Toyota Prius Sales Top 1 Million While Company Bets on Green Building

Published May 15, 2008

OAKLAND, Calif. — Toyota is celebrating two green milestones this month with sales of its Prius surpassing the 1 million mark while at the same time, the carmaker has earned the country’s first LEED-Gold certification of a dealership.

Toyota of Rockwall, Texas, uses four water cisterns to hold up to 63,500 gallons of rainwater and air conditioning condensation for use in landscape irrigation. Its roof reflects 90 percent of heat energy, and landscape is comprised of drought-resistant native plants and grasses.

"We expect there will be six LEED certified Toyota dealerships by this
summer,” said Michael Bevan, corporate manager of the retail market segment of Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. “We've also been working with other auto companies on the dynamics of building a LEED dealership and they are beginning to build facilities for LEED certification."

The company Prius sales are largely concentrated in North America and Japan, the company said. It plans on selling 1 million more hybrids by the early 2010s. The Prius is sold in more than 40 countries.

The company estimates that the Prius vehicles in operation have helped avoid some 4.5 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

Dell Targets More Efficient Desktops and Notebooks Dell will design its laptops and desktops to consume 25 percent less energy by 2010 as part of its plan to become the greenest technology company on the planet....	Starbucks Sets New Goals for Renewables, Green Building Starbucks wants to slash energy consumption in its stores by 25 percent and buy enough renewable energy certificates to satisfy half of its stores’ energy needs, all by 2010, the company said Wednesday. All new construction will incorporate green building principles....
Mars Snack Foods Taps Landfill Gas for Energy A month after Frito-Lay announced plans to use solar energy to make SunChips, the Mars snack food plant flipped the switch on a project that will use energy generated from landfill gas to power its operations....	Cisco Launches TelePresence for Mid-Sized Businesses The TelePresence 500 is billed as a lower-cost entry for medium-sized businesses at a time when companies are looking at ways to trim corporate travel. The company also debuted a teleconferencing system for large parties of up to 18 participants....
ASHRAE Aims for Energy Efficiency in Data Centers, Warehouses The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers recently launched two guides to move these structures toward reduced energy consumption....	Rainforest Alliance Announces Honorees for Sustainability and Conservation Work The group's annual gala will recognize businesses and individuals who have made strides in supporting sustainable forestry and other conservation initiatives....
European Union to Promote Energy Efficiency Through ICT The European Commission has identified three areas of the economy that can be improved through the use of efficient Information and Communications Technologies....	SMART Papers Breaks Ground on $30M Biomass Plant The co-generation facility put the papermaker on the path of using 100 percent renewable energy to power the operations of its Southern Ohio location. The company also will sell excess power to the state’s grid, as well as generate carbon credits....

News

Toyota Prius Sales Top 1 Million While Company Bets on Green Building

GreenBiz Events