Dealers are paying closer attention to sustainable business practices
The auto business frequently comes under close political scrutiny, not only as it relates to the production and use of the end product (automobiles) but also the facilities that manufacture and sell them.
Canadian auto dealer looked at how retailers in different parts of the country are reducing their carbon footprint by making changes to their facilities that enable progress without harming profitability.
“LEEDing” the way
On of the most popular terms as it relates to modern environmental building construction and codes, is Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or, more specifically LEED certification.
For a building or facility to be granted LEED certification, it must meet specific standards outlined by an impartial third party. These include steps taken to reduce energy via reduced hydro and water consumption, better indoor environmental quality and other factors such as landscaping and waste management, all designed to minimize impact on the earth.
LEED, originally founded by the Green Building Council in the United States in 1998 is now recognized as an international standard when it comes to ‘environmental’ building certification.
In Canada, more dealers are adopting a more sustainable approach, in some cases pioneering new concepts when it comes to ‘greening’ their facilities.
Bold steps in Stratford
Last June, Stratford Toyota, located on Erie Street in the Ontario town, opened its doors as a brand new, LEED Gold certified auto retailer — the first in Canada. Dealer principal John Strickland and his team worked hard to achieve this milestone goal. “We actually had two dealerships and incorporated them into one,” says Strickland, though important considerations in terms of sustainability were a crucial part, right from the outset. In fact, 28 per cent of the building was constructed using re-cycled materials, while an impressive 97 percentage of overall waste was diverted from a nearby landfill.
“We overbuilt the facility for the size of the town,” says Strickland. “It’s 26,100 square feet and we’ve got 18 staff members, though it means we have room to serve a growing local population.” In addition, during the design and construction phase, Strickland and his team worked with Toyota on every aspect of the facility, trying to factor in how much waste it would generate. “There’s a Thermoplastic Polyolefin (TPO) roof with multiple skylights to provide ‘natural’ lighting, high efficiency building lights and insulated wall panels to help retain heat in the colder months,” he says, justifiably proud.
“In the service department, the shop floor is heated, eliminating the need for wasteful space heaters.”
The floor has an added benefit, it’s easier to keep clean, it stays dry and because it’s heated, Stratford Toyota doesn’t use floor mounted reels or vacuum hoses, instead everything is routed from above ground. “Having the oil, air and hydro lines running from the ceiling eliminates clutter on the floor, improving safety, since there’s no lines to trip over.”
Strickland says that aspects such as the floor, insulation and high efficiency lighting have reduced overall energy consumption by as much as 37 per cent.
Toyota Canada is using Strickland’s store as a benchmark; the company is currently in the process of calculating just how much the LEED Gold certified facility saves in terms of energy and cost, in relation to ‘traditional’ dealers, while at the same time, looking at other stores to follow Strickland’s lead.
Ultimate green machine
On the West Coast, there’s perhaps even more of a push to construct and operate more sustainable dealerships, perhaps in part, driven by a traditionally more environmentally aware culture. One store that’s really been flying the flag is Auto West BMW, located in the city of Richmond, B.C.
Pete Sargent, who serves as the dealership’s Project Development Manager, is understandably enthusiastic about the progress Auto West has made. “We really have to thank our President, Joachim Neumann. He studied marine biology at university and has always been looking at ways to conserve energy when it comes to dealership design and operation. Being based on the West Coast, one of the ways that we’ve really been able to make a difference concerns water usage.”
An effective method employed at Auto West, is channeling rainwater from the roof and using it to irrigate the lawns and gardens on-site at the dealership. “From rainwater run-off, we’re able to channel that water and store it in 4,000-gallon underground tanks,” says Sargent, “so it’s there when we need it. Traditionally, one major problem dealers have is using an excessive amount of water, for aspects such as plumbing, washing vehicles or irrigation.”
Auto West also uses a further two 1,500 gallon tanks which store soapy, used rainwater from the on-site automated car wash that is filtered and then re-used again, “By their very nature, car washes are among the most voracious consumers of water; by re-using it from the tanks, it significantly reduces demand as well as saving us on water bills. It also means that contaminated water is not flowing through drains and down to the ocean where it can harm eco-systems,” says Sargent.
In an effort to further improve Auto West’s sustainable business practices, in 2010, they implemented a plan to build a specific environmental building. The 762 square foot building contains everything needed for recycling, including a vertical access wind turbine as well as nine solar panels that help generate electricity without relying on the grid. It’s been operational for about two months and from the turbine and solar panels, and generater approximately 2,300 kW/h of energy.
Auto West’s heating and cooling system relies on geo-thermal technology to regulate indoor temperatures instead of a traditional HVAC system. There are pipes that draw air from the ground, warmer in the winter, cooler in the summer. In conjunction with the ‘Green’ Roof which features improved insulation.
Birds and bees
Yet perhaps the aspect of the dealership, which Sargent likes most, is the roof top gardens and beehives. Sargent himself is a talented gardener and beekeeper and his exploits have been well documented.
“On the roof of the main building, we have complex gardens, which house apple trees, blueberry bushes, even currants.”
In the urban world (Richmond is fairly densely populated) it can often be a real challenge to develop and sustain good quality gardens, but Sargent believes that Auto West might just be onto something. “We encourage our own staff members to grow fruits and vegetables here, it can actually be very therapeutic and rewarding, it gives you a real sense of pride when you can actually pick something you’ve sown, cultivated and nurtured. As for the hives, we’ve packaged about 70 lbs of honey for our guests this year, it’s a very unique home made blend.”
More green to come
As we went to press, the dealership was also embarking on other ‘green’ initiatives, including rebuilding it’s adjacent Mini franchise as a more sustainable facility. The plans call for installing 170 solar panels that will operate the phone and computer back up systems.
Further projects Auto West has initiated include roof-based composting, including channeling waste from the staff lunchrooms, as well as a single-stream recycling program for used cans and bottles. “It’s easier for staff to recycle this way,” says Sargent.
Even though environmental building standards in Canada aren’t being enforced like they are in the U.S., BMW Group, like Toyota has been encouraging its Canadian dealers to become more environmentally friendly. Although, according to Sargent, despite there being no specific set of requirements to make retail facilities more ‘sustainable,’ those dealers that take the initiative now, are the ones likely to reap the greatest rewards in the future.
