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Photos: Ford

Greenzone Ford Dealership: The newest Ford dealership in Europe, believed to be the world's first purpose-built 'green' dealer  facility, was opened today (6/16/00) at Umea in northern Sweden. Called GreenZone, the project was initiated some three years ago by Umea-based Ford dealer Per Carstedt, in conjunction with Ford, McDonalds and Statoil, and  includes three different buildings - a car dealership, a restaurant and a fuel station. This Greenzone  interior shows skylight lanterns and green filters (upper left).
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UMEĆ, Sweden  – The newest Ford dealership in Europe, believed to be the world's first purpose-built 'green' dealer facility, was opened today at Umeć in northern Sweden. It is expected to provide valuable knowledge for possible future global application. 

Called GreenZone, the project was initiated some three years ago by Umeć-based Ford dealer Per Carstedt, in conjunction with Ford, McDonalds and Statoil, and includes three different buildings - a car dealership, a restaurant and a fuel station.

"It is the use of state-of-the-art-environmental technology combined with an integrated systems approach, that makes GreenZone unique", he said. "The main challenge for us in this century is to first change our attitude and then face the technological challenge. With GreenZone we have taken existing state-of-the-art-technology, but integrated it in a completely new and innovative way."

Strong Reduction In Energy Consumption

One of the most challenging goals ahead is the achievement of a strong reduction in energy consumption and use of only renewable energy sources to meet the remaining energy demands. The GreenZone project demonstrates that, by applying a combination of different environmental technologies, energy requirements could be reduced by between 60-70%. 

The car showroom building, for example, is equipped with a geo-thermal system and thermal solar collectors, which regulate the heating of the building. The dealership, restaurant and fuel station are all linked by culverts that serve as conduits for excess heat between the buildings (excess heat from the restaurant kitchens can be used for the heating of the car showroom, for example).  

Lantern skylights have been installed to give better light and reduce energy consumption. Remaining energy demands are met by renewable energy provided by the national grid. Additionally from this Autumn, a wind generator - partly owned by the dealer, but located at the coast - will go into operation and will satisfy (via the national grid) the entire facility's energy demand.

Dr. Wolfgang Schneider, Ford of Europe Vice President, Governmental and Environmental Affairs, said: "Ford aims to be the world's leading consumer company for automotive products and services, and is also committed to environmental leadership."

"This environmentally-friendly dealership marks a new step and emphasizes our holistic approach to environmental matters - from our plants to our products and through to our dealers. The 20,000 Ford dealerships all over the world could benefit from the experiences which we will gain here. It is a further example of how we are contributing to sustainable development and it shows our willingness to embrace new technologies as part of our aim to become a leader in environmental issues". 

Other Environmental Technologies 

Apart from its innovative handling of energy demands, the GreenZone project applies many other environmental technologies. The three buildings are equipped with green sedum tile roofs as an integral part of the climate control and water circulation system, which includes use of rain water.

The demand on public water supplies is reduced by 90 %, achieved mainly by the recirculation of used water and its regeneration through an internal waste water treatment system.Air within the facility is purified by living plants, known as green filters, and all building materials used in the construction can be reused or recycled.  

The facility will be certified to ISO 14001, the worldwide environmental management standard and continuously monitored for further possible improvements relating to its environmental impact. Ford is the first automotive company to have achieved ISO 14001 certification also for all its manufacturing plants on a global basis. 

Technical Details

Building materials: All can be either completely reused or recycled.Renewable energy resources only (heat and electric power) will be used.

Heat: Solar-thermal collectors as well as a geo-thermal system (using ground    heating via a heat pump) regulate the heating of the building. Culverts filled with water transport surplus heat between the buildings and can also provide a cooling function. This reduces the demand for purchased energy for heating    purposes by 70%. The remaining 30% is electric power mainly to run the heat   pump and - under cold conditions - an electric boiler to satisfy heat demand.

Electric power: Light openings (lantern skylights) with a new type of          reflective film have been installed to improve light conditions and reduce      usage of electricity. The reduction in demand for electric power will be 60%. The remaining requirement for lights and heating is provided by the national grid which delivers "green" power from renewable sources like hydro-electric or wind energy.

Wind generator: Partly owned by the dealership and located at the coast, it      will go into operation this Autumn. From then on, it will provide the facility          with "green" electric power (via the national grid) to satisfy all electric energy     requirements. Cellulose fibres insulate those windows with the largest glass        surfaces, facing east. The same material is used in the heating and cooling           systems in the building as well as in the acoustic insulation for noise reduction.

Live biological matter (sedum:) Placed on the roof of all three buildings, this will contribute to both the local climate and water circulation systems. It is additionally supported by reinforced grass, which replaces the traditional asphalt across most of the ground area.  

Water: Supplied from local sources, including a local water park. However,      by recirculation and regeneration of used water within the facility itself and by    collecting and using rain-water, the demand on public water supplies can be       reduced by 90%. This is achieved by installing water-recirculation systems        within different technological areas of the facility itself (e.g. recirculation and        regeneration of car wash water) as well as by a facility waste water          treatment system. Sewage water will not be connected to the local waste        water system, but cleaned on-site to make re-use possible. Most of the           remaining demand for fresh water from the public water supply is needed only for the dealership kitchen and for the restaurant.

Vacuum toilets: These allow a further reduction of water consumption, anda separate collection of the waste makes it possible to re-use nutritional salts  produced by re-composing it as fertilizer.                          ·

Ethanol: Different types will supplement the normal offerings of petrol and       diesel available at the fuel station.

Iso 14001:All activities within the GreenZone will be certified according to     this worldwide environmental management standard, approved by          independent experts. In support, the entire staff will also be educated in     environmental matters.

(June16, 2000)