One of Canada’s newest retailers has announced that all stores opening in 2013 will be renovated to the US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for existing buildings. This will make Target a leader among Canadian mass retailers when it comes to LEED buildings and will set a new high in the industry for green initiatives. Target has announced that design plans include conserving energy and water, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and limiting waste sent to landfill.

In 2011, Target acquired 189 Zellers sites across Canada and is planning to renovate between 125-135 of them to become Target stores. Unlike some past retailer store conversions, the Zellers stores are being closed and extensively renovated before being reopened as Target stores.

Information and documentation for the LEED for Existing Buildings Rating System is available at http://new.usgbc.org/leed/rating-systems/existing-buildings.

The Target announcement is available at http://pressroom.target.com/news/targetR-seeks-leed-certification-for-all-2013-canadian-store-locations.