TD Bank Receives EPA Green Power Leadership Award

CHERRY HILL, N.J. and PORTLAND, Maine, Oct. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank®, announced today that it has received a 2010 Green Power Leadership Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  The annual awards recognize the country's leading green power purchasers for their commitment and contribution to helping advance the development of the nation's voluntary green power market.  EPA presented TD Bank with the award at an event held in conjunction with the 2010 Renewable Energy Markets Conference in Portland, Ore. on October 20, 2010.

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TD Bank was one of only four organizations nationwide to be chosen as a Green Power Partner of the Year. The award recognizes EPA Green Power Partners who distinguish themselves through their purchase, leadership, overall strategy, and impact on the green power market. TD Bank is currently purchasing more than 240 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power annually, which is enough green power to meet 100 percent of the organization's purchased electricity use. TD Bank is buying renewable energy certificates (RECs) from Community Energy and Renewable Choice Energy.

"We are proud to receive this prestigious award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency," said Jacquelynn Henke, real estate green strategy officer, TD Bank. "Purchasing green power helps our organization become more sustainable, while also sending a message to others across the U.S. that supporting clean sources of electricity is a sound business decision and an important choice to fight climate change."

TD Bank currently ranks No.15 on EPA's National Top 50 list. Each list highlights EPA Green Power Partners that have completed the largest annual voluntary purchases through July 6, 2010.  EPA updates its Top Partner Lists quarterly at http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/toplists/.

Green power is electricity that is generated from environmentally preferable renewable resources, such as wind, solar, geothermal, biogas, biomass and low-impact hydro.  These resources generate electricity with a net zero increase in carbon dioxide emissions, while offering a superior environmental profile compared to traditional power generation sources.  Green power purchases also support the development of new renewable energy generation sources nationwide.

"EPA congratulates our leadership award winners for demonstrating by example the importance of using clean, renewable energy," said Gina McCarthy, Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation at EPA. "By using green power, TD Bank is leading the way toward cleaner air and a healthier environment while helping advance the market for renewable energy."

According to the EPA, TD Bank's current green power purchase of more than 240 million kWh is equivalent to avoiding the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of more than 33,000 passenger vehicles per year, or is the equivalent amount of electricity needed to power nearly 21,000 average American homes annually.

When TD Bank made the announcement earlier this year that it had purchased RECs, the bank also unveiled its new green prototype store design that would reduce energy consumption by 50 percent compared to previous designs. The bank's first green prototype store opened in Queens Village in April with a plethora of green features, including solar panels and solar drive-thru canopies that produce nearly 20 percent of the store's energy onsite. The Queens Village store is targeting LEED-Platinum, which is the highest level of LEED certification. LEED evaluates buildings for their overall performance in five areas: sustainable sites, water use, energy efficiency, materials and resource use, and indoor environmental quality.

TD Bank has since opened four more green buildings this year, with five to 10 green stores opening this fall. The vast majority of TD Bank stores constructed in 2011 will be green and all stores thereafter.

TD Bank and its parent company, TD Bank Financial Group (TD), also recently became participating members of paper manufacturer Boise Inc.'s Closed Loop System™, a paper recycling program that guarantees at least 1,500 metric tonnes of paper from TD's operations in Canada and the U.S. is diverted from landfills and used in the production of recycled office paper. TD then purchases the recycled paper for use in its operations – hence the closed loop system.

About TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank®

TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank, is one of the 15 largest commercial banks in the United States, providing customers with a full range of financial products and services at about 1,300 convenient locations from Maine to Florida. On September 30, 2010, The South Financial Group, Inc. was acquired by TD Bank Financial Group, and its subsidiary Carolina First Bank merged with TD Bank. Carolina First Bank will continue to operate under the trade names Carolina First Bank in North and South Carolina and Mercantile Bank in Florida until conversion and rebranding in 2011. TD Bank is headquartered in Cherry Hill, N.J., and Portland, Maine. Carolina First Bank and Mercantile Bank are trade names of TD Bank, N.A. For more information, visit www.tdbank.com. TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank, is a member of TD Bank Financial Group and a subsidiary of The Toronto-Dominion Bank of Toronto, Canada, a top 10 financial services company in North America and one of the few banks in the world rated Aaa by Moody's. The Toronto-Dominion Bank trades on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges under the ticker symbol "TD." To learn more, visit www.td.com.

About EPA's Green Power Partnership

The Green Power Partnership is a voluntary program that encourages organizations to buy green power as a way to reduce the environmental impacts associated with purchased electricity use. The Partnership currently has nearly 1,300 Partner organizations voluntarily purchasing billions of kilowatt-hours of green power annually. Partners include a wide variety of leading organizations such as Fortune 500® companies, small and medium sized businesses, local, state, and federal governments, and colleges and universities. For additional information, please visit http://www.epa.gov/greenpower.

About the Green Power Leadership Awards

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) co-sponsors the annual Green Power Leadership Awards in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Energy and the Center for Resource Solutions. EPA recognizes winners in the following awards categories; Green Power Partner of the Year; On-site Generation; Green Power Purchase, and Green Power Community of the Year. EPA's Purchaser awards recognize the exceptional achievement among EPA Green Power Partners who distinguish themselves through green power procurement, market leadership, overall green power strategy, and overall impact on the green power market.  The Awards are held in conjunction with the Renewable Energy Markets Conference. For additional information please visit http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/awards/.

SOURCE TD Bank