Green Building Japan and USGBC collaborate on further adoption of LEED in Japan

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – October 12, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — Green Building Japan (GBJ) and USGBC announced a collaboration that is designed to further accelerate the adoption of LEED v4, the latest version of the LEED building program, in Japan.

LEED provides building owners and operators with a framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions.

As part of the collaboration, GBJ and USGBC have begun a pilot test of a new Alternative Compliance Path (ACP) for Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) control that will allow qualifying Japanese projects to maintain designated smoking rooms in LEED v4 projects.

Smoking regulations in Japan are unique, as they control smoking activity both inside and outside buildings. Japanese law prohibits smoking on certain streets and in various public spaces, as well as restricting smoking activity in buildings to designated specially designed areas. The new pilot ACP offers a pathway for LEED projects in Japan.

USGBC and GBJ will engage directly with Japanese LEED project teams to refine and evolve the ACP with the goal of providing a permanent solution for the Japanese building market as soon as practical.

“All LEED projects are local,” said Mahesh Ramanujam, Chief Operating Officer of USGBC and President of the Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI). “USGBC is committed to reinforcing to markets around the world that LEED is a global green building rating system with regional and local applicability. We will continue to meet market demand on the local level.”

LEED pilot ACPs give users of LEED more flexibility to explore innovative solutions that account for variance in climate, codes, standards, culture and laws in the 150+ countries where LEED is in use.

“We are delighted by our partnership with the USGBC to advance LEED, the world’s premier green building rating system,” said Shigeru Urashima, co-founder and co-chair of the board of Green Building Japan. “Through our work and collaboration we believe this ACP removes one of the huge market barriers in Japan for LEED.”

Projects pursing LEED v4 in Japan can register to use the new ACP here. 

The ACP is open until November 1, 2016. At the one-year mark, feedback from project teams will be reviewed and ACP language will be re-evaluated to ensure it is meeting project team needs.

For more information on pilot credits, click here.

The requirements that must be met by projects in Japan utilizing this pilot ACP can be found here.

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