Toyota Motor Sales (TMS) has received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification for its Kansas City Regional Technical Training Center. The center includes classrooms and training bays for dealer technicians and offices.
A total of 29 Toyota & Lexus facilities and dealerships in the US have achieved LEED certification. This includes 18 Toyota/Lexus dealerships and 11 Toyota/Lexus facilities. These facilities represent Toyota’s commitment towards reducing its environmental footprint.
To achieve LEED certification, Toyota has integrated a number of LEED elements at its Kansas City technical training center. It diverted over 953 t of construction waste through recycling or salvage from landfills. This waste constituted 99% of its total construction waste. It made use of natural light and automatic lighting controls, which reduced 12 kW of its electrical demand, which worked out to 24.5%. Toyota installed waterless urinals, efficient fixtures and dual flush toilets to decrease its consumption of water. It is estimated to save around 49,800 gallons annually.
The roof storm water and parking lot runoff are treated by swales and native vegetation rain gardens that help remove most of the pollutants. The company has implemented HVAC systems with high energy efficiency. In order to support sustainable harvest practices, it has used wood products with the Forest Stewardship Council certification at this Kansas facility.
Toyota had commenced an ECO Image U.S.A. II initiative that helps LEED dealership construction. The dealers who have received LEED certification are benefiting from building green by quick return on investment for utilization of sustainable building materials and implementation of other LEED elements. They are also benefitting from a reduction of 26% in energy costs.
Source: http://www.toyota.com/