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Green Car DealershipReported by: Tom Yazwinski
Thursday, Feb 14, 2008 @08:44am CST
To earn LEED status, you must construct and operate your business with mother earth in mind, something Caldwell is determined to do, despite the stereotypes of his industry.
“We handle a lot of things and probably non-environmentally friendly technologies, being oil and a bunch of things like that,” Caldwell says.
Which is exactly why this dealership is so determined to turn over a new, green, leaf by becoming the first LEED certified retailer in the state.
LEED status requires lots of environmental ingenuity, like cutting down on and re-using waste.
"What's neat about the building we're building is we're making use of this kind of waste for good. We're going to take the used motor oil and burn it for some heaters in our shop area,” Caldwell says.
The new dealership will be three times the size of the old one, but owners say thanks to high efficiency, they'll be able to operate on the same energy budget.
"We think it's the right thing to do, we encourage other businesses to do it as well,” says Caldwell. And even though their LEED certification can't come through until the new dealership opens, owners expect everything to work out. And they also expect the community around them to take notice, and carry this trend forward.
"Five, 10 years from now, this will be the standard way a building is built, it's just the right thing to do."
The new Caldwell Toyota won't open until May.
The facility will also use an 11,000 gallon cistern to recycle rainwater for landscape irrigation. -
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