Ei Welcomes New Sponsors

Welcome HMS Host and Hilex Poly to the Elemental Impact Sponsor Family!  Both new sponsors come with the most valuable attribute: ACTIVE PARTICIPATION.


HMSHost joined at the Gold Level and is an active member of the Sustainable Food Court Initiative Team.  Due to  their deep sustainability commitment, HMSHost is serving in a foundation role for the two SFCI pilot projects set for fall announcement.  For both planned pilots, HMSHost holds the food court concessions contract.  It is inspirational to work with folks so enthusiastic to make a difference.


Hilex Poly joined at the Silver Level, with the intention of upgrading their sponsorship at a later date.  After attending his first POWER meeting this spring, Louis Herrera with Hilex Poly has played a vital role in creating pilots designed to capture plastic film from its current landfill destination and into recycling programs.

Louis explaining
contamination on plastic film

To learn about the retail sector's significant increase in clear, virgin plastic usage for shipping, read the ZWZ Blog post, Simon Property Group Embraces Zero Waste Initiatives.  Within weeks of the Simon June meeting, Ei & Hilex Poly coordinated a tour of their North Vernon plastic film recycling plant with the Simon team.  Visit the ZWZ Blog post, Getting a Handle on Plastic Recycling, for a tour overview and the Ei FaceBook album, 07-01-11 Hilex Poly Tour, for a pictorial tour recap.


When recruiting Ei sponsors, prospective organizations learn Ei is as interested in their active participation as their financial support.  HMSHost and Hilex Poly are role model sponsors.  Welcome and THANK YOU!

Asean|Stalkmarket Renews & Upgrades Ei Sponsorship!

Asean|Stalkmarket renewed their Elemental Impact sponsorship on their anniversary date with an upgrade to Gold Level - Thank you Buzz!


In addition to financial support, Buzz Chandler, Asean President, participates in POWER meetings and in the Sustainable Food Court Initiative as a Team Member.  A Biodegradable Products Institute Board Member, Buzz shares his compostable product expertise whenever called upon.

Buzz, Chris & Holly @ IFSS
Photo Credit:  Doug Kunnemann

An excellent speaker, Buzz joined the Chris & Holly Show at the International Foodservice Sustainability Symposium in the session Recycling Integrity: Truths, Myths & Emerging Technologies.  Buzz gave a fantastic presentation on Emerging Technologies.  See the ZWZ Blog post,  Recycling Integrity @ IFSS - the Chris & Holly Show with an Added Buzz, for details on the session.  Chris is Chris Moyer, National Restaurant Association Conserve Program Director, and Holly is Holly Elmore, Zero Waste Zones Director & Ei Founder. 


Thank you Buzz for your Ei financial support and active participation - the Ei Team appreciates you!

Ei Consulting Launches!

Elemental Impact launches Ei Consulting!  Ei expertise is now available to corporations and communities via speaking engagements and consulting services.

Holly Elmore, ZWZ Director & Ei Founder, is a captivating and effective speaker who leaves an audience motivated to take ACTION.  Popular speaking topics include:

• Zero Waste Zones - Mobilizing an Industry to Make a Difference
• Compost:  The Quiet Hero
• Recycling Integrity:  Truths, Myths & Emerging Technologies

Holly @ ZWZ

Two-Year Press Conference

Visit the Ei Speaking Engagements Page to learn about Holly’s speaking experience and to review supporting PPT presentations.  The Testimonial Page documents strong support for Holly's communication style.

The above topics work well for industry conference sessions, solo or in panel format, corporate training or as a keynote for awards ceremonies. 

Holly Presenting to

Waste Management Directors

Consulting services are available to corporations and communities in a range of expertise areas including assessing and implementing zero waste practices, refining recycling systems, and developing collaborative team and action plans for communities.  

Ei is a working partner with the Institute for Local Self Reliance's Waste to Wealth Program and serves as the zero waste subcontractor for the ILSR's contract work with the Sustainability Division of the City of Atlanta.

For more information visit the Ei Consulting website page or contact Holly.

FORTUNE.com Honors Green within the Red

In the FORTUNE.com article, 6 green leaders in red states, author Shelley DuBois honors individuals who stepped forward in their respective "red" communities as leaders for green action.  A common thread through the six profiles is environmental stewardship is fast becoming the earmark of successful businesses and communities, no matter the political affiliation.

Holly Elmore

Elemental Impact Founder Holly Elmore is #6 with her Trash to Cash profile.  The  profile emphasizes Elemental Impact's commitment to developing environmentally sound programs that make good business sense, for participants and the community as a whole.

Always the optimist, Holly is quoted "Once you plant the seed, the zero waste mentality becomes addictive.  You get people on board with you and it gets in their blood." ZWZ Participants prove Holly's statement accurate with their enthusiasm to further fine-tune their recycling practices and embark on other sustainable initiatives.  For examples peruse the ZWZ Blog for many tales from the zero waste journey.

Daniel Rickenmann, W2E Organic Power COO, is profile #3 in Hunter's orange is new green.  In his  profile, Daniel explains how many Southern active environmentalists are also hunters, fishermen and sportsmen, who understand respecting nature is integral to enjoying its bounty.

Daniel Rickenmann

W2E Organic Power holds one of the first, if not the first,

anaerobic digester for food residual intake permits in the nation.  With groundbreaking scheduled for this fall, the Columbia, SC facility gives the city another option for food waste disposal generated by foodservice operations, industrial food production, retail grocery and consumers .  The current food waste destination is landfill, where methane gas (a potent Green House Gas 20-25% more potent than carbon) is produced.  It takes ingenuity and courage to make the bold move of introducing new technology to the current waste disposal systems.

Daniel @ POWER

According to Daniel, businesses respond favorably to this kind of waste-reduction effort, regardless of political affiliation.  "It doesn't matter what side of the spectrum it is, everybody's moving that way," says Daniel.

A close friend of Elemental Impact, Daniel was the keynote speaker at the spring POWER -Perishable Organics Waste to Energy Recycling - meeting.  Refer to the ZWZ Blog post, Spring POWER Meeting is Stellar, for the meeting details and the POWER 2011 Meeting Page to download Daniel's PPT presentation.

In the FORTUNE.com article, Shelley profiles four additional green leaders:

• Eco-oil country? - Laura Spanijan, Houston, TX
• Bringing Green gospel to the South - Rebecca Dunn Bryant of Fairhope, AL
• Rebuilding a greener Big Easy - Kenneth Schwartz, New Orleans, LA
• Growing biofuels in the heartland - Kenneth Frahm, Colby, KS

Thank you Shelley for taking the time to research, interview and write about the important green happenings and pioneers in the "red" states.  Hmmm.... were seeds for future articles planted?!.  Stay Tuned!

Ei Welcomes New Advisory Council Members

Elemental Impact welcomes two new Advisory Council Members:  Scott DeFife, Senior. Executive Vice President of Government & Public Affairs at the National Restaurant Association, and Lynn Dyer, President of the Foodservice Packaging Institute.


With the Zero Waste Zones national expansion announcement planned by year end, Scott and Lynn's expertise and advice is invaluable in creating programs that make strong business sense for industry partners.

Scott DeFife

Scott provides tremendous Ei|ZWZ support through the NRA's partnership announced at the February ZWZ Two-Year Press Conference (see the blog post ZWZ Garners National Support for details).  With Chris Moyer, NRA Conserve Program Director, serving on the Ei|ZWZ Leadership Team and Co-Chair of the Sustainable Food Court Initiative, Scott is behind the scenes supporting Chris with advice, direction and enthusiasm for our important work.

Lynn Dyer

As an active Sustainable Food Court Initiative Team Member, Lynn shares her packaging expertise and connections as the Team creates systems to bring zero waste initiatives to food court operations.  Lynn's gift of practical approaches to complex scenarios is instrumental for action outcome during the project creation process.


Thank you Scott and Lynn for the honor of accepting the Ei Advisory Council positions.  Welcome!

Green Runs in the Family

Today Donna Elmore, Ei founder's Mother, learned the exciting news she received the National Association of Realtors' Green Designation.  In April Donna sat for the day long exam, which she passed with flying shades of green! 


A veteran Sarasota, FL Realtor for almost 40 years, Donna is a recognized icon for her integrity, ingenuity and effective style in selling real estate.  Speaking of style, Donna early on built her brand as the Hat Lady and one FUN lady who always wears vibrant outfits!


Congratulations Little Donna!  There are not many in their 80's who take the time to walk their talk and keep at the forefront of their industry.  

NRA Takes the Lead with Health Impact

A commitment to sustainability is also a commitment to evolving with its expanding focus. When sustainability first became a common term it's main focus was environmental stewardship.  Next the corporate community realized the importance of sustainable action making good business sense; hence, economic vitality entered the focus. 


In the past several years social responsibility was introduced as an integral component to sustainability.  An abundance of recent articles touting social responsibility as  vital to successful corporate programs validates social responsibility as the third sustainability focus.


Health impact is emerging as the fourth sustainability focus. 



With its announcement this week of the National Restaurant Association's "Kids LiveWell" Initiative in collaboration with Healthy Dining, the NRA is taking the lead in showcasing the importance of the foodservice industry's health impact, especially relating to children.  “Kids LiveWell” is a first-of-its-kind voluntary initiative that shows the restaurant industry’s commitment to offering healthful menu items for children, with a focus on increasing consumption of fruit and vegetables, lean protein, whole grains and low-fat dairy, and limiting unhealthy fats, sugars and sodium. 


More than 15,000 restaurant locations across the nation participated in the program launch this week.  To learn about the menu requirements for program designation, read the NRA July 13, 2011 "Kids LiveWell" press release.  The USA Today article, 15,000 restaurants order healthy new kids meals, gives numerous examples of the healthy menus options available at a variety of restaurants.

Dawn Sweeney

“‘Kids LiveWell’ is another example of the National Restaurant Association’s work taking a proactive role in helping the industry deal with issues related to health and nutrition,” said Dawn Sweeney, President and CEO of the National Restaurant Association.  “We look forward to “Kids LiveWell’s” growth and success in enhancing the health of our nation’s children and future generations.” 


Healthy menu options are an excellent entry into the foodservice industry's health impact.  The NRA , in partnership with the Zero Waste Zones, plans to quantify the health impact of zero waste initiatives as part of the NRA Conserve's metric collection tool. 


With the health impact journey is in its infancy, stay tuned for powerful tales from the adventures ahead.