Global green standards: CASBEE

What is it?

CASBEE (Comprehensive Assessment System for Building Environmental Efficiency) is Japan’s green standard. It uses building environmental efficiency (BEE) as a basis for assessment by dividing the building environmental quality and performance by the building environmental loads. CASBEE now carries out environmental performance assessment on many buildings in Japan.

When was it created?

In 2001, a joint industrial/government/academic project was initiated with the support of the Housing Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) that led to the establishment of the Japan GreenBuild Council (JaGBC) and Japan Sustainable Building Consortium (JSBC), with its secretariat administered by the Institute for Building Environment and Energy Conservation (IBEC).

The JaGBC, JSBC and subcommittees worked together on researching and developing CASBEE. Since 2004, the enhancement and diffusion of CASBEE are being promoted under the MLIT Environmental Action Plan and the Kyoto Protocol Target Achievement Plan which was approved by the Japanese cabinet on in 2005).