Sustainable Storage - Eco Friendly Company Growing Greener For Tomorrow

Written by Kerri Fivecoat-Campbell in January 2020 for MiniCo Publishing’s January 2020 Self Storage Canada Issue.

When it comes to building sustainable self storage facilities, there aren’t many companies that match the commitment of Green Storage. The company just doesn’t place solar panels on its rooftops and limit energy use at its facilities. On the contrary, their first consideration when doing anything is sustainability. And that eco-friendly mindset has paid off in more than one way. As a matter of fact, it recently earned their facility in Ajax the Sustainability Champion Business Excellence Award from Ajax Pickering Board of Trade. “This award is very meaningful to the company,” says Jeremy Freedman, general manager for Green Storage in Toronto, Ont. “It shows our efforts are paying off, and hopefully we will continue to win more awards.”

The Story Behind Green Storage

According to Freedman, the company is owned by two partners who grew up together. “They saw storage as a way to go into business together,” says Freedman. “They each have solar power on their homes, so have a very sustainable mindset.” Six years ago, they began looking for existing facilities with solar and decided to create a business plan that took sustainability to a whole new level. As their website states, “Our philosophy is that today’s best companies are thinking about tomorrow. We know it is important to take care of our customer’s goods, but we also need to take care of the environment. By investing now into energy efficiency and other eco-footprint reducing initiatives, we are ensuring our ability to provide clean and safe storage for many years to come.” To date, the company has taken six existing facilities, converted a building, and built a new facility with this philosophy as the driving factor behind design decisions. In addition to the Ajax facility, there is a facility in Hamilton, which Freedman says is the only geothermal storage facility that he is aware of in North America. They also have facilities in Aurora, Bolton, Keswick, New Market, Orillia, and Toronto.

The Ajax Facility

“Ajax was a very small facility and we’ve added to it,” says Freedman. “I think it is the best storage facility I’ve ever seen and think it is probably the best in North America.” Seventy-five percent of the 127,000-square-foot Ajax facility is new. It has both climate-controlled and non-climate-controlled units, drive-up units, business venture units, mailboxes, outdoor parking, and conference rooms. Ajax is the premier site that is representative of the company’s green philosophy. In addition to solar power, extra insulation, and other construction related energy saving initiatives, tinted office windows, energy saving thermostats, low energy lighting, and light sensors and timers, the facility has:

A commitment to electric cars/ vehicles - The facility has two Nissan Leaf electric plug-in cars that are used by different locations around the greater Toronto area for commuting on company business. The cars are 100 percent electric powered. The company also offers the staff and customers free electric vehicle charging via an electric car charging unit. Of course, to get around the facility, staff has access to an electric golf/utility cart to help maintain the lawn, gardens, shrubbery, trees, and buildings. They also utilize the electric golf cart to provide tours of the facility to their customers.

Plug-in electric car purchase employee incentive - The company also incentivizes employees to purchase plug-in electric cars by offering full-time employees up to $5,000 toward the purchase of a vehicle. The incentive is paid out at a rate of $100 per month for up to 50 months, as long as the employee remains with the company.

Water conservation - All three bathrooms on site have low flow toilets. One of the bathrooms has an automatic faucet that turns on and off with motion. The other two bathrooms will be converted this year when they are renovated. The bathrooms also have electric hand dryers, making the need for paper towels unnecessary. In addition, the carefully planned landscaping has an in-ground watering system that only waters in the evening, which reduces the chance of water being wasted in evaporation. The irrigation system only operates for five minutes at a time and has a rain sensor, so the irrigation system will not needlessly turn on when it rains.

Landscaping and gardens - Green Storage elected to minimize the manicured lawn area, which requires a lot of maintenance. Instead, it planted a drought-resistant garden. The gardens contain several species of ornamental grasses, perennials, shrubs, evergreens, and trees. The gardens are bedded with recycled rubber mulch from used tires to help the soil retain moisture and reduce weed proliferation. When planning building expansions, they try to retain as many of the original trees on the property as possible. In the winter, the exterior drive-up units are heated by in-floor radiant heating elements that are powered by solar panels. The floor slabs are heated to approximately one foot beyond the garage door opening, which doesn’t allow snow and ice to build up. This makes the use of environmentally unfriendly snow and ice melt unnecessary. “As a commitment to the community, we also have a community garden and we donate the food to the local food banks,” says Freedman.

In the office - Of course, the company’s commitment to sustainability extends to the office as well. They have an organized recycling program for plastics, metals, paper, and cardboard, as well as electronics. Roberto Prendin, social media and analytics with Green Storage, says that since 2016, the company has diverted 608 pounds of electronic waste from the landfills. Green Storage also uses Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified paper. The FSC ensures that the wood used to make the paper comes from a well-managed forest that adheres to strict environmental, social, and economic standards. Employees then re-use any paper with non-sensitive information, cut it up, and use it for scrap paper. The company also uses eco-friendly business cards printed on 100-percent recycled paper, as well as eco-friendly cleaning products throughout the site.

Sustainability extends to the customer - Green Storage offers customers the option to rent online, which reduces the amount of paper used to rent a storage unit. “Normally, in person rentals use seven pages and online rentals only use three pages,” says Prendin. In 2016, the company implemented the policy of emailing invoices and receipts to customers in place of providing printed copies. “For customers who prefer a paper copy of invoices or receipts, we charge a $2 printing fee to discourage printing requests,” says Prendin.

“We also give our customers reusable bags,” says Freedman. “We never give out plastics, and we encourage them to use the bags other places such as their grocery store.”

How It Pencils

While Canadians, overall, are very focused on sustainability, and they may help make Green Storage successful, Freedman mentions that there are other considerations that make the business profitable. “We estimate that it costs about 15 percent more to build or convert to sustainable standards,” says Freedman. “We make it pencil by offering such a high level of service; we aim to be the Ritz Carlton of self-storage. Our buildings are very clean and beautiful.” In fact, the company’s average occupancy after lease-up is 80 percent. “This company definitely has the future in mind,” says Prendin. “Typical self-storage offers a product; we offer an experience in that product. We have sustainability in mind, and we live our lives like this.” Green Storage is currently building a new facility in Scarborough, which is scheduled to open in 2021. Freedman already has new ideas in mind, such as having a farmer’s market on site, allowing local farmers to come and sell their goods on the property. As for expanding to the United States, while Freedman believes the concept would do well in the U.S., they currently have no plans to take the concept outside of Canada. “I spent some time in California and there are a lot of solar panels and windmills around; I think people there would definitely jump on board,” Freedman notes. However, for the moment, at least, Green Storage will remain strictly in Ontario. “We’re really focused on Ontario and aren’t looking to expand.”

Kerri Fivecoat-Campbell is a freelance journalist based in the Ozark Mountains. She is a regular contributor to MiniCo’s publications. Her business articles have also appeared in Entrepreneur, Aol.com, MSN.com, and The Kansas City Star.