An Assessment of the Green Building Programs in Japan and China: Opportunities for US Wooden Building Materials?

摘要

Green or sustainable building programs incorporate the environment, the economy, and human aspectsrninto the design and construction of a building. Green buildings are created through an integrated processrnwhere the site, the building design, the construction, the materials, the operation, the maintenance, and therndeconstruction and disposal of a building are all seen as being inter-related with the environment. As arnresult of this integrated process, it is thought that buildings can be made more environmentally friendly,rnmore cost-effective and more resource and energy efficient, while providing a healthier living andrnworking environment. Green building programs are slowly but surely emerging around the world inrndeveloped countries. The focus of this report is on the green building programs in Japan and China. ThernJapanese green building program is called CASBEE-Sumai (House) and the green building program inrnChina is the Chinese Evaluation Standard for Green Building (also called the Three Star System). Inrnaddition, two other programs that have the potential to influence materials use in residential housing (thern200 Year House program and the Eco-Points program) have been adopted in Japan. This report providesrnan overview of these programs, explains the sections of the programs that relate to wooden buildingrnmaterials, and discusses how these programs could affect the use of wooden building materials in Japanrnand China.rnTo better understand builder’s, architect’s and design professional’s perceptions and attitudes towardsrngreen building programs in China and Japan, surveys were conducted in both countries. A total of 406rnsurveys were collected in Japan and 150 surveys were collected in China. In addition, a series of informalrninterviews with building professionals were carried out in each country. These results of the surveys andrninterviews are summarized in the following report.