Dozens of Colorado retailers have made moves toward energy conservation and independence, and now Burt Automotive Group is going full-tilt with a new green dealership and REI is in the final stages of finishing its new prototype green store in Boulder.
Both are seeking Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s retail pilot program.
Burt plans to break ground by the end of the year on a facility to replace its current Toyota dealership on South Broadway in Denver. It will be the first certified green auto dealership in the state.
The proposed facility’s green elements will include a water cistern, energy-conserving building orientation, soil conservation, recycled carpet, reclaimed floor tiles, triple-pane glass windows, geothermal use, a layered roof system and high-speed garage doors.
“It makes economic sense and is good for the environment,” said L.G. Chavez Jr., president and chief executive of Burt Automotive Group.
The Boulder REI store has been expanded to meet LEED silver standards, and the company is in the certification process with the Green Building Council.
The store, which reopens Oct. 5, was rebuilt with dozens of green factors, including three solar strategies – passive solar, solar thermal and solar electric.
The building will use 30 percent less water than building codes require, and the company estimates the store’s solar energy, used to heat water, will meet 70 percent of the store’s hot-water needs. It has also been redone with recycled rubber flooring made from products such as tires and tennis shoes.
“A lot of companies are realizing how important corporate responsibility is,” said Justin Doak, manager of LEED for Retail at the U.S. Green Building Council. “Retail is a crazy world – they are all jumping on board.”
For retailers, Doak said, going green provides a three-pronged benefit: a healthier store for consumers and clients; energy efficiency and decreased costs; and corporate social responsibility.
LEED certification is based on a rating system that works on points. For example, if a company reduces its energy load by 14 percent, it earns two points. The more points, the higher the certification. Levels include certified, silver, gold and platinum.
So far, more than 60 companies are working under the pilot program, which has new construction and commercial interior components.
Aurora’s Wal-Mart was built with a variety of green components, including solar cells, LED lights and boilers that use motor oil from the tire-and-lube center and fat from chicken fryers in the deli to heat the store.
The new J.C. Penney store in the Northfield Shopping Center, used as a national model for the U.S. Green Building Council’s pilot program, is being built with high-efficiency air-conditioning equipment, wall and roof insulation that exceeds requirements, recycled carpet and waterless urinals.
“We’ve been investing in these new technologies because they make sound business sense,” said Michael Dastugue, property-development director for J.C. Penney. “There are upfront costs, but there is a payback. The reduction in energy is something we think makes sense not only from a community perspective but from a shareholder perspective.”
At Staples, plans for new stores across the country include more efficient lighting and sensor equipment, energy-management systems, reflective roof membranes and solar installations, said Mark Buckley, vice president of environmental affairs.
The company has nine sites now using solar panels and another 150 sites under consideration for solar panels, including a Brighton fulfillment center, said Buckley.
“It’s important to try to stabilize the escalating energy costs,” he said. “That is good, smart business, but there is also a corollary environmental benefit,” he said.
In Denver, the Burt location will be Toyota’s second green franchise in the country; the first is in Texas.
Burt expects to break ground by the end of the year and move the store’s operations into the new 160,000-square-foot green building by fall of 2008. The old dealership will be demolished and the materials recycled. The Burt executive team has set its sights on a gold LEED certification.
Hank Held, vice president and chief legal counsel at Burt, estimates the $20 million project will cost up to 10 percent more to build but will pay that back within a decade in energy-cost savings.
“You can’t not get involved. This is the new way of doing business; it’s the right thing,” Held said. “What we are trying to do is get everybody to start being into the little things they can do to save energy.”
Staff writer Elizabeth Aguilera can be reached at 303-954-1372 or eaguilera@denverpost.com.
