In January 2025, the Toyota Woven City announced achieving LEED for Communities certification (Platinum). Globally, more than 270 projects are utilizing LEED for Communities rating system to effectively plan, design, implement, manage and improve sustainability, equity and resilience initiatives that enhance community outcomes.

The program applies specifically to places, such as corporate campuses, large-scale real estate developments and redevelopments, business improvement districts, economic development zones, neighborhoods, campuses, airports, entertainment districts, universities, and military installations.

LEED for Communities and LEED ND (Neighborhood Development) will be merged in LEED version 5 for Communities. LEED ND has been driving sustainable area development certification for the past 10 years, starting with Futakotamagawa in 2014 and more recently with HARUMI FLAG, Grand Green Osaka, Toranomon Hills and Azabudai Hills.

This time, we will invite Vatsal Bhatt, USGBC Vice President – LEED for Communities, to provide an overview of the rating system and the latest information.

We will also touch on how green finance systems, which support sustainable urban development from a financial perspective, can contribute to building construction, renovation, equipment renewal, and area development. We encourage everyone business sector in the construction and real estate industries, as well as those in charge of municipal town planning who are planning to revitalize city centers, to participate.

<Seminar Details>

• Date: Tuesday, October 14, 2025
• Time: 6:45 PM – 8:30 PM (Doors open at 6:30 PM)
• Venue: Chuo City Environmental Information Center “ECONOVA”
  (Tokyo Square Garden 6F, 3-1-1 Kyobashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo – Inside Kyobashi Environmental Station)
  Access: Chuo City Environmental Information Center
• Admission: Free (Advance registration required)
  Registration deadline: Thursday, October 9, 2025

<Detailed Program>

◆ 18:45-18:50　Introduction of Speakers
◆ 18:50-19:45　1: “Overview of LEED for Communities System and Latest Trends” – Dr. Vatsal Bhatt
◆ 19:45 – 20:15　2: “Explanation of Green Finance System to Support Sustainable Urban Development from Financial Perspective” – Hiroki Hiramatsu
◇ Networking time will be scheduled after the seminar (for those who wish)

<Speakers>

Dr. Vatsal Bhatt (Vice President, LEED® for Communities, USGBC®)
Dr. Bhatt helped conceptualize and make operational the LEED for Cities and LEED for Communities rating system in 2016. For 25 years, he has worked as an urban planner and energy economist. At the Brookhaven National Laboratory for 15 years, Dr. Bhatt worked on low-carbon and net-zero urban, regional and national planning and policies for U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Science Foundation, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, including U.S. Department of Energy’s U.S.-India-China EcoCities Partnership and US Department of State’s US-China EcoPartnerships. Dr. Bhatt is a lead author of the U.S. Global Change Research Program’s first-ever assessment of the “Effects of Climate Change on Energy Production and Use in the United States”.

Hiroki Hiramatsu (President, Woonerf Inc. | LEED® Fellow™)
After working at securities firms in both Japan and the United States, he joined an environmental NGO and later founded Woonerf Inc. in 2006. Since its inception, he has been committed to promoting sustainable landscapes and green buildings by fostering cross-sector collaboration among private companies, financial institutions, and public organizations. His work aims to reconstruct urban environments toward greater sustainability.

<Seminar Registration>

Please register via the following link:
Future Application of LEED for Communities in Area Evaluation

<Sponsors>

• Woonerf Inc.
• Green Building Japan (GBJ)

<Contact Information>

For inquiries, please contact the GBJ Secretariat:
Email: gbj-adminioffice@gbj.or.jp