AMB Property Corporation's Kasugai Distribution Center has received the highest rating possible under the Comprehensive Assessment System for Building Environmental Efficiency maintained by Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

The certification of the 986,000-square-foot multi-story structure marks the first time that a CASBEE S-Class ranking has been awarded to a logistics facility or a distribution center. In Japan, the designation is considered the equivalent of a LEED Platinum rating.

Japan recently adopted a Revised Energy Saving Act, which calls for effective use of energy and other resources in transportation and related activities.

Environmentally friendly attributes of the AMB Kasugai Distribution Center include a high-density vertical design and high performance efficiency building systems that cut energy consumption and operation costs. AMB said it preserved the greenspaces around the building, including forested areas.


AMB specializes in industrial infills, particularly the development of strategically located, large distribution centers, whose siting and design enable more environmentally responsible distribution operations within a supply chain.

Steven E. Campbell, the AMB's senior vice president and director of environmental and development services, talked about the company's development strategy in a podcast interview with GreenerBuildings in September.

The Atlanta chapter of the American Institute of Architects Committee on the Environment recently honored another AMB development. The committee named the AMB Morgan Business Center - Building 100 in Georgia, which has already received a LEED Gold rating, as one of the state's 10 leading sustainable architecture projects.

The kudos for the 346,000-square-foot facility were conferred at the Greenprints 2009 conference last month.

_{Images courtesy of AMB Property Corporation.}