Stratford Toyota opens doors with golden achievement

By Liam Orlita

Stratford Toyota has just started up and is already showing a firm dedication to environmental responsibility.

The new store in Stratford, Ont., about an hour northeast of London, is the first automotive dealership in the country to achieve Gold Certification in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System.

Stephen Beatty, Toyota Canada’s environmental officer and managing director, presented dealership owner John Strickland with a commemorative plaque at the grand opening celebration this week.

“Environmental leadership is a key pillar of Toyota's philosophy,” Strickland said in a release. “And Stratford Toyota is committed to contributing to a better future for our customers.”

Stratford Toyota took a number of steps to achieve this high environmental standing including using 28 per cent recycled materials in construction; integrating an 8,000 litre storm water cistern recapturing system; and installing a thermoplastic polyolefin roof to repel the sun’s rays in the summer and insulate the building during the cold winter months.
 
The 26,100-square foot dealership boasts an open concept showroom and reception area, four drive-thru service bays and came with a reported $4 million price tag.

LEED is an internationally recognized green building certification system, providing third-party verification that a building or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at improving performance across all the metrics that matter most: energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts on the environment..