In Queen's Village, New York, building began on a new green store (architect's rendering above) that includes solar panels and high-efficiency heating and cooling and makes extensive use of natural light.

Operational Footprint – Green Buildings

Objective

To review our current building design standards in order to reduce energy consumption.

Description

TD designed and launched several pilot projects in 2009 to green our buildings in Canada and the U.S. We will assess the results from these projects to determine the feasibility of rolling out green buildings enterprise-wide.

For employees, education about green building design and operations remains a priority. To achieve this goal, in 2010 we will establish new staff training and accreditation standards.

Impact

LEED

TD Bank has adopted The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System, developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), as the standard for environmentally sustainable construction.

In 2009:

• In the U.S., we began construction of two LEED gold stores, which will use 40% less energy than our current stores, and that cost 15% less to build;
• We completed construction of our first LEED-Certified corporate space;
• We began design of a LEED-Gold call centre; and
• In Canada, we began construction of one LEED-Silver and one LEED-Gold branch.

Pilot in London, Ontario, Canada

The rooftop solar array, (14.28 KW system) is capable of generating close to 75% of the branch’s electricity peak summer demand. Ice storage technology generates and stores building cooling during off-peak hours resulting in significant cost savings.

U.S. Retail Prototype – Queens Village, New York

This store as designed will be 54% more efficient than building code requires. CO2 emissions will decrease by 50% as well. The store’s solar panels alone will avoid an estimated 10.25 tons of CO2 emissions per year. At the same time, the cost of generating onsite solar electricity is 1/3 the cost of electricity purchased from the local utility. The plumbing fixtures use 40% less water, and between the extensive daylight and energy efficient fixtures, the store will use 50% less electricity for lighting. All this has been accomplished without altering the look and feel of the store design.

The store’s main green features are:

• A 10 KW Solar array on the Drive-Thru canopy generating 17% of the store’s electricity with an in-store LCD screen providing information on green features, including real-time reporting on the solar panels.
• Extensive use of daylight and energy efficient lighting
• Water efficient plumbing fixtures
• Highly insulated building envelope
• Drought tolerant native plantings

Comments

“At TD, green building education is a priority. However, because of the different approaches to green buildings in Canada and the U.S., our strategies must be regional. In 2010, we plan to extend training to more staff and to better develop our internal and external messaging about green programs.“

“We believe that green buildings should become business as usual. In 2010, we will make ongoing improvements to our building portfolio, involve and educate our employees about green building design, construction, operation and maintenance, and share this knowledge with customers and shareholders.”

Frank Sherman, U.S. Green Officer