Construction firms vie to become environmentally friendly

The Japanese construction industry is stepping up efforts to develop and introduce environmental technologies, in a bid to survive a harsh business situation that stems mainly from public works spending cuts. “To ensure our survival, it is essential to make unique proposals based on technological competence,” says an executive of a second-tier construction firm. For exmple, Toda Corp. has decided to adopt advanced environmental technologies to an eight-story building under construction in the Akasaka business district in central Tokyo. Owing to the technologies, including an air-conditioning system using underground heat, the building is estimated to emit 40% less carbon dioxide than a normal office building of a similar size. Maeda Corp., on the other hand, has decided to entirely offset the CO2 emissions from the site of a redevelopment project, which will start in February, near the Iidabashi Station of East Japan Railway Co. in central Tokyo. The firm will use biodiesel made from waste cooking oil as fuel for trucks and power generators to help offset CO2 emissions from the construction site. “We want to make the project an advanced model case of environment-conscious business management,” a Maeda official said, noting that the Iidabashi project will be Japan’s first major redevelopment project where biodiesel fuel is used. (January 23, 2011)