LEED® at Sobeys
Québec LEED® stores
Sobeys Québec proved its leadership in sustainable development in Canada in December 2007 when a new IGA store in Saint-Pascal de Kamouraska received certification under LEED®. This store was the first LEED®-certified grocery store in Canada, the second LEED®-certified building in Québec, and the second LEED®-certified commercial building in Canada. In recognition of this and other sustainable developments initiated by the region, in November 2007 Sobeys Québec received the Energia Jurors’ Choice for a Significant Project Award by the Association Québécoise pour la maitrise de l’energie (Québec’s Association for Energy Advancement). In November 2008, we were awarded the Contech Innovation Trophies prize for energy performance and influential practices in the commercial sector. Contech’s mission is to encourage information exchange between parties involved in the building industry.
The Saint-Pascal de Kamouraska LEED®-certified store features:
- Heating equipment that does not use fossil fuels. 100% of the store’s space heating requirement is provided by a wall-mounted solar thermal system, a heat recovery system and fabric duct equipment. The fabric ducting is made of recycled material and does not contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
- A conventional high-efficiency air conditioning system that uses the VOC-free fabric ductwork system.
- A solar wall system located on the store’s southwest wall. The system heats the surrounding air to 12ºC above the outdoor ambient temperature, then draws the heated air into the building and delivers it to the air handling system.
- A compressor control system that recovers heat from the compressor racks and supplies it to a plate heat exchanger. The solar-heated air is brought up to temperature set points.
- A refrigeration system that features heat reclamation with a secondary glycol loop. This system reduces the store’s refrigerants requirement by more than 318 kg compared to a similarly spaced conventional grocery store.
- The building’s heat island effect is reduced through shade-creating elements and the use of a white, or “cool”, roof.
- High-efficiency T5 fluorescent lighting, a parking lot catch-basin system that separates automotive oils from rainwater, and a complete building automation system (BAS) for all mechanical equipment.
- Water conservation features including double flush toilets and electronic water faucets.
- A refrigeration system that was commissioned to ensure optimum efficiency.
- Low-emitting construction materials such as adhesives, sealants, paints and coatings. These materials do not release significant pollutants into the indoor environment and contain zero- and low-volatile organic compounds (VOCs), resulting in improved indoor air quality.
- More than 20% of the materials used in the store’s construction were sourced locally.
The combined effect of these design features results in the store using 47% less water and 43% less energy than similar buildings. Additionally, the store surpasses the Model National Energy Code for Buildings (MNECB) standards by 47%.
A second Québec store in Rivière-des-Prairies is in the process of obtaining LEED® certification. We also have an extensive network of existing stores that we continuously endeavour to make more energy efficient and reduce their environmental impact. Our LEED® experience is also influencing the decisions we make about all future new stores, renovations and other buildings as we opt for more sustainable practices even when LEED® certification is not possible or feasible.
