Platinum is the highest rating in the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) green building certification program. Building projects that have attained this rating are among the greenest in the world.*

I recently added newly certified Platinum-rated projects (buildings, homes, offices, and stores) to my online listing of LEED Platinum Certified Building Projects Worldwide, which I had last updated a year ago. The listing is organized by country and—within the U.S.—by state. Some of the listed projects are linked to online case studies. The listing includes projects of all types, from every LEED rating system: New Construction (and Major Renovations), Existing Buildings/Operations & Maintenance, Neighborhood Developments, Commercial Interiors, Core & Shell, Homes, Schools, and Retail.

As of my latest review of the data (at the beginning of January 2012), it appears that there are now more than 1,045 LEED Platinum rated projects worldwide.

While the vast majority of LEED projects—almost 950 of them—are located in the United States (where LEED was created), Platinum rated projects now exist in 25 countries; a year ago only 16 countries had LEED Platinum rated projects. The nine countries that gained their first LEED Platinum projects over the past year are: France, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Taiwan, and Turkey. The other countries with LEED Platinum projects are: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Finland, Germany, Great Britain, India, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, and of course the United States. After the U.S., India is the country with the most Platinum projects, with about 35 projects so far (up from 20 a year ago). Canada and China also have many Platinum projects.

Within the United States, 49 of the 50 U.S. states (all states except North Dakota)—plus Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico—now have building projects that have achieved the LEED Platinum rating. A year ago, Alabama and West Virginia did not yet have any LEED Platinum projects, but now they do.

In terms of the absolute number of LEED Platinum certified projects in each state, here are the top 5 states with the greatest number of LEED Platinum projects (at last count):

• California (164 projects)
• Oregon (64)
• New York (61)
• Texas (51)
• Massachusetts (40)

So California has more than 2.5 times more Platinum projects than any other state—but that’s not too surprising since it’s the most populous state in the country.  On a per capita basis (i.e., as a percentage of population size), Washington D.C. has more LEED Platinum rated projects than any of the states. And when you add in the 50 states, here are the Top 5 with the greatest number of LEED Platinum projects per capita:

1. Washington, D.C.
2. Oregon
3. Montana
4. Vermont
5. New Mexico

The range of Platinum project types is very broad. In addition to high-profile projects (such as the iconic TransAmerica Pyramid in San Francisco, which got the Platinum rating for its upgrades under the LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance rating system) and a number of high-end offices, retail spaces, and luxury residences, LEED Platinum projects also include several public buildings and many modest homes and affordable housing developments. For example, there are dozens of Habitat for Humanity-built LEED Platinum homes around the country, and more than 75 affordable Platinum homes built in New Orleans alone through various initiatives, including Make It Right.

* Another green building certification, which is widely considered to be an even higher bar to reach than LEED Platinum, is the Living Building Challenge. To date, four projects have achieved the Living Building Challenge certification: the Tyson Living Learning Center in Eureka, Missouri; the Omega Center for Sustainable Living in Rhinebeck, New York (which also got a LEED Platinum certification); and the Eco-Sense home in Victoria, British Columbia. The latest project to achieve this certification (along with a LEED Platinum certification) is the Hawaii Preparatory Academy Energy Lab in Kamuela, Hawaii.

Some people might call me a chocolate enthusiast…or, a chocoholic. I crave chocolate. And I usually indulge this craving, because after all, dark chocolate has been proven to have a slew of health (physical and mental/mood) benefits.

I have a little bit of chocolate almost every day. Not a lot on any given day, mind you…but since my cumulative consumption of chocolate is considerable, I’ve been very pleased to find that many of my favorite chocolate bars are made by companies that address the social and environmental issues related to the production of chocolate.

The following chocolates are a few of my favorites; and they are all made with organic ingredients and/or their cacao has been sourced through fair-trade arrangements. Some of them also support other types of sustainability or conservation programs and practices, which are noted below. I am not being paid to recommend any of these companies or products.

1. TCHO

• Organic (certified by CCOF)
• Fair trade (certified by Fair Trade USA)
• Started the TCHOSource program “to obtain the best beans in the world while enabling the producers of those beans to earn a better living.” They “partner with growers and coops and transfer knowledge about growing and fermentation to enable farmers to escape commodity production and become premium producers and to create a relationship of mutual self-interest that goes beyond Fair Trade.”
• They also “raise consciousness about the reality of modern slavery in our industry and in the world, and set an example by refusing to use cacao produced by slaves.”
• Manufactured in San Francisco

I recently tried TCHO’s SeriousMilk Milk Chocolate “Cacao” bar (with 53% cacao), and I think this has now become my #1 favorite chocolate bar.  It’s the perfect balance between milk and dark chocolate. I look forward to trying their other bars, as well.

2. Newman’s Own Organics

• 100% organic (certified by Oregon Tilth)
• Rainforest Alliance Certified, which “guarantees that the cocoa in our Signature Series was grown on farms that meet comprehensive standards for sustainable farming, protecting soil, waterways and wildlife habitat as well as the rights and welfare of workers, their families and communities.”
• “We have confirmed in writing that the cocoa products we purchase have been produced on farms that treat their workers fairly, and pay them a fair wage. Our suppliers do not and will not support any farms or plantations that mistreat children and adults or engage in Slave Trade Practices.”

My favorite Newman’s Own Organics bar is: Dark Chocolate (54% cocoa), which is a light/creamy dark chocolate.

3. Endangered Species Chocolate

• Some of their bars are organic (certified by Oregon Tilth)
• “10% of net profits donated to charitable organizations supporting species and habitat conservation in harmony with humanity”
• “100% ethically traded: Cacao used to create our All-Natural and Organic chocolate products is grown on farm co-ops that foster responsible labor practices, community enrichment and sustainable farming… On-the-ground endeavors, like Project Ecuador are helping empower communities in cacao growing regions.”
• “All of our chocolate is shade-grown.  Shade-grown chocolate supports lush forests and the species that thrive there promoting biodiversity, providing shelter for migratory birds, and combating global warming.”
• Information about an endangered species is provided inside each wrapper.

My favorite Endangered Species Chocolate bar (that I’ve tried so far) is: Dark chocolate with Cranberries and Almonds.

4. Seeds of Change

• Organic (certified by QAI)
• “Directly contributes 1% of its net sales to sustainable organic farming initiatives worldwide.”

I’ve had their Milk Chocolate, and Milk Chocolate with Puffed Grains, and they were really tasty. I haven’t tried their various dark chocolate products yet, though I plan to. (One point against this company’s chocolates: I don’t love that they put 3 small, individually wrapped bars inside of the larger package. Though the smaller serving sizes are good for portion control and for keeping the unopened chocolate fresh, using that extra wrapping material seems a bit wasteful.)

You can find many or all of these chocolates at most Whole Foods stores and other natural foods stores. There are a number of other companies that make organic chocolate and/or fair trade chocolate (e.g., Dagoba, Theo, Angell, and Divine, to name just a few; commenters have also recommended Taza and Green & Black’s). I haven’t gotten around to trying all of them yet, but I surely will in the near future…

P.S. Fine chocolate makes a great last-minute gift for any chocolate lovers you know!

What’s your favorite kind of organic or “ethical” chocolate?

The Green Spotlight has begun creating simple, colorful graphics of some of our favorite Quotations. We hope that you enjoy these and will share your favorites with your friends. More of these graphics will be available in coming weeks; check the Quotations page for new additions.

Click on each image to see a larger (full-size, e-card) version.

Please feel free to pass them on! You can use the Share icons at the bottom of the post (for direct links to email, Facebook, Twitter, etc.), or just drag a full-size graphic onto your desktop and share it from there.

If you have a favorite quotation (whether it’s one that’s already on our Quotations page or not) and you’d like to see it presented in graphic form like these, please mention it in the Comments section below, or send us a note (email: info[at]thegreenspotlight.com). Thanks.

About a year ago, I posted a piece with tips, ideas, and considerations for selecting green gifts. Here’s a summary recap of the 7 types of gifts I suggested in that post:

1. Non-“stuff”  (e.g., activities, services, or donations, rather than products)
2. Homemade, handmade, or homegrown stuff
3. Locally made or Fair Trade goods
4. Products with green attributes or purposes
5. Re-gifted items or lightly used finds
6. Eminently useful things
7. Small stuff

Take a look at last year’s post to see the specific ideas that I suggested within each of those categories. This year, I’d like to supplement those suggestions with a few more. In addition to the criteria listed above, you also might want to consider choosing the following types of gifts:

• Products (or services) made and sold by small, independent (and ideally local) businesses, rather than national chains or multi-national corporations. Or at least try to buy things that were Made in the USA (or whichever country you live in) to help boost the domestic economy.
• Goods made or sold by companies that are members of the 1% for the Planet campaign: “a growing global movement of 1,395 companies [as of Nov. 2011] that donate 1% of their sales to a network of 2,691 environmental organizations worldwide.”
• Goods made or sold by Certified B Corporations (or Benefit Corporations), which “are a new type of corporation which uses the power of business to solve social and environmental problems.” As of Nov. 7, 2011, there are 451 Certified B Corporations. That number will be growing, as more companies achieve this certification and as more states pass laws establishing the legitimacy of Benefit Corporations. One of the Founding B Corporations is BetterWorldBooks.

Speaking of books, here are a few green-themed books that might interest some of the people on your gift list:

• Beautiful and Abundant: Building the World We Want, by Bryan Welch (2010)
• Reinventing Fire: Bold Business Solutions for the New Energy Era, by Amory Lovins, Rocky Mountain Institute (2011)
• Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life, by Barbara Kingsolver (2007)

Also, I might as well mention a few green product brands that are personal favorites of mine: Newman’s Own Organics (their 54% Dark Chocolate bars are exceptionally good); Seeds of Change; Sustainable Seed Co.; Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds; EO organic body care products; and Patagonia. I am not getting paid to recommend any of these companies.

Lastly, here are some online resources for additional information on green products and reducing wasteful consumption:

• Green America: click on the Green Gift Guide, Responsible Shopper, and Fair Trade links
• Center for a New American Dream: Simplify the Holidays
• Good Guide: ratings of safe, green, healthy, and ethical products
• SustainLane: green product and service reviews

The following is a partial list of environmental non-profit organizations that have a national (U.S.) or international scope and that take a broad approach to sustainability. These 14 groups address a wide spectrum of environmental issues; they are not single-issue organizations. Due to their holistic perspective, many of these groups do work that—directly or indirectly—promotes greater social and economic equity, as well as environmental sustainability, as all of these issues and conditions are inextricably connected to each other.

Please click on the links to learn more about the work that each of these groups is doing.

• Buckminster Fuller Institute
• Earthjustice
• Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) *
• Foundation for Sustainable Development
• Global Exchange
• Global Green USA *
• Green America
• Green Cross International
• ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability *
• Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
• One Planet Living (BioRegional)
• Resource Renewal Institute *
• Union of Concerned Scientists
• World Resources Institute

This is by no means a comprehensive list of sustainability-minded organizations.  For a longer list, see this set of links.

In addition, there are many single-issue environmental organizations (and local, state, and community-level organizations) that do good and important work in their respective areas and issues. I have highlighted such groups in past posts (e.g., organizations focused on green schools, environmental education, green affordable housing, green building, sustainable communities/planning, etc.), and will highlight other types of green groups in the future.

If you have a favorite green organization that you’d like people to know about, please share that in the Comments.

* Full disclosure: I have worked on projects for the organizations that are marked with an asterisk.

Take a peek at The Green Spotlight’s Facebook Page to see our daily blurbs and links. Anyone can view the page, whether or not you have a Facebook account. But if you do have an account, be sure to click on the “Like” button to join our growing online community (if you haven’t already); then you should be able to see The Green Spotlight’s posts in your daily Facebook news feed.

Please visit the Page to get a sense of the wide variety of topics that are featured. Here’s a sampling of a few of the solutions, efforts, and success stories that we’ve spotlighted on the page in recent weeks:

• the electric DeLorean, coming out in 2013
• LEED for Homes Awards: this year’s winning projects
• hybrid wind/solar systems
• Reinventing Fire, the new book by Amory Lovins
• Earthjustice
• Global Community Monitor
• Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition
• Green Corps’ Field School for Environmental Organizing
• Silent Spring Institute
• Arctic Live
• Revenge of the Electric Car (new documentary)
• CleanTech Open: this year’s finalists and Forum
• Brower Youth Awards: videos and info about this year’s winners
• Solar Decathlon home design competition’s winning projects
• DIY solar installations in Ypsilanti, Michigan
• how to size a solar PV system for charging an electric car
• B Corporation legislation passed in California
• quotations from Ray Anderson, Buckminster Fuller, Annie Dillard, and others

Most conventional paints and coatings contain and emit Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). Some types of VOCs contribute to smog, and many VOCs are emitted or “offgassed” indoors and contribute to indoor air pollution. VOCs can cause respiratory problems and some are known carcinogens.

I have written a 4-page overview of VOCs and other toxicity issues related to paints and other types of coatings. For the free download, just click on this link:

How to Select Less-Toxic, Low-VOC Paints, Primers, Stains, and Coatings [PDF]

Fortunately, almost every major paint manufacturer (and retailer) now has a low-VOC or zero-VOC product line. Most of these products are also low-odor, as some VOCs are responsible for to that noxious “new paint smell.”

I maintain an online product listing of Low-VOC and Zero-VOC Wall Paints, which I recently updated. The listing includes natural paints (e.g., plant- or mineral-based), as well as more conventional synthetic (e.g., latex/acrylic) paints.

A few paint manufacturers, such as AFM Safecoat and YOLO Colorhouse formulate their entire line of paints and primers to be low- or zero-VOC and low-toxic. While most low-VOC paints are interior paints, some brands (including those two) also offer low-VOC exterior paints.

My listing indicates which paint lines have been Green Seal certified or SCS Indoor Advantage Gold certified. GreenGuard also certifies paints; it has a basic Indoor Air Quality Certified program, as well as a more stringent Children and Schools Certified program. All of these certification programs are primarily focused on testing products’ VOC emissions.

Unfortunately, synthetic paints often contain other toxic compounds, beyond VOCs, such as phthalates (which are endocrine-disrupting chemicals), propylene glycol and glycol ethers (PGEs), certain heavy metals, and toxic biocides or fungicides. (Green Seal’s certification standard prohibits the use of some of those compounds.) See this Pharos article for additional information on paint toxicity.

This is a listing of green-themed films that came out in the last few years. I have not seen all of these films, so I can’t say that all of them are worth seeing, but many of them have won awards or been critically acclaimed. Click on the links below (or go to IMDB.com) to see previews/trailers, reviews, and descriptions of each film. Scroll to the bottom of the post to see a list of some green film festivals; those sites provide videos and information on even more films.

Films on energy, fuel, and/or climate change:

• The Last Mountain (2011)
• Revenge of the Electric Car (2011)*
• The Island President (2011)
• GASLAND (2010)
• Carbon Nation (2010)*
• Climate of Change (2010)*
• Powerful: Energy for Everyone (2010)*
• Crude (2009)
• Climate Refugees (2009)
• Fuel (2008)
• The Age of Stupid (2008)
• The 11^th Hour (2007)
• A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash (2007)
• An Inconvenient Truth (2006)

Films on food and/or farming:

• Symphony of the Soil (2011; work in progress)
• Growing Cities (2011)*
• American Meat (2010)*
• The Greenhorns (2010)*
• Queen of the Sun: What are the bees telling us? (2010)*
• Vanishing of the Bees (2009)
• Big River (2009)
• Fresh (2009)*
• Dirt! The Movie (2009)*
• Homegrown Revolution (2009)*
• We Are What We Eat (2009)
• Food, Inc. (2008)
• Food Fight (2008)
• King Corn (2007)*
• Earthlings (2007)
• The Price of Sugar (2007)
• Fast Food Nation (2006)
• The Future of Food (2004)
• For a list of other food-related films, see this list from Serious Eats.

Films on other topics (e.g., health/toxins/pollution, water, localization, dolphins, etc.):

• The Human Experiment (coming out in 2012)
• The Economics of Happiness (2011)*
• Consumed: Inside the belly of the best (2011)
• Bag It: Is your life too plastic? (2010)*
• Living Downstream (2010)
• WASTE LAND (2010)*
• 180 Degrees South (2010)*
• The Cove (2009)
• Flow: For Love of Water (2008)
• Scarred Lands & Wounded Lives: The Environmental Footprint of War (2008)
• WALL-E (2008)*
• What Would Jesus Buy? (2007)*

If there are other relevant films that you’ve heard of or seen and would recommend to others, please add those in the Comments section below.

* Films that are marked with an asterisk are films that have a more positive or funny bent than many of the others. There are only so many bleak films about reality that people can watch in a row without getting depressed or angry and feeling helpless to make a difference. I find that it’s best to take in some positive stories, solutions, and humor now and then, to keep myself sane and motivated…

Green Film Festivals

These are a few of the annual film fests that I’m aware of. Please let everyone know about others by contributing a Comment! Many of the festivals’ websites feature video clips or entire films (short and full-length films), and they list many additional, new, independent films, beyond what I’ve listed above.

• Environmental Film Festival (Washington, DC)
• San Francisco Green Film Festival (San Francisco, CA)
• Wild and Scenic Film Festival (Nevada City, CA)
• Mountainfilm Festival (Telluride, CO)
• Annapolis Green Film Fest (Annapolis, MD)
• Planet in Focus environmental film festival (Toronto, Canada)
• UK Green Film Festival (5 cities in the UK, including London)
• Possible Futures Film Contest (online short films)

The following resource list provides links to organizations and websites that provide valuable information on green affordable housing. Many of these resources are focused on multi-family low-income housing developments, but some also apply to single-family affordable homes.

Global Green USA: Greening Affordable Housing Initiative *

Global Green USA, Holy Cross project

A few of Global Green’s projects and resources:

• Holy Cross project, New Orleans
• Blueprint for Greening Affordable Housing (2^nd Edition), edited by Global Green USA (Island Press, 2007) *
• Solar Affordable Housing Assessment Calculator (for California LIHTC developments)

Affordable Housing Design Advisor

Architecture for Humanity

Energy Efficient Rehab Advisor (HUD / Energy Star)

Enterprise Green Communities *

Green Affordable Housing Coalition (Build It Green, CA)

Habitat for Humanity: Sustainable Building / Construction Technologies

Home Depot Foundation’s Affordable Housing Built Responsibly grant/awards program

LEED for Homes’ Initiative for Affordable Housing

LISC (Local Initiatives Support Corporation): Sustainable Communities programs

LISC Green Development Center

National Center for Healthy Housing

New Ecology, Inc.

Partnership for Sustainable Communities *

Tiny House Blog

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD): Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities , and
HUD Green Homes and Communities information

U.S. Interagency Partnership for Sustainable Communities (HUD/EPA/DOT)

*  =  I have worked on writing projects for the organizations that are marked with an asterisk. I also used to work for an architecture firm that specializes in designing green affordable housing projects in the Boston metropolitan area: Davis Square Architects.

If you know of other relevant resources, please mention them in the Comments below. Thanks!

The sustainability of one’s home depends as much (if not more) on its location as on how the house is built. If you’re looking to buy land or to buy (or rent) a house, consider sustainability criteria when comparing the locations of different properties.

The following are some of the key “location efficiency” issues to consider. (Some of them only apply to buying land that you plan to build on.) Try to choose a spot that meets at least some of these criteria:

Seek a property that…

• …is located close to your (and your family’s) jobs and schools; close to shops, parks, civic buildings, and other services and amenities your family regularly uses; and close to public transit stops—ideally within walking distance (i.e., less than 1/4 mile, or 1/2-mile max.). Living in close proximity to such things will save you gas, money, and driving time; reduce your stress level and your odds of getting in a car accident; and also reduce traffic and air pollution!
• ...has been built on before. It’s best to choose a property that has an existing house or other structures that can be renovated and reused. (If a structure is unsafe or beyond repair and must be demolished, have it deconstructed carefully so that you can recycle, reuse, donate, or sell its salvageable materials; and then rebuild on its original foundation or footprint.)
• …is an infill site (i.e., surrounded by other developed parcels) that is already (or can easily be) hooked up to existing infrastructure for roads, water, wastewater, and utility lines (to reduce the costs, resource waste, and sprawl associated with extending or building new infrastructure)—unless you’re planning to live entirely off-grid (with on-site power, water, and wastewater treatment). If you are planning to live off-grid, be sure that the property has a good source of clean water on site, as well as adequate solar access and/or wind or biomass resources for generating your own electricity.

And avoid buying or building on a property that…

• …is within a floodplain zone; on a known earthquake fault; or on coastal land that’s susceptible to erosion or located in a tsunami zone;
• …is a Greenfield site (i.e., land that has never been developed / cleared / built on before);
• …contains sensitive habitat, endangered species, wetlands, or prime agricultural land (unless you preserve the key areas for continued agricultural use or conservation, whichever is applicable); or
• …consists of steep slopes (often defined as slopes with a grade of 15% or more), which would need to be substantially graded to enable development of the site. The grading and development of steep slopes can cause soil erosion and increased stormwater runoff, which in turn can cause water pollution, flooding, and potentially mudslides.

Living in an environmentally sensible and sustainable location has numerous benefits. You can reap significant financial savings (e.g., by reducing the amount of driving you have to do; or by avoiding or minimizing the need to build new infrastructure or to do extensive site grading). Location efficiency can also yield broad, collective benefits for society and our shared environment, such as:

• reducing sprawl-related automobile dependence, traffic, and air pollution;
• protecting public health, environmental health, and the climate;
• conserving natural resources, habitat, and open space; and
• contributing to the creation of livable, walkable, healthy, and vibrant neighborhoods that enhance your community’s quality of life and local economic opportunities.