To help combat global warming, Kajima is working to provide buildings that greatly exceed national energy-saving standards, and has set a new medium-term target to reduce CO2 emissions over building lifecycles by 30% by fiscal 2011. Moreover, the company is targeting a 50% reduction of CO2 emissions from construction by 2020.
Kajima is placing its building construction design capabilities at the forefront of its efforts to provide buildings that emit the least amount of CO2 possible during building use.
One of Kajima's medium-term goals up until fiscal 2008 was to exceed standards for energy savings established by the Energy Conservation Law, and in that year, the company's average energy savings exceeded the standards by 30%. This amounted to a reduction of 31,968.8 tons of CO2 emissions during building use per year. From fiscal 2003, when figures were initially released, the annual reduction of CO2 was 152,000 tons per year, since the CO2 reduction during building operation continues every year.
To meet the new medium-term emissions reduction target in effect from fiscal 2009, as set in its voluntary energy-saving standards,* Kajima has been focusing efforts on reducing CO2 emissions by 30% by fiscal 2011 compared with fiscal 1990 throughout the building lifecycle, from construction to building use and demolition, for projects in which Kajima is responsible for design and construction.
Beyond CO2 emission reductions, Kajima has been working to improve the environmental performance of its buildings across a number of dimensions, raising its score under the Comprehensive Assessment System for Building Environmental Efficiency (CASBEE). The company is aiming to win an "A" rating for all of its projects under this system as a medium-term goal.
* Voluntary energy-saving standards consist of the following targets.
Non-residential buildings: 15% improvement over national standards for PAL and CEC, equivalent to ERR of approximately 15%
Residential buildings: Energy savings in line with Grade 3 criteria for residences as set out in the Housing Quality Assurance Act.
PAL (Perimeter Annual Load) is an indicator of a building's thermal insulation performance
CEC (Coefficient of Energy Consumption) is an indicator of energy efficiency of building facilities such as air conditioning and lighting
ERR (Energy Reduction Ratio) is the geometric mean of CEC amounts for each building facility
Performance of buildings with energy-saving design in FY2008
In fiscal 2008, Kajima reduced its CO2 emissions per unit of construction sales by 11.7% compared to the fiscal 1990 level, slightly below its target of 12% for that year. The company cut total emissions by 39%, also compared to 1990, mainly owing to improvements in construction methods, including more efficient application of heavy machinery and vehicles (saving fuel when driving, using fuel efficient heavy machinery and vehicles, and properly maintaining heavy machinery and vehicles), as well as reductions in soil volume taken from construction sites.
Looking forward, Kajima will continue using the latest energy-saving heavy machinery and vehicles as well as reviewing and improving its range of construction methods. The company will also work toward reducing total CO2 emissions by an additional one percentage point each year from the 39% reduction in fiscal 2008.
Total CO2 emissions and future target
CO2 emissions and indirect reduction volume
CO2 emissions from construction per unit of construction sales
