INAX Starts Water Conservation Project

On December 4, 2003, INAX Corporation, a major supplier of building materials and equipment, announced the full-scale launch of its Environmentally Smart Control (ESCO) Project, a service for remodeling toilet fixtures with water conservation devices.

Together with the purchase of the water conservation equipment, the ESCO project provides a comprehensive service that includes a water conservation assessment and calculation of how much water will be saved, as well as the remodeling work and a financing system. Water conservation is guaranteed, and the the customer's savings on water bills and sewage services are used to help pay off the initial investment. After the contract term expires, the customer keeps the amount saved on water bills, etc.

To take an example, for remodeling lavatory facilities in a 20-story office building with a capacity of 2,800 people, the initial investment can be reduced in exchange for paying to Inax the amount saved on water, etc., in the form of a service charge over the first ten years. From the 11th year, the building owner receives the amount saved as revenue. In this case, about 44 percent of the water can be conserved, which in terms of CO2 emissions is equivalent to a reduction of about 4,200 kilograms of CO2 per year.

INAX aims to improve its corporate image by creating demand for toilet remodeling with innovative business models that contribute to the goals of both economic efficiency and environmental conservation, in complete contrast to conventional sales of building equipment. The company intends to up its annual sales target for 2006 to 10 billion yen (approximately US $90 million).




Posted: 2004/02/06 09:11:11 AM
Japanese version