![Cool biz shop display - Tokyo area - 2017](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/Cool_biz_shop_display_-_Tokyo_area_-_2017.jpg)
The Cool Biz campaign is a Japanese campaign initiated by the Japanese
Ministry of the Environment from summer 2005 as a means to help reduce Japanese electricity consumption by limiting the use of air conditioning. This was enabled by changing the standard office air conditioner temperature to 28 °C (or about 82 °F) and introducing a liberal summer dress code in the bureaucracy of the Japanese government so staff could work in the warmer temperature. The campaign then spread to the private sector.
This idea was proposed by the then-
Minister Yuriko Koike
is a Japanese politician who currently serves as the Governor of Tokyo since 2016. She graduated from the American University in Cairo in 1976 and was a member of the House of Representatives of Japan from 1993 until 2016, when she resigned to ...
under the cabinet of Prime Minister
Junichirō Koizumi
Junichiro Koizumi (; , ''Koizumi Jun'ichirō'' ; born 8 January 1942) is a former Japanese politician who was Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) from 2001 to 2006. He retired from politics in 2009. He is ...
. Initially the campaign was from June to September, but from 2011, when there were electricity shortages after the
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
The occurred at 14:46 JST (05:46 UTC) on 11 March. The magnitude 9.0–9.1 (M) undersea megathrust earthquake had an epicenter in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region, and lasted approximately six minutes ...
it was lengthened. It now runs from May to October.
Plan
According to the Ministry of the Environment, central government ministries were to set
air conditioner temperatures at 28 °C until September. The Cool Biz dress code advises workers to starch collars so they stand up and to wear trousers made from materials that breathe and absorb moisture. Additionally, workers are encouraged to wear short-sleeved shirts without jackets or ties. Many workers, though, were confused about whether they should follow the new stipulations—many came to work with their jackets in hand and their ties in their pockets. Even those who liked the idea of dressing more casually sometimes became self-conscious during their commutes when they were surrounded by non-government employees who were all wearing standard business suits. Many government workers said they felt it was impolite not to wear a tie when meeting counterparts from the private sector.
All of the government leaders took part in Cool Biz. Prime Minister Koizumi was frequently interviewed without a tie or jacket, and this produced a significantly raised profile of the campaign.
Result of Cool Biz Campaign
On October 28, 2005, the Ministry of Environment announced results of the Cool Biz campaign. The MOE conducted a web-based questionnaire survey on the Cool Biz campaign on September 30, 2005, covering some 1,200 men and women randomly extracted from an Internet panel recruited by a research company. Survey results indicate that 95.8% of respondents knew Cool Biz, and 32.7% of 562 respondents answered that their offices set the air conditioner thermostat higher than in previous years. Based on these figures, the Ministry estimated that the campaign resulted in a 460,000-ton reduction in CO
2 emission, the equivalent volume of CO
2 emitted by about 1 million households for one month.
Some companies including
Toyota
is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
request their employees not to wear jackets and ties even when meeting with business partners.
The results for 2006 were even better, resulting in an estimated 1.14 million-ton reduction in CO
2 emission, equivalent to the CO
2 emissions by about 2.5 million households for one month. The Ministry also stated that it intends to continue encouraging people to set summer office temperatures at no lower than 28 °C as well as to work to have the Cool Biz concept take permanent root in society.
In July 2009, the Cabinet Office announced results of a new questionnaire survey, which indicates that 91.8% of respondents knew about the Cool Biz campaign, and 57% of them put the campaign into practice.
Economic results
On the other hand, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) analyzed that the Cool Biz campaign increases replacement demand for clothing and generates positive macroeconomic effects on the
GDP
Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is ofte ...
by 18 billion yen in summer 2005.
Dai-Ichi Life Research Institute announced that the total economic effect was more than 100 billion yen in 2005.
Warm Biz
During winter 2005, there was talk on many of the major news networks of promoting a "Warm Biz" style for winter, suggesting that people wear waistcoats, knit sweaters, and lap blankets. Warm Biz was not endorsed by the Japanese government at first. The food industry eagerly promoted this campaign by selling foods that warm people up, such as
nabemono
''Nabemono'' (鍋物, なべ物, ''nabe'' "cooking pot" + ''mono'' "thing"), or simply ''nabe'', is a variety of Japanese cuisine, Japanese steamboat (food), hot pot dishes, also known as one pot dishes and "things in a pot".
Description
Nab ...
.
However, the electric utility industry had little enthusiasm for the campaign. Since fossil fuel heating is popular in northern Japan, Warm Biz had little effect on electric consumption.
Thus, Warm Biz is more often referred in an environmental conservation context since fossil fuel heating releases more carbon dioxide than air conditioners do.
Super Cool Biz
Following the
Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in March 2011, the shutdown of many nuclear power plants for safety reasons led to energy shortages. To conserve energy, the government recommended setting air conditioners at 28 degrees Celsius, switching off computers not in use, and called for shifting work hours to the morning and taking more summer vacation than usual. The government then launched a "Super Cool Biz" campaign to encourage workers to wear outfits appropriate for the office yet cool enough to endure the summer heat. Polo shirts and trainers were allowed, while jeans and sandals were also acceptable under certain circumstances. June 1 marked the start of the Ministry of the Environment's ''Super Cool Biz'' campaign, with "full-page newspaper ads and photos of ministry workers smiling rather self-consciously at their desks wearing polo shirts and colorful Okinawa
kariyushi shirt
The is a style of dress shirt originating in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Similar to aloha shirts, these shirts are mainly worn in summer. The shirts are printed, mostly short-sleeved, and collared. Kariyushi shirts may be worn as casual, informal ...
s." The campaign was repeated in 2012.
Cool Biz outside Japan
The
South Korean Ministry of Environment and the British
Trades Union Congress
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre
A national trade union center (or national center or central) is a federation or confederation of trade unions in a country. Nearly every country in the world has a national tra ...
have promoted their own Cool Biz campaigns since summer 2006. The concept also inspired the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
to launch the "Cool UN" initiative in 2008.
See also
*
Cool Japan
refers to the aspects of Japanese culture that non-Japanese people perceive as "cool". The Cool Japan strategy is part of Japan's overall brand strategy, aiming to disseminate Japan's attractiveness and allure to the world. The target of Cool Ja ...
References
Tools of Change : Cool Biz, Japan
External links
Result of the Cool Biz Campaign (2006), Ministry of the Environment
Result of the Cool Biz Campaign (2005){{in lang, ja, Ministry of the Environment
''Wall Street Journal: Japan Sweats It Out as It Wages War on Air Conditioning'', Sept. 18, 2007''NPR Morning Edition: Japan Trades In Suits, Cuts Carbon Emission'', Oct. 2, 2007
Politics of Japan
Energy conservation in Japan
2005 introductions
2005 establishments in Japan