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

monthly quiz, they can win an environmental picture book on animals endangered by
global warming. The company aims to promote participatory approaches for
environmental communication and contribute to solving global environmental problems
through the program.
LPG fuel cell systems:
Soon after the Tokyo Gas Corporation had made its Lifuel initiative public, the Japan
Energy Corp., a Japanese refiner and energy producer, announced that it started installing
an LPG reforming stationary fuel cell system in typical households. The company began
promoting the system mainly in the Kanto area (surrounding Tokyo), installing 30 units
in the first year, and a total of 150 units within the next three years. The home fuel cell
system has an electricity generation capacity of 700 watts and a hot water tank capacity
of 200 liters, with a 65 percent or higher combined efficiency (higher heating value
standards). Liquefied petroleum gas, or LPG, is used as fuel. The company concludes
what it calls the “JOMO Smile L Contract,” a three-year contract for fuel cell
maintenance, with users, asking them to provide data and answer questionnaires on the
system usage. The company covers installation and maintenance costs for the fuel cell
system, while users only bear LPG fuel costs. This undertaking utilizes subsidies from the
Stationary Fuel Cell Extensive Demonstration Project of 2005, promoted by New Energy
Foundation, which encourages technical development and practical applications of fuel
cell systems.
Biomass Town Program:
In 2006, the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) released a
comprehensive evaluation report to examine progress made to date with its policies under
the Biomass Nippon Strategy, which promotes the nationwide use of biomass, during the
base years of 2002 through 2005. According to the evaluation from the nationwide
perspective, the overall utilization of waste biomass increased from 68 to 72 percent
(carbon equivalent), and the recycling rate of food waste improved from 10 to about 20
percent. Meanwhile, the utilization of unused biomass such as wood thinned from forests
and rice straw remained unchanged at about 20 percent since the launch of the strategy,
and the commercial use of energy crops, such as sugarcane and rapeseed, was negligible.
From the regional perspective, as of February 2006, 35 municipalities had announced
plans for comprehensive and appropriate use of biomass based on the Biomass Town
Program. From the technological perspective, the production efficiency of biomassderived
plastics showed a year-on-year increase of 20 percent, exceeding the initial goal
of 10 percent. The report, calls for positive efforts to realize the goals of Biomass Nippon,
and suggests five specific actions: promoting reductions in the volume of food waste and
greater efforts to sort this waste; enhancing the use of forest residues as unused biomass
for product materials and energy sources; realizing the stable and low-cost production of
energy crops and cultivating them on abandoned farmland; fostering human resources for
the development of the Biomass Town Program; and establishing production systems for
biomass-derived plastics similar to those for oil-derived plastics. On March 31, 2006, the
Japanese Cabinet approved a revision of the Biomass Nippon Strategy, with the view that
it is important to promote the use of biomass energy for transportation fuels. Other
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