Cool biz
Cool Biz ( Japanese ク ー ル ・ ビ ズ , kūru bizu ) is a campaign launched in 2005 by the Japanese Ministry of the Environment to reduce energy consumption through air conditioning and thus serve to protect the climate . In particular, the agreements of the Kyoto Protocol are to be complied with.
history
The campaign was proposed by then Environment Minister Yuriko Koike in 2005 and then came into force for the first time from July 1 to September 30 of that year. In the run-up to this action, Japanese politicians, in particular the then Prime Minister Jun'ichirō Koizumi , demonstrated demonstratively in casual clothing in order to set a good example. The name "Cool Biz" is one of the suggested names for the campaign that the population was able to send to the Ministry of the Environment in April 2005.
The acceptance of this “dress code” was initially mixed among the population. For many it took a lot of effort to do without the otherwise very formal clothing in Japanese business life. Since the campaign was initially only required at government, ministry and authority level, many employees of private companies initially felt "naked" without a tie. However, several large companies set a good example and made it compulsory not to wear a tie, which is why the regulation was able to prevail there without any problems and gradually spread to the world of work. While in a survey by the Cabinet Office in 2006, 30.7% of those questioned stated that they followed the “cool biz” rule, the figure in 2007 was 46.6%. In 2006, due to the success of the campaign, the duration was extended; it started on June 1st. This term also applied in the period from 2007 to 2011.
After the Tōhoku earthquake in 2011 , the then government under Prime Minister Naoto Kan extended the previous term from June to September to the period from May to October in order to compensate for the bottlenecks in the energy supply caused by the temporary shutdown of all Japanese nuclear power plants as a result of the Fukushima nuclear disaster . To this end, the 2012 campaign was expanded to include the “Super Cool Biz” campaign, which included even more airy clothing and, among other things, also allowed polo or Hawaiian shirts . Since 2013 "Cool Biz" has been used again from June to September.
Content of the recommendation
The mostly voluntary regulation provides that in the hot months from June to September office and work rooms are only cooled to 28 ° C instead of the previous 26 ° C. In order to withstand the higher ambient temperature at the workplace, employees should forego the usual office clothing (suit and tie) and replace it with more airy clothing. In practice it looks like that the employees are allowed to forego the tie, which is otherwise mandatory in Japanese business life, and to wear the top button of the short-sleeved shirt open. In a study it was found that the body temperature is reduced by approx. 2 ° C. Formal attire resumes until the day before the start of the scheme and immediately on the day after it ends.
Warm biz
In winter, from November to March, the reverse recommendation applies, according to which heating should not be set to more than 20 ° C. This has to be compensated by correspondingly warmer clothing.
Success of the action
For 2006, the government estimated that the action could save 1.14 million tons of CO 2 emissions. This corresponds to the pollution caused by 2.5 million households on average in one month.
Web links
- Environment Ministry Cool Biz website (Japanese)
- Environment Ministry Warm Biz website (Japanese)
Individual evidence
- ↑ env.go.jp - 「夏 の 新 し い ビ ジ ネ ス ス タ イ ル」 愛称 発 表 及 び 愛 ・ 地球 博会 場内 で の ６ 月 ５ 日 環境 省 関 連 イ ベ ン ト に つ い て (accessed September 28, 2018 in Japanese)
- ↑ cao.go.jp - 「ク ー ル ・ ビ ズ に 関 す る 特別 世 論 調査」 の 概要 ( Memento from December 1, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ challenge25.go.jp - Super Cool Biz 2012 ( Memento from August 15, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ env.go.jp - 平 成 30 年度 ク ー ル ビ ズ に つ い て (Japanese), accessed September 28, 2018