For Earth Week, Greenmoxie is looking at some Good News stories of companies and people who are doing it right. Here are a few of our favorites:
The Toronto-Dominion Centre, home to the original skyscrapers of Toronto’s Financial District,
has achieved industry-leading sustainability standards and set new levels of environmental performance. In its fourth-annual Sustainability Report, TD Centre demonstrates how smart investments and innovative programs are working to reduce the buildings’ energy use, water consumption and landfill waste, while delivering a healthier workplace and cost savings to tenants.
“Doing our part to minimize our environmental footprint is vitally important to the TD Centre and the 21,000 people who come to work here every day,” said general manager David Hoffman. “We are deeply committed to sustainability and extremely proud to be recognized among the leading green buildings in the world.”
Last year, all six of the TD Centre’s towers earned LEED Platinum certification, making the 4.5 million square-foot complex one of the largest properties in North America to be granted the highest possible ranking for existing buildings. To qualify, TD Centre met strict criteria for energy and water efficiency, waste management and indoor environmental quality.
To achieve this feat TD Centre dedicated $200 million to greening and revitalization investments and introduced its pioneering Occupant Engagement Program, which empowers tenants to help meet progressive consumption targets.
Here are just a few examples of the commitment in action:
- Free “midnight” energy audits for tenants – The audits were done to identify potential energy savings. Ultimately, the audits uncovered nearly 500,000 kWh of potential electricity savings – worth about $70,000 at current electricity prices.
- Deep lake cooling, as an alternative to traditional air conditioning – This process uses pipes at the bottom of Lake Ontario to pump cold lake water into a heat-transfer station. This process does not consume any water, but it does use the cold temperature – making it a true renewable.
- Nano-Climate irrigation system – This technology ensures that TD Centre consumes as little water as is needed to keep the grass, trees and shrubs around the buildings thriving. The system, which uses wireless sensors to measure soil moisture, has decreased landscaping water consumption by almost 60% or 1.3 million litres in 2015.
Over the past four years, TD Centre’s investments in these areas have resulted in a 16.8% reduction in energy use, a 16.7% decrease in water consumption, and diverted 19 million kilograms of waste from landfill.
About the TD Centre
The Toronto-Dominion Centre is one of North America’s largest business communities and home to 21,000 office employees. Due to its visionary design, unequaled size, and central location, this cultural landmark has played a significant role in the success of a generation of Canada’s most innovative and extraordinary business leaders. The TD centre consists of six buildings: Toronto Dominion Bank Tower, 77 King Street West, 100 Wellington Street West, TD Waterhouse Tower, Ernst & Young Tower and 95 Wellington Street West. For more information, visit www.tdcentre.com.