Stage 1: Building the Foundation

Once funding is secured, the Ei Airborne Kitchen Grease (AKG) Initiative  moves forward with the following stages:

• Stage 1: Building the Foundation
• Stage 2: Developing the City-Wide AKG Template
• Stage 3: National Expansion
• Stage 4: Environmental Impact Research

Prior to embarking on a city-wide AKG template, integrity within the proactive AKG approach must be substantiated. Initial action steps fall into four categories:

1. Fire Safety
2. Cost Savings
3. Metrics Platform
4. Filter End of Life

Beginning in early 2013, Ei began substantiating the four categories in the AKG Stage 1, Building the Foundation.

Fire Safety:

First and foremost is fire safety. Certified to UL Standard 1046, GLF will not support combustion. Grease collected on the filter may flare-off if excessively heated or subjected to flames; however, when the flame source is removed the filter will self-extinguish and is replaced with a new filter.

GLF is tested, compliant and | or recognized by the following:

• Standard UL 1046 | ULC-S649 & UL 710 – Flame Exposure & Abnormal Flare-Up Test
• NFPA 96 | IFC – Ventilation Control & Fire Protection of Commercial Cooking Operations
• NSF 2 | ANSI 51 – Food Equipment & Materials-Formulation Review (Sanitation|Toxicology)
• TYCO – World Leader In Fire Suppression Systems
• IMC | UMC – Protects Public Health & Safety For All Building Ventilation Design

Download the below document for GLF fire safety compliance and certification.
Grease Lock Fire Safety (340 KB)

Cost Savings:

To substantiate and quantify the water, labor, and toxic-chemical savings, Ei joined forces with Compliance Solutions International (CSI) for a three-restaurant, eight-week GLF system pilot. The Cost Savings in Commercial Kitchens By Using Grease Lock Filters, A Report on Restaurant Pilots prepared by Jay Parikh, CSI President is downloadable below:
Water, Chemical, & Cost Savings in Commercial Kitchens by using Grease Lock Filters, White Paper (1409 KB)

The independent comprehensive report documents the impressive water, chemical, and labor savings experienced by the participating restaurants. In each case, the restaurant’s bottom line improved by using GLF due to reduced cleaning of the baffle filters and the entire KES.

In addition to the documented labor, water, and chemical savings in the report, the facility experiences reduced fire risk and repairs & maintenance due to less grease accumulation within the exhaust system and the roof ventilation area. In addition to savings documented in the Summary section, the community benefits from reduced emissions due to fewer full-exhaust system cleanings by a third party.

Metrics Platform:

Program success is substantiated by quantifiable data. For the AKG Initiative, measurable success is multi-faceted for the foodservice operator, building owner, and the community.

The foodservice operator experiences cost-savings from reduced third-party full-system cleanings, labor for baffle-filter cleaning, and water usage. Easily quantified, a metrics collection platform that calculates and presents the savings in a simple format for the operator is under development, beginning with the foodservice operator focus. Ei Partner HMSHost – Charlotte Airport serves as the metrics platform beta test.

In addition to single-operator reports, the platform aggregates savings by companies, territories or where ever other filters are added to the system. Community-wide water savings, toxic-cleaning agent use reduction, roof repair & maintenance savings, improved air quality, and reduced carbon emissions will integrate into the metrics platform. As the Ei AKG Initiative progresses with the city-wide template development, savings associated with participants will incorporate into the platform.

Filter End of Life:

Ei Strategic Ally The Institute for Local Self-Reliance is working on an appropriate compostability test for the filters. Current U.S. industry standards | certifications for compostability are designed for foodservice packaging, not filters made primarily of sheep’s wool. New Zealand officials issued a letter substantiating the filter compostability.

• Zero WATER Waste: more than a goal, a necessityintroduces the importance of addressing water use | toxicity and gives an overview of the GLF system.
• GREASE: Activating the Zero Waste Evolution reintroduces GREASE along with history, future directions and mention of the SFCI Atlanta Airport meeting on grease generated by airport concessionaires.
• GREASE: a new frontier filled with economic & environmental promise – delves into the current airborne kitchen grease scenario and how a proactive approach saves water, toxic-chemical use, labor and dollars.
• Airborne Kitchen Grease: a simple solution to a costly kitchen by-product introduces the first-action steps to developing a city-wide AKG initiative.
• Atlanta Airport Presents a Proactive Approach to Airborne Kitchen Grease announces the American Association of Airport Executives’ February | March publication Airport Magazine article, AIRBORNE KITCHEN GREASE: A New Frontier in Sustainability, A simple solution saves tremendous water use, labor and dollars. Co-written by Michael Cheyne, Atlanta Airport director of asset management & sustainability, and Ei Founder Holly Elmore, the article is in the Airport Magazine Asset Management department.
• Charlotte opportunities segue into ACTION documents the powerful Ei Charlotte visit. The AKG Initiative was an Ei driver for scheduling the July 2015 Charlotte visit. City, county, state, and federal associates made the Charlotte Airport AKG meeting a priority in hectic schedules. 
• Ei Airborne Kitchen Grease Initiative, announces the initiative along with an overview and the four-stage plan.