There are many things you could say about Toyota. You could say they strive to deliver drivers ultimate safety? Or that they work to provide drivers convenience and constantly work to raise the bar on integrity. The company's attribute DCH Toyota of Oxnard would like to focus on today, however, is how responsible they are when it comes to making decisions which will ultimately lighten their environmental footprint.

The obvious case in point is their development and expansion of the Prius, not to mention adding hybrid variants to some of their best-selling model lineups.

A less obvious example is the buildings in which new Toyotas are built and sold.

The Wall Street Journal's Market Watch recently released a report indicating Toyota leads all other automakers in green buildings located in the U.S.

Specifically, the press release shows that there are 11 Toyota/Lexus U.S. facilities and 18 Toyota/Lexus dealerships that have achieved LEED Certification. This includes their Kansas City Regional Technical Training Center, which received the highest LEED Certification of all: Gold.

Among the many commitments this notable Toyota facility has made, which have led to its Gold LEED Certification, are:

- Salvaging or recycling 99 percent of all construction waste
- Planting native vegetation rain gardens and swales to remove 95 percent of pollutants from the parking lot and roof storm water runoff
- Auto on/off lights and increased usage of natural light so as to reduce electrical demand by 24.5 percent
- Ultra-efficient HVAC system
- Using only Forest Stewardship Council certified wood in the building's architecture
- Offsetting all energy used each year by investing in certified renewable energy

Interested in learning more about how Toyota serves as a steward to the earth?

Contact DCH Toyota of Oxnard today or swing by 1631 Auto Center Drive in Oxnard. And be sure to stay tuned for more Toyota news coming soon.

 [INFO] http://www.marketwatch.com/story/toyota-leads-the-way-in-green-buildings-2012-05-30