Green Government Building

Generally, building facilities always burden the environment with load from their planning and construction
to operation and scrapping. It is necessary to take steps for reducing the environmental load throughout the
whole life cycle of building facilities.
Guidelines for the Planning of Environment-Friendly Government Building
Chapter 1: General Provisions
a) Purpose
The purpose of these Guidelines is to contribute to the promotion of global environment
preservation measures related to the construction and administration of government buildings by
articulating the basic issues in the planning and designing of environment-friendly government
buildings based on the Standard Concerned with the Location, Scale, and Structure of Government
Buildings.
b) Definitions
1. For the purposes of these Guidelines, "environmental load" means any adverse effect on the
environment that may interfere with environment preservation generated by the construction
or operation of government buildings.
2. For the purposes of these Guidelines, "environment-friendly government building" (hereinafter
referred to as "green government building") means a government building which incorporates
efforts to lessen the building's environmental load throughout its life cycle from planning and
construction through operation and which is a model building for environment preservation
measures in the field of architecture and construction.
3. For the purposes of these Guidelines, "greenification" means the reduction of the environmental
load of government buildings.
Chapter 2: Basic Issues
a) General Issues
In the planning and designing of green government buildings, efforts shall be made to reduce as
much as possible the building's environmental load by actively and effectively adopting
greenification technologies taking into consideration the location, scale, and structure of the
facilities.
b) Approaches to Greenification
In the planning and designing of green government buildings, measures shall be taken to create an
environmental design, to ensure the conservation of energy and resources in the administration of
the building, to secure the long life of the building, to use eco-materials, and to perform appropriate
utilization and appropriate disposal of waste.
c) Assessment of Green Government Buildings
Quantitative and qualitative assessments for all forms of environmental load shall be performed as
much as possible on green government buildings, and life-cycle carbon dioxide (LCCO2) emissions
shall be used as a key index.
Chapter 3: Greenification Guidelines
a) Environmental Design
1. The placement of the facility in the building plot shall be determined with an eye to reducing the
adverse effects on the environment, including minimizing alterations to geographical features.
2. Efforts shall be made to reduce the heat load and to protect and enhance the local ecosystem
and urban environment by such measures as increasing the amount of greenery inside and
outside the facilities.
3. Efforts shall be made to prevent air, water, soil, and other pollution of the environment by such
measures as controlling the discharge of toxic substances.
b) Energy and Resource Conservation in Building Operation
1. Control of Environmental Load
i. Efforts shall be made to reduce the heat load emitted through the building itself, namely,
the walls, roof, and floor, by such measures as using construction methods and materials
with superior insulating properties.
ii. Efforts shall be made to reduce the heat load emitted through doors, windows, and other
openings by such measures as installing eaves and window panes with superior insulating
and sunray-shielding properties.
iii. Efforts shall be made to reduce the use of air conditioning and ventilation systems by
controlling the emission of heat and pollutants inside the facility.
iv. Efforts shall be made to reduce the loss of energy in utilities systems.
2. Use of Natural Forms of Energy
i. Efforts shall be made to reduce the use of electric lights by actively incorporating natural
light.
ii. Efforts shall be made to reduce the use of air conditioning by actively incorporating natural
ventilation.
iii. Efforts shall be made to use natural forms of energy, including solar power generation, solar-
powered water heaters, and cooling with outside air.
 3. Effective Utilization of Energy and Resources
i. Efforts shall be made to use energy effectively and efficiently.
ii. Efforts shall be made to lower demand peaks.
iii. The amount of electric energy used by building equipment for water circulation, ventilation,
and other conveyance shall be minimized through the use of efficient control systems suited
to the individual sections in the facility.
iv. The amount of energy used for lighting shall be minimized through the use of high-efficiency
lights and lighting systems suited to the individual sections of the facility.
v. The consumption of water resources shall be reduced by using various types of water-saving
systems while at the same time using rainwater and processed wastewater as part of non-
drinking water in the facility.
vi. The amount of energy consumed by the facility shall be kept at the minimum necessary by
constructing a management system to ensure highly reliable and optimal operation of the
facility.
c) Efforts to Ensure the Long Life of the Building
1. Efforts shall be made to facilitate the maintenance and management of the building, including
the flexible alteration of the functions conducted in the individual sections of the building, by
providing extra floor height and floor area and allowing for extra floor weight.
2. Efforts shall be made to ensure the long life of the building by using construction materials and
methods with superior durability and anti-seismic properties.
3. Efforts shall be made to use efficient, durable facilities, equipment, and systems that are easy to
maintain, manage, and replace.
d) Use of Eco-Materials
1. Efforts shall be made to use natural materials with a low environmental load.
2. Efforts shall be made to ensure the optimal usage of frames made of lumber from tropical forests
in light of the deterioration of such forests.
3. Efforts shall be made to reuse construction by-products and to use recycled materials.
4. Efforts shall be made to use module materials and materials that are easy to dismantle so that it
is easy to replace individual materials and pieces of equipment.
e) Appropriate Utilization and Appropriate Disposal of Waste
1. Efforts shall be made to reduce the amount of construction by-products and to reuse such by-
products.
2. Efforts shall be made to limit the use of materials and equipment that contain substances with
a high environmental load, and to appropriately recover such materials and equipment.
3. Efforts shall be made to incorporate systems that appropriately dispose of waste that is
produced in the operation of the facilities.