[Report] The 1st ICETT Carbon Neutral Seminar in 2025, "The Construction Industry's Challenge to Achieve Carbon Neutrality" was held.

[Background of the Project]

　International Center for Environmental Technology Transfer (ICETT) has been holding the ICETT Carbon Neutral Seminar since fiscal year 2024 with the aim of contributing to the promotion of Carbon Neutrality (CN) in Japan and overseas, including ASEAN countries, and businesses that contribute to it, by sharing information with companies and organizations.
　The theme of this seminar was "The Construction Industry's Challenge to Achieve Carbon Neutrality" in Japan.

[Purpose of the Seminar]

　While national efforts are underway to achieve Carbon Neutrality (CN) by 2050, it is estimated that CO2 emissions throughout the entire life cycle of a building —from construction to demolition, i.e., Life-Cycle Carbon —account for about 40% of the country's total CO2 emissions. Therefore, reducing life cycle carbon emissions from buildings is an urgent necessity.
　For this reason, the Japanese government is working to establish a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) system for buildings. In the future, it will be necessary for entities directly involved in building production, such as designers and builders, to understand the life cycle carbon emissions through LCA and advance their own decarbonization efforts. It will also be necessary for building material manufacturers and others to make their decarbonization efforts visible. In addition, their efforts need to be appropriately evaluated in the market.
　This seminar was held to stimulate efforts to achieve CN in the building sector by disseminating information on national policies and examples of efforts by businesses to a wide range of interested parties.

[Seminar Summary]

- Date and Time: Friday, November 7, 2025, 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
- Target: Designers and Building contractors, Building Materials and Equipment Manufacturers, Government Agencies, and Industry associations involved in construction
- Implementation method: Hybrid of on-site and online
　(Venue)Nagoya International Center(3F) Training Room 2 (Nagoya, Aichi)
　(Online) Delivered via Zoom webinar
- Support: Chubu Regional Development Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism; Chubu Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry; Mie Prefecture; Yokkaichi City; Chubu Economic Federation

[Program]

Opening Remarks:Mr. Shinji Bando, Director, Global Environment Department, International Center for Environmental Technology Transfer

Part 1: "Trends in Measures to Reduce Life Cycle Carbon in Buildings"
　Mr. Ryo Matsuda, Director, Housing Development Division, Construction Administration Department, Chubu Regional Development Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism

Part 2: "Overview of LCA and Information Disclosure through EPDs"
　Ms. Seiko Ito, General Manager, EPD Division, Sustainable Management Promotion Organization

Part 3: "Introduction of Case Studies of Leading Companies' Initiatives"
Case 1: "Toward a Zero Carbon Society: Challenges and Opportunities for Building Materials Manufacturers"
　Ms. Kumiko Nemoto, Sub Leader, Marketing Office, Sales Division, Chiyoda Ute Co., Ltd.
　
Case 2: "Wooden Construction and LCA"
　Mr. Takashi Nakamura, Advisor, CLT Unit Leader, NAKAMURA KENSETU CO. Ltd.

Case 3: "Building LCA for Business Solution"
　Mr. Eizo Heitaku, Manager, C Cube Consulting Co., Ltd.

[After the seminar]
Networking (business card exchange) for on-site participants only

[Seminar]

[Results and Prospects]

　The seminar was held in a hybrid format, with a total of 111 participants from companies, governments, research institutes, and other organizations in Mie, Aichi, and other prefectures, both on-site and online. Participants commented that "The latest trend of decarbonization in the building sector was explained in an easy-to-understand manner," "I could grasp the trend of EPD evaluation in Japan," and "It was very informative to learn the attitude and approach of other companies in the construction industry from their own voices". We hope that this seminar will help promote efforts to achieve carbon neutrality in the construction industry.
　ICETT will continue to plan and implement seminars and other information dissemination opportunities to promote carbon neutral initiatives in Japan and abroad and to develop local economies.

[For reference: Flyer for the event]

[Related Websites]

【Report】The 1st ICETT Carbon Neutral Seminar "Trends and Business Opportunities for Decarbonization Initiatives in ASEAN Countries" was held.
【Report】The 2nd ICETT Carbon Neutral Seminar "Business Cases and Key Points for Implementation in the Carbon Neutral Sector in ASEAN Countries" was held.
[Report] The 3rd ICETT Carbon Neutral Seminar "Report on ICETT's Efforts to Transfer Carbon Neutral Technologies to ASEAN"