Japanese companies are making progress in the office in their efforts to combat global warming, according to the results of an annual survey of companies by Nippon Keidanren (the Japan Business Federation) released on October 17, 2007. The survey was conducted from late August to early September to follow up on the appeal by the organization's chairperson to its member companies on July 1, 2007, for stepped-up efforts against global warming. The questionnaires were sent to 1,336 companies, and 483 (36.2%) responded.

According to the survey results, more than 90 percent of the respondents are working on "setting air-conditioners at moderate temperatures" and "switching off needless lights" as everyday energy-saving efforts in their offices, while 59.2 percent reported having numerical targets set for their environmental efforts. From among the companies that have no such targets, almost half are considering setting them.

In summer 2007, 483 companies reported they set their air-conditioners at 27.6 degrees Celsius on average. According to an estimation based on responses, approximately 28,700 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions would be reduced in a year simply by changing summertime air-conditioning temperatures to 28 degrees Celsius in the offices of 403 respondents with a reported total floor space of 27,630,000 square meters. In winter, the average air conditioner setting was 21.1 degrees Celsius. By simply changing the heating temperatures to 20 degrees in the offices of 390 respondents, reporting a total floor space of 24,470,000 square meters, it was estimated that it would result in an overall reduction of approximately 18,000 tons of CO2 emissions a year.

Companies recommending their employees and families keep a Household Environmental Scoreboard accounted for 16.1 percent, a gain of 6.7 percentage points from the previous year, while about 40 percent are planning or considering promoting use of the scoreboard system among their employees.

http://www.keidanren.or.jp/index.html

Posted: 2008/03/12 03:04:01 PM

TAG Energy , Global warming , Manufacturing industry , Non-manufacturing industry