Japanese Insurer to Save Energy and Cut 15% of CO2 emissions by 2012

Nippon Life Insurance Company, one of the biggest life insurers in Japan, announced a plan in December 2007 to cut carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 15 percent by fiscal 2012 through an original energy efficiency improvement project to be carried out at the company's 152 multi-tenanted buildings. The reduction in CO2 is expected to be equivalent to the amount absorbed by 1.4 million Japanese cedar trees, and to offset the emissions generated by about 60,000 people, the total number of the company's employees. With a total investment of about 100 billion yen (about USD 885 million), the annual reduction in CO2 emissions is expect to reach about 20,000 tons.

Of the total energy consumed in each building, lighting accounts for about 30 percent and heating/cooling accounts for 50 percent. Without compromising brightness, the company is trying to cut electricity use by switching from conventional to energy-efficient lighting fixtures, and also by installing human detection sensors for lighting, for instance in restrooms. The heating/cooling system will be controlled not for each entire floor, but for individual zones on the floor, enabling the system to heat and cool only the areas where people are present, thus improving energy efficiency.

http://www.nissay.co.jp/okofficial/english/index.html

Posted: 2008/03/07 03:16:58 PM