Japan leads Asia in environmental sustainability transparency
Japan leads Asia in environmental sustainability transparency
Japanese green initiatives are among the region’s best
The real estate world has not only been a more transparent place since Jones Lang LaSalle last published its Global Real Estate Transparency Index. It has also become more environmentally sustainable, according to the property advisor’s latest Real Estate Environmental Sustainability Transparency Index.
Japan bested other countries in Asia to join France, Australia, and the UK in the index’s Highly Transparent category. The country impressed JLL statisticians with a raft of sustainability transparency tools that include a Building Energy-Efficiency Labelling System (BELS) for the non-residential sector as well as the publication of guidelines on voluntary green lease clauses for landlords and tenants.
Additionally, Japan sets an energy efficiency design criteria for new non-residential buildings that exceed 2,000 square metres.
More: It’s official: Singapore, Seoul ranked Asia’s most sustainable cities
Seventeen countries have improved their index rankings overall. The index, a measure of real estate markets’ transparency in terms of environmental issues such as carbon emission reporting and energy efficiency standards, improved from 3.08 in 2014 to 2.99 this year.
From 28 countries in 2012, the index now covers 37 countries, with new entrants Finland, Malaysia, Taiwan and Thailand.
Malaysia and Taiwan are classified under Low Transparency, while Thailand is grouped with China, India and South Korea for Semi-Transparent sustainability. Singapore and Hong Kong rank in the Transparent category.
Dubai has graduated to the Semi-Transparency category, largely due to the emirate’s Strategic Plan that made green building standards mandatory for almost all types of new constructions.
Read next: India makes strides in regulatory changes and real estate transparency
Source: Property Report