speak with
Page 118 and 119:
Other CABE initiatives and awards i
Page 120 and 121:
these Smart Meters could help users
Page 122 and 123:
under this system include office eq
Page 124 and 125:
themselves to be living somewhere s
Page 126 and 127:
energy-saving technologies. With Lo
Page 128 and 129:
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Ene
Page 130 and 131:
British Columbia Ministry of Provin
Page 132 and 133:
The Sustainable Condo website. Acce
Page 134 and 135:
Japan for Sustainability Informatio
Page 136 and 137:
Energyrating.gov.au. Accessed Augus
Page 138 and 139:
Energy Saving Trust website. Access
Page 140 and 141:
Environmental Choice Program inform
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