Responding to Climate Change

Green Building Initiatives

Green Building Initiatives

Green Building Initiatives

The Sumitomo Forestry Group is developing medium- to large-scale wooden constructions in order to achieve net zero carbon emissions and realize a decarbonized society.

In addition to the environmental performance of the project, such as the carbon storage effects of wood, we are promoting a design that takes into consideration the convenient location, health of employees, and comfort of work. The company aims to obtain environmental certifications related to green buildings such as LEED*¹ and WELL*², a health-conscious office certification, to provide offices with high social and environmental added value.

*1 An environmental performance evaluation system for buildings and site use developed and operated by The US Green Building Council (USGBC)

*2 WELL Building Standard. A building evaluation system that focuses on people's health and comfort. The functions that affect wellbeing are certified in four levels based on the scores obtained after a documentary and on-site audit based on 10 concepts

Environmentally Conscious Office Development Project in the United Kingdom

In February 2022, Sumitomo Forestry formed a joint venture with the U.K. real estate developer Bywater Properties Limited to participate in a six-story wooden environmentally conscious office development project in London.

The estimated CO₂ emissions of the project during the procurement of raw materials, processing, transportation, construction, renovation, and disposal (embodied carbon) is approximately 543 kg CO₂e/ per unit floor area (m²). The property is expected to achieve a reduction of approximately 28% by 2025, five years ahead of the 2030 target of 750 kg CO₂e/m² set by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA*¹), making it a pioneering initiative in the United Kingdom. We are also working to reduce CO₂ emissions during building use (operational carbon) by designing buildings to energy conservation and energy creation specifications and combining this with the use of renewable energy.

The project plans to obtain the highest level of BREEAM*² environmental certification, WELL health-conscious office certification, and WIRED SCORE *³ smart building certification.

Sumitomo Forestry will continue to deepen the knowledge of advanced environmental measures and develop medium- to large-scale wooden constructions overseas in order to realize a decarbonized society.

*1 Royal Institute of British Architects. An association of leading British architects. Developing guidelines for setting, designing, and evaluating sustainability in architecture, and other activities

*2 BRE Environmental Assessment Method. A method for evaluating the environmental performance of buildings, developed in 1990 by Building Research Establishment (BRE) and Energy and Environment (ECD), an energy and environment consultant

*3 An evaluation system that ranks internet connectivity in real estate. It has been introduced in 36 countries and is evaluated based on indicators such as comfort and stability of Internet connection and usage environment

ESG-Conscious Office Development Project in Georgia, the United States

Crescent, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sumitomo Forestry, has decided with Daibiru USA, LLC to develop ESG-conscious offices near Atlanta, Georgia in December 2022.

A new three-story wooden office building and parking lot building will be constructed, and two existing school and gymnasium buildings will be converted to offices. CO₂ emissions are reduced through renovation and reuse of existing buildings compared to demolition and new construction. The company also aims to obtain LEED environmental certification and Fitwel* wellness certification, and will provide socially and environmentally added value offices to ESG-conscious tenants.

* A system developed by the General Services Administration (GSA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to evaluate and certify the health and working environment of building users

ESG-Conscious Office Development Project in Texas, the United States

In December 2022, Sumitomo Forestry, together with Iino Kaiun and Kumagai Gumi, participated in the development of a seven-story wooden ESG-conscious office building near Dallas, Texas, in the United States. These three companies will establish a special purpose company (SPC) with Crow Holdings, a leading developer in the United States, to construct a large-scale wooden office building of mass timber construction*¹.

According to estimates using the "One Click LCA*²" software that can visualize CO₂ emissions, the CO₂ emissions when built compared to the RC structure can be reduced by about 2,600 tons, and the wood used for the building materials fixes about 3,800 tons of carbon*³. The use of mass timber will streamline work at the construction site and shorten the construction time compared to RC construction.

The company also aims to obtain LEED environmental certification and Fitwel*⁴ wellness certification, and will provide socially and environmentally added value offices to ESG-conscious tenants.

*1 Architecture using engineered wood, which is a relatively high-mass material made from multiple pieces of wood

*2 Software for which Sumitomo Forestry has concluded a sole agency agreement in Japan. CO₂ emissions during procurement of raw materials for construction, processing, transportation, construction, renovation, and disposal (CO₂ emissions during construction) can be calculated precisely

*3 CO₂ emissions during constructing the office and parking lot building were estimated. Major structural components such as framing, curtain wall, and foundation were evaluated based on construction drawings. Carbon storage amount is estimated for office building

*4 A system developed by the General Services Administration (GSA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to evaluate and certify the health and working environment of building users

Participated in the 15-story Wooden Office Development Project, which is the Tallest Building in Melbourne, Australia

Sumitomo Forestry, together with NTT Urban Development Corporation, has launched initiatives to realize net zero carbon buildings*¹ through Hines, a leading global developer.

The project that will serve as a stepping stone to this goal is a large-scale wooden office to be constructed in Collinwood, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia. The building is a mixed structure of RC and wood with 15 floors above ground and two floors below (all floors above the 6th floor to be made of wood), and is expected to be the tallest*² wooden office building in Melbourne, Australia. Construction is scheduled for completion in 2023.

Through this project, in addition to achieving the highest level of Green Star environmental certification in Australia (6 stars), we aim to obtain Net Zero Carbon certification based on the Carbon Neutral Standard for Building, an Australian standard. We also estimate that approximately 4,000 m³ of wood will be used in the structural frame, fixing approximately 3,000 tons of carbon (on a CO₂ basis). Including this fixed amount, the CO₂ (Embodied Carbon) emitted during the construction of the building (in the process of raw material procurement, manufacturing, construction, demolition, etc.) is equivalent to a reduction of approximately 40% compared to the case where the entire structure is made of RC (reinforced concrete).

This project combines the effective use of wood with its carbon storage function with energy conservation, energy creation, and renewable energy features of the building, as stated by the WGBC*³.
This is an advanced development that brings forward the goal of zero operational carbon in all new buildings by 2030 by seven years.

*1 The building is designed to save or create energy, and CO₂ (operational carbon) emissions from building use are reduced to virtually zero through a combination of renewable energy use and offsets using carbon credits

*2 Based on research by Wood Solutions, an organization affiliated with the Australian Government (as of June 2021)

*3 WGBC: World Green Building Council, a member of the UN Global Compact and a global action network of about 70 green building councils around the world