Updated by "Forest Circular Economy" Editorial Board on January 31, 2026, 1:08 PM JST
Editorial Board, Forest Circular Economy
Forestcircularity-editor
We aim to realize "Vision 2050: Japan Shines, Forest Circular Economy" promoted by the Platinum Forest Industry Initiative. We will disseminate ideas and initiatives to promote biomass chemistry, realize woody and lumbery communities, and encourage innovation in the forestry industry in order to fully utilize forest resources to decarbonize the economy, strengthen economic security, and create local communities.
Celio, Haruo Shimada & Associates, Araki Gumi, and C-Cube Consulting have jointly conducted a Building LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) of Celio's new building, which was completed in June 2025, and found that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were reduced by about 40% compared to a typical office building. The study revealed that the building's GHG emissions were reduced by about 40% compared to a typical office building. In response to the issue of the stagnant reforestation rate faced by the region, the environmental value of utilizing forest resources was quantitatively visualized.
Building LCA evaluates CO2 emissions throughout the entire process of manufacturing, constructing, using, dismantling, and recycling each of the materials and equipment that make up a building. Celio's new building actively uses CLT (orthogonal laminated timber) produced in Okayama Prefecture for its structural materials, and also incorporates advanced energy-saving design.
As a result of the calculation, GHG emissions over the entire life cycle were 74.5 kg-CO2e/m2year. The comparison for a typical office building is about 125 kg-CO2e/m2year, which means that a significant reduction of about 40% was achieved. These figures clearly confirm that wood construction in medium- and large-scale buildings is a highly effective option for realizing a decarbonized society.
Local companies building their own bases with locally produced timber will provide direct support to the local forestry and timber industry and encourage an appropriate cycle of harvesting and planting. The fact that the benefits of wood use, which are often talked about qualitatively, are visualized in concrete numbers will provide strong evidence for other companies and municipalities to take the step toward wood construction.
■Outline of the new building
Location: 3-16-4 Haraojima, Naka-ku, Okayama City
Use: Office
Structure: Wooden (CLT panel construction method), steel construction in part
Total floor area: 1,830.31 square meters (including 1,423.15 square meters for building LCA calculation: main building)
Builder: Serio Corporation
Design: Haruo Shimada Architects & Engineers
Construction: Araki Gumi Co.
Schedule: Completion in June 2025
Reference Links
Joint Release on "Building LCA Calculation" with Haruo Shimada & Associates and Araki Gumi Co.
