Regenerative Facilities Initiative

Mission:

To develop industry best practices for regenerative facilities.

Chair:

Georgia World Congress Center Authority (GWCCA) Director of Sustainability Tim Trefzer In July 2017, the ZWA Blog article, Soil Health: regenerating the foundation of life, announced the Ei Soil Health platform. Within the announcement, Ei evolved from a focus on Recycling Refinement and food waste collection for compost to Soil Health, with a supporting focus on Water Use | Toxicity.

In alignment with the new Ei focus, the Sustainable Food Court Initiative (SFCI) evolved into the Regenerative Facilities Initiative (RFI). With synchronicity, Tim joined the Ei Leadership Team as the RFI Chair. The ZWA Blog article, Changing of the Guard: Welcome Tim Trefzer to the Ei Leadership Team, announces Past SFCI Chairs Doug Kunnemann and Scott Seydel passing the leadership baton to Tim.

The SFCI – Accomplished page details the SFCI history and accomplishments.

RFI Pilots:

The RFI Pilots represent facilities within various industry segments. RFI Pilots agree to the following parameters:

• Pioneer – pilots serve as industry pioneers and assess each SFI platform for implementation within their operations.
• Industry Leader – once best practices are established within a platform, the pilot managers share with their industry colleagues.
• Strategist – pilot managers work closely with the SFI Team to strategize on expanding platform impact and/or developing new platforms.

The RFI Team consists of a trusted team with long-term Ei relationships:

• Holly Elmore – Ei Founder
• Tim Trefzer – RFI Chair & Georgia World Congress Center Authority Director of Sustainability
• Boyd Leake – Ei Advisor & Environmental Consultant
• Shelby Buso – U.S. Green Building Council Georgia Chapter Director
• Polly Sattler – Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport Senior Sustainability Planner

RFI Pilot Focus Areas:

The RFI Pilot Focus Areas align with the overall Ei Platforms: Soil Health:
Within Soil Health, Pilots address the following focus areas:

• Regenerative landscape practices
• Water infiltration rates
• Native vegetation
• Pollinator habitat gardens or other support for pollinators
• Food waste compost from foodservice operations used within grounds maintenance
• On-site urban agriculture or partner with a hyper-local farm for food used in campus foodservice operations

Water Use | Toxicity:
Within Water Use | Toxicity, Pilots address the following focus areas:

• Conscious Cleaning
  • ECA (electrical chemical activation) cleaning systems
  • Beyond solutions, conscious cleaning tools & practices
• Ei Cooling Tower Blowdown Initiative