Japanese Ministry Launches System to Assess the Environmental Performance of School Buildings

The Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) instituted an assessment system called "CASBEE for Schools," on November 29, 2010, which is designed to efficiently evaluate the environmental performance of school facilities in order to raise their level of eco-friendliness.

The CASBEE for Schools system was adapted from the Comprehensive Assessment System for Built Environment Efficiency (CASBEE), a method for assessing and ranking buildings from the aspect of environmental performance. CASBEE was developed by a committee within the Institute for Building Environment and Energy Conservation (IBEC), which has so far released versions for offices, new construction, existing buildings, and renovated buildings.

A building is given a better ranking under the system for higher environmental quality (Q) and a smaller environmental load (L) in order to qualify for being called eco-friendly. Facilities are graded on a number of assessment criteria for an overall evaluation using five ratings, from excellent to mediocre: S, A, B+, B- and C.

In promoting the creation of a low-carbon society, municipalities and other school owners are now tackling the issue of eco-friendly schools. The CASBEE for Schools program supports these goals by, for example, making it possible to figure out how much the "Q" factor (such as classroom comfort) and "L" factor (such as greenhouse gas emissions from a building) will be improved when school buildings are properly renovated.

Environment Ministry to Train Engineers in School Eco-Renovation (Related JFS article)
http://www.japanfs.org/en/pages/025853.html
First Model School's 'Eco-Renovation' Complete, Another School Selected Related JFS article)
http://www.japanfs.org/en/pages/026836.html

Posted: 2011/05/25 06:00:15 AM