Sept. 30, 2008 - Toyota has notched up another green car dealership, this time in Conway, Ark.

Caldwell Toyota-Scion joins the expanding list of LEED-certified Toyota dealerships throughout the U.S. It is also the first retail building in Arkansas to seek LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building council.

The green dealerships are being built as part of the Toyota's Eco-Image USA II initiative, which emphasizes environmental sensitivity when building new facilities or updating current facilities. Under the program, Toyota helps its dealers implement green-building features, including different power sources such as solar, wind, and geothermal.

Green features of the new Conway dealership include:

• A runoff collection system that collects roof runoff water and air conditioner condensation for landscape irrigation.
• A carwash recycle system that recycles 80 to 90% percent of the water used to wash a car.
• Carwash reverse osmosis that rinses each vehicle with "spot free" water, which saves two to three gallons of water per wash. This also eliminates the need for blowers to dry each vehicle.
• Light controls with occupancy sensors.

"The construction included extensive use of recycled and rapidly renewable materials, such as carpet made from corn with backing derived from auto glass," says Jay Caldwell, dealership general manager. "Seventy-five percent of construction waste was diverted from disposal and was separated into recycled waste containers."

Toyota, which in May opened the first-ever LEED Gold-certified dealership in the U.S., was recently selected to participate in a Department of Energy program aimed at speeding the adoption of energy-efficient building technologies.