Cool Biz campaign

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 under the cabinet of Prime Minister Junichirō Koizumi. Initially the campaign was from June to September, but from 2011, when there were electricity shortages after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami it was lengthened. It now runs from May to October.

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.

On October 28, 2005, the Ministry of Enivronment 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 CO₂ emission, the equivalent volume of CO₂ emitted by about 1 million households for one month.

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