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2022 News Release

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Nihonbashi Takashimaya Mitsui Building Acquires
CASBEE Smart Wellness Office Certification
Obtained highest rating (S rank) and record-high score (96.6 points)

February 9, 2022
Nihonbashi Takashimaya Mitsui Building Management Association
Itoki Corporation
Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd

Key Points of This Press Release

The Nihonbashi Takashimaya Mitsui Building earned the highest rating (S rank) from the CASBEE Smart Wellness Office certification program (“CASBEE-SWO certification”), a multifaceted evaluation of office building performance in connection with intellectual production, health and comfort, energy-efficient environments, security and safety.
Earned a record-high score* of 96.6 points (out of a possible 100 points) among 52 properties that have acquired certification under CASBEE-SWO or the CASBEE Smart Wellness Office certification prog.
(* As of January 31, 2022)
Acquired jointly by the Nihonbashi Takashimaya Mitsui Building Management Association, Itoki Corporation and Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd. Earned a high rating for the building’s three-pronged basic performance concerning energy saving, security and safety; a work environment promoting wellbeing and high productivity in tenanted areas; and common areas supporting the health and comfort of workers.

Tokyo, Japan, February 9, 2022 - Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd., a leading global real estate company headquartered in Tokyo, the Nihonbashi Takashimaya Mitsui Building Management Association and Itoki Corporation (“Itoki”) announced today that the Nihonbashi Takashimaya Mitsui Building has acquired the highest rating (S rank) in CASBEE-SWO certification, and earned the highest score since the certification program began in June 2019 (96.6 points).

Nihonbashi Takashimaya Mitsui Building exterior

CASBEE-SWO certification logo

CASBEE-SWO certification is a comprehensive assessment of a building for both tangible and intangible initiatives concerning health and comfort of office workers and environmental performance, etc.

The Nihonbashi Takashimaya Mitsui Building was highly rated for its excellent energy-saving and BCP performance, operational management system and the work environment in the Itoki head office and health programs such as mindfulness, as well as for facilities in the building’s common areas including Mitsui Office for Tomorrow (“mot.”), a facility promoting health and exercise. The building’s rating applied to the Itoki office section on 11-13F and common areas, but joint acquisition of the certification was made with the aim of enhancing health and comfort in offices in a form that transcends the boundaries of tenanted and common areas. This marks the first time in Japan for a tenant, building owner and lender to jointly acquire CASBEE-SWO certification for a multi-tenant office building.

Itoki regards the entire space as a working environment and provides not only products and services to create a working environment where employees can “work collectively”, but also products for “distributed work” environments, such as home furniture for work and study at home. Moreover, it is conducting surveys and consulting services collectively for corporate work style strategies and work environment development, supporting work environment creation in all sorts of spaces.

Mitsui Fudosan will not only provide places to work going forward, but will also co-create and jointly work in various forms with tenants. By providing offices with an awareness of enhancing the health, comfort and intellectual productivity of people working in those environments or offices in terms of both tangible and intangible aspects, it promotes initiatives toward solving social issues and achieving a sustainable society.

1. Acquired Certifications

Property: Nihonbashi Takashimaya Mitsui Building
Certification date: January 6, 2022
Overview of the program
The Institute for Building Environment and Energy Conservation (IBEC) started advance certification of CASBEE-SWO certification in 2019. The system evaluates office buildings in the five categories of health and comfort, convenience, security and safety, operational management and program, in addition to an environmental assessment of buildings. Of these categories, the Nihonbashi Takashimaya Mitsui Building was given a perfect score for convenience, security and safety, operational management and program and an extremely high rating for health and comfort, achieving the highest-ever score (96.6 points) since CASBEE-SWO certification started and acquiring the highest rating (S rank).
https://www.ibec.or.jp/CASBEE/WO_certification/details/HPCAS-21-00034-1.pdf (Japanese)

Outdoor terrace space

Office sky lobby

2. Main Points in the Assessment of the Nihonbashi Takashimaya Mitsui Building

(1) Overall plan

①Energy and resource measures (initiatives for realizing a decarbonized society) Installing fins on low-e glass and an exterior aluminum curtain wall reduces the solar heat load, while at the same time, LED lighting and an automatic dimming control system are used to save power. In addition, rainwater catchment tanks have been installed to collect rainwater for flushing toilets, reducing the amount of water used.
Moreover, in addition to an electricity supply from rooftop solar power generation, Mitsui Fudosan, the Nihonbashi Takashimaya Mitsui Building Management Association and TEPCO Energy Partner collaborated to begin providing green power (electricity with non-fossil fuel certificates with renewable energy tracking) from July 1, 2021 to part of the Nihonbashi Takashimaya Mitsui Building. The Company also developed a green power supply service to flexibly provide green power in line with tenant needs, actively supporting the efforts of companies to realize a decarbonized society.

Low-e glass and fins

Solar power equipment (rooftop installation)

②Safety and resilience measures
　A control system boasting the world's highest level of vibration control efficiency has been installed within the building to ensure structural safety against seismic intensity 7-class earthquakes (1.5 times the level of seismic waves required by the Building Standards Act). It is also equipped with dual fuel-type emergency generators capable of running off heavy oil or city gas to ensure business continuity through power supply in the event of a disaster. Moreover, as a counter to flooding, flood-protection plates have been set up at all 1F entrances and exits to enhance safety.

③Operational management system
The building’s operational management system performs appropriate management and operations enabling high-quality performance and maintainability over time based on an established long-term renovation plan. A business continuity planning manual for emergencies has also been created and drills are conducted multiple times a year, including drills involving the entire building, in preparation of a possible large-scale disaster.

(2)Tenanted office area (Itoki)

▪ ITOKI TOKYO XORK* achieves Next-Generation Work Style office space )
Itoki has introduced Activity Based Working (ABW)**, a comprehensive work style strategy that specifically and systematically changes employee behavior so that workers can autonomously design their own working style through a high degree of self-discretion.
Moreover, Itoki has acquired the gold level under the WELL Building Standard***, space quality standards based on the concept of healthy maintenance of employees’ mental and physical well-being.

Communication space capable of being used for multiple purposes

Plants arranged in consideration of employees’ health

* In the autumn of 2018, Itoki offices in the Tokyo metropolitan area were gathered together in a new head office, which was named ITOKI TOKYO XORK. To denote work styles evolving to a next stage, XORK was used as X is the next letter on in the alphabet from W.

** Activity Based Working is a work style that puts trust in the worker and allows them to choose a work style by giving them self-discretion. Specifically, workers’ activities are categorized and each worker chooses to work in a dedicated environment for each activity.

*** WELL certification was created after seven years of intense research and development by the International WELL Building Institute, and is the world’s first building and interior environment evaluation system, focusing on living conditions within buildings and the health and comfort of people working in them. Through a rigorous assessment by Green Business Certification Inc., a third-party assessment organization, and based on the number of points acquired in the assessment, certification status is awarded in descending order of platinum, gold and silver. From that, Itoki reached gold level in 2018 by achieving the 36 required assessment items and at least 40% of 62 items for additional points.

(3) Common areas (mot.)

▪ Functions that support diverse work formats (provide healthy and comfortable spaces)

mot. Logo

Functions that support diverse work formats (provide healthy and comfortable spaces) mot. (9-10F) is a facility to promote health and exercise. It provides membership facilities and services exclusively for tenant companies, including exclusive conference and private rooms, a free lounge, a fitness gym, and a members’ lounge. These provide total support for healthy work styles for workers, both in mind and body, including the use of refresh rooms and showers to bolster concentration power, and refreshing before or after work or during spare moments with exercise and a sauna or time in a meditation pod.

mot. member’s fitness club reception and fully equipped machine area

mot. park area and a meditation pod

About the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a set of international goals for 2030 adopted by the UN Summit in 2015. Seventeen goals and 169 targets have been set, with various entities required to work together to achieve them. This project is intended to contribute to the following four goals in particular.