"LEED" news and stories

Ch-ch-ch-changes may be coming to a Starbucks near you. Known widely for their rapid expansion in the 1990's -- some would more pointedly describe it as "global domination" -- Starbucks is often viewed as the antithesis to local charm and character. Nevertheless, when Starbucks begins its nationwide store redesigns in late 2010, local relevance will be one of its top priorities, along with the celebration of coffee heritage and an overarching theme of environmental responsibility.

There are currently twelve prototype stores that reflect this "Starbucks Shared Planet" three-pronged mission, and they are all part of a U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Volume Certification pilot program (now that's a latte-guzzling mouthful). In short? While LEED was originally established to enable the green-certification of office buildings -- a time consuming and financially draining measure -- Starbucks has been working to create a system that would enable the certification of retail-store prototypes, so that once audited and approved by the USBGC, they would be able to replicate the certified process at all new or significantly renovated company-owned stores. The other pilot sites are in cities as varied as Seattle, Washington; Atlanta, Georgia; Toronto, Canada; Lisbon, Portugal; and Kyoto, Japan. This falls on the heels of the news that Starbucks recently opened a café concept store that is serving wine and beer and hosting musicians and film viewings. Will all these efforts allow them to shake that image of the evil corporate empire?

It's not easy going green, but California might soon get its first eco-friendly McDonald's, the Press-Enterprise reported.

Tom and Candace Spiel, owners of McSpi Inc., which operates nine McDonald's franchises in southern California, are planning to tear down their Riverside, Calif., restaurant and rebuild with an eye on the environment.

"Someone needs to be early adoptees of the latest and best practices, and we're looking to see what we can do to make a positive impact on our community and our environment. This seems like one step forward in that direction," Candace Spiel told Slashfood.

Few publicists instruct reporters to destroy their press releases. But in keeping with Food Lion's roll-out of what it is billing as its "first environmentally friendly grocery store," spokeswoman Christy Phillips-Brown issued materials printed on paper saturated with seeds.

"You tear it up, put it in soil and it grows," Phillips-Brown says.

Food Lion is counting on its green grocery in Columbia, S.C., to blossom, too. The store -- the first supermarket in the state built according to LEED Silver Certification standards -- is a major element in Food Lion's ongoing attempt to rehabilitate its image.

"Certainly we want to serve our customers," Philips-Brown says of the project. "But it's more about being a good corporate citizen."