Green | VIVA INTERNATIONALE

Passionate and driven, Holly Elmore is the founder & CEO of Elemental Impact, a national non-profit committed to creating industry sustainable best practices. Beginning her career as an auditor and CPA with Arthur Andersen, Holly later served as Controller for the Southeastern Division of Trammel Crow Residential. After almost seven years in the corporate arena, Holly’s entrepreneurial spirit emerged with her creating Executive Catering & Events, a prominent corporate catering company.

Over the next fifteen years, Holly operated Executive Catering along with two successful restaurants in the Atlanta market. Following her restaurant and catering years, Holly served as Director of Marketing for Wine South, the premier consumer wine festival in the Southeast. Also, Holly was the Advertising Director for Restaurant Forum, the Official Magazine of the Georgia Restaurant Association. As founder & executive director of the Green Foodservice Alliance, an affiliate of the Georgia Restaurant Association, Holly served as the catalyst for creating and implementing sustainable practices in the foodservice industry, the second largest private sector industry in the nation.

Holly utilizes the extensive business skills developed during her profound professional path to take action and make a difference through Elemental Impact and other projects.

Ei Platforms

Elemental Impact is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing sustainable operating practices to the corporate community. Committed to effective action, Ei projects create easy-to-implement templates that make good business sense. Ei takes action within the following platforms:
Sustainable Food Court Initiative

An Ei program in partnership with the National Restaurant Association Abundant zero waste challenges are inherent within food court operations, ranging from landlord | tenant relationships, franchisee | franchisor contracts, consumer packaging, common disposal systems and third party items brought to the food court.

The SFCI Atlanta Airport Pilot Project won a 2011 Going Green Airports Award. Visit the ZWA Blog posts, Atlanta Airport SFCI Pilot Wins National Award and Atlanta Airport Makes Bold Sustainable Statement, for details on the award.

Zero Waste Zones

An Ei program acquired by the National Restaurant Association

The Zero Waste Zones program launched in February 2009 at an acclaimed press conference led by the Acting Regional Director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region IV. The program communicates a clear message of commitment to sustainability through a strategic media plan, including metrics of diverted assets from landfills. Effective September 2012, the NRA acquired the ZWZ for national expansion preparation.

Product Stewardship

Holographic integrity, encompassing the entire value chain and product life, is integral to Ei initiatives. Product Stewardship is an exciting avenue to explore as programs dive deeper into the manufacturing and production practices | processes. Initiatives and Teams are in the formation process.

Water Use | Toxicity

The water footprint is as or even more important than the carbon footprint. Global warming garners the headlines using the carbon footprint as the accepted sustainability measurement tool. The fact water is immediately essential to sustaining life seems ignored. The ZWA Blog post, Zero WATER Waste: more than a goal, a necessity, documents Ei’s first action steps in Water Use | Toxicity.

First action steps are within the Ei Industry Task Force GREASE – Grease Recycling & Energy Alternative Solutions for the Environment. Working with an independent engineer, Ei supported a restaurant pilot report documenting water use and toxic cleaning chemical savings. By installing the disposable filter system, airborne grease is captured prior to entering the kitchen exhaust system. Cost, water and toxic chemical savings result from reduced cleaning required.

Recycling Refinement

Ei is committed to creating operating practices where integrity is maintained throughout the entire value chain, including material producers, users and destinations at disposal time. Diverting valuable material from landfills and back into the production process is the core of Ei’s foundation and expertise.