Energy / Climate Change

September 30, 2009

 

Utsunomiya City Hall Launches Twice-a-Month Lights-Out Project

Keywords: Energy Conservation Local government 

Utsunomiya City in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan, started a semi-monthly light-off campaign in June 2009. On the designated night, all the lights in the city hall building were turned off at six o'clock, after the end of the regular work day. The city, which has been promoting increased job efficiency with a no-overtime work policy, expects the new campaign to promote its green plan to reduce electricity consumption and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

The city implemented the experimental lights-out campaign for five days in the 2008 fiscal year, and the results showed its effectiveness: 83.5 percent of the sections and work-group units switched of their lights and left their offices at the regular time. The new campaign to conduct a lights-out night on the first and third Wednesday of every month should result in 24 lights-out nights a year (20 days in fiscal 2009). That means savings of about 30,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity, or some 300,000 yen (about U.S.$3,100) of utility costs, and the equivalent of a reduction of approximately 13 tons of CO2 emissions per year. This corresponds to the same amount of CO2 absorbed by some 900 Japanese cedar trees.

In addition to the obvious environmental benefits, the city expects the new campaign will promote a better work-life balance for employees, thanks to well-planned and effective work scheduling, resulting in a steadier rhythm of work-day life and more time for employees to spend with their families.

Power Consumption Instantly Cut 29.4% in Ministry-Wide Trial (Related JFS article)
http://www.japanfs.org/en/pages/025342.html

Posted: 2009/09/30 6:00:15 AM

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