by Shane Henson — August 31, 2011—Toys”R”Us Inc. recently announced that by the end of 2011 it will have opened 21 new stores, including 11 “R” Superstores and 10 side-by-side locations, offering more convenient, one-stop shopping destinations to fulfill the needs of children of all ages. These new stores across 13 states are representative of the company’s strategy to bring Toys”R”Us and Babies”R”Us together under one roof in an integrated store format, providing customers with a streamlined shopping environment.
Facilities teams working for the toy giant have played an integral role in not only ensuring customers will have a great shopping experience at these new stores, but that they will be doing business with a company committed to sustainability, too.
According to Toys”R”Us Inc., the company has implemented a number of sustainable initiatives that conserve energy, minimize waste, reduce its stores’ overall impact on the environment and diminish the company’s carbon footprint today and for years to come. New and renovated “R”Us locations include a combination of the following sustainable features:
- A state-of-the-art Energy Management System (EMS) that monitors environmental conditions and adjusts temperature, lighting and CO2 levels throughout the store in order to utilize natural light and reduce energy consumption;
- A custom daylight harvesting system, which includes a number of design components such as skylights, cutting-edge dimmable fixtures and lighting sensors that reduce up to 50 percent of electric lighting energy used during the day;
- Energy-efficient Light-Emitting Diode (LED) fixtures in outdoor signage instead of florescent signage, which increase energy savings and reduce toxic materials and maintenance costs;
- Low-flow water closets and urinals and automatic faucets and flush valves, which conserve water;
- High-efficiency automatic hand dryers that use 80 percent less energy than standard hand dryers while eliminating the need for paper towel products, therefore lessening the impact on landfills;
- A cardboard baler that facilitates recycling and reduces the impact on landfills; and
- White reflective roof that significantly reduces the amount of heat absorbed by the building which, in turn, reduces the building’s energy requirement for cooling.
- A custom daylight harvesting system, which includes a number of design components such as skylights, cutting-edge dimmable fixtures and lighting sensors that reduce up to 50 percent of electric lighting energy used during the day;
