RICHMOND, British Columbia -

This week, BMW named one British Columbia store "The Most Sustainable BMW Dealership in the World."

At this year’s BMW Sales Excellence Award Ceremony held at the BMW Museum in Munich, Germany, the title was given to Auto West BMW, located in Richmond, British Columbia.

This award recognizes dealerships "who are paving a way for a greener future," BMW explained.

Offering a little background on the store, Auto West BMW — part of a the Auto West Group   —  opened in 1986, but the OEM shared that "the history of this family-run business dates back to the late 60's as the original importers of BMWs into Western Canada."

Auto West BMW opened their new facility in 2007, embedding many sustainability features into the structure, including roof gardens and solar panels.

Commenting on the recent honor, Joachim Neumann, founder and president of Auto West BMW and the Auto West Group, said, "This sustainability award plays a crucial role in promoting the principles of environmental responsibility to an industry that's considered to be very wasteful,.

"Auto West Group is committed to developing a greener environment — one project at a time," he added.

On top of implementing a green roof concept that consists of eight gardens and 2,200 plants in total and a rooftop honey bee apiary, the dealership also installed one of British Columbia’s only commercial vertical axis wind turbine, BMW reported.

The turbine can produce up to 3,500 watts of power to create natural energy, officials explained.

The roof of the store is also home to solar panes, and the dealership has been suited with Geothermal heating and cooling technology.

Lastly, 90 percent of storm water and car wash runoff is collected, filtered and reused during car wash cycles.

But Auto West Group’s commitment to green technology doesn’t stop with this BMW dealership.

Just last year, they opened MINI Richmond, which is home to 168 rooftop solar panels. 

Also, Auto West BMW is gearing up to sell units from the new electric BMW I franchise. Officials explained the dealership is  "currently undergoing an expansion to accommodate the arrival of the BMW i3 and i8 models. This will also include the addition of public charging stations with the expected completion of the Auto West BMW i showroom in Fall 2013."

Pete Sargent, project manager for Auto West Group, said, "We have made all of these investments without the expectation of an immediate financial return. This is about being good corporate citizens within our community by doing what is right for the environment, while also setting an example as a sustainable leader in the automotive marketplace."

To learn more about what Auto West Group is doing to make its stores more sustainable, see the video below.
 

 

Sarah Rubenoff can be reached at srubenoff@autoremarketing.com. Continue the conversation with Auto Remarketing Canada on LinkedIn and Twitter.