Era of Impact

 
Education in ACTION

As Ei enters the Era of Impact (June 2024 – present,) gears shift to a new business model, Ei Educates. Though education was always integral to Ei’s important work, the  primary focus was on projects, pilots, and initiatives supported by Ei Partners.

Era of Recycling Refinement (2010 inception through June 2017)
In 2010 Ei, a 501(c)3 non-profit, was founded as the home to the Zero Waste Zones (ZWZ), the nation’s forerunner in the commercial collection of food waste for compost. When the ZWZ were sold to the National Restaurant Association in 2012, Ei’s focus shifted to the Sustainable Food Court Initiative (SFCI) via the SFCI – Atlanta Airport Pilot, SFCI – Concord Mills Pilot, and the SFCI – Georgia Dome Pilot.

Within the SFCI Pilots, whose stated mission was to address Post-Consumer Food Waste, Ei spearheaded a series of materials resource-recovery projects intertwined with Recycling Integrity, the Source-Separated Materials-Recycling Template, Total-Materials-Management Approach, Zero Waste-Food Journeys, and Plastic Film Recycling.

Working closely with the SMAT – Sustainable Materials Action Team – Ei responded to industry partners’ requests to develop the Compostable Food & Beverage Packaging-Education Session and the World Chefs Waste | Recycling Course Curriculum. Later, Holly provided the working documents for the World Chefs Food Waste Challenge launched in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at the 2018 WorldChefs Congress; in the Congress’ final plenary session, Holly presented on The Profitability of Waste: the business case for food waste reduction.

Within the spirit of recycling refinement, Ei launched the Airborne Kitchen Grease Initiative working closely with Ei Partner Grease Lock/Ellis Fibre and the SFCI Pilots.

Era of Regeneration (June 2017 through June 2024,)
In June 2017, Ei announced the Era of Recycling Refinement was Mission Accomplished and entered the Era of Regeneration. Focus areas included Nature Prevails, Soil Health | Regenerative Agriculture, and Water Use | Toxicity.

Until the COVID pandemic in 2020. the Ei Partner-business model remained viable; partner-funded programs included the Ei Conscious Cleaning Initiative and the Three-Step Straw Initiative (TSSI.) While traveling for the TSSI, Holly intertwined work related to the Healthy-Food School Programs.

During the pandemic, Holly returned to her hometown Sarasota, Florida and launched the Ei Rewilding Urban Landscapes Pilots (Rewilding Pilots) in her spacious yard. Once settled in Sarasota, Holly embarked on building a Lambda Alpha International (LAI) FL Suncoast Chapter while establishing herself within the local environmental community.

LAI is the honorary global network for thought leaders in all fields related to the preservation and sustainable development of land.

Thus, the Era of Impact emerged as the Ei business model evolved away from projects, pilots, and initiatives and to Ei Educates.

Era of Impact (June 2024 – current)
Timed perfectly with the June 2024 Elemental Impact-trademark transfer and the corporate-name change to Earth Impact (Ei,) the Era of Impact launch closed out the Era of Regeneration.

Incorporated within the Ei Educates-business model, Ei embraces three focus areas/concepts: Collective Consciousness, What We Eat Matters, and Water & Soil: the foundation of life.

Collective Consciousness:
The November 2023 RiA article, Collective Consciousness: a movement, a solution, introduces collective consciousness with a brief history and substantiates how it is integral to Ei’s important work via three examples: 1>Zero Waste is a Team Sport, 2> the Sustainable Food & Beverage Packaging Value Chain Meetings (2011 -2014,) and 3> the Nature Prevails platform.

What We Eat Matters:
In the January 2024 RiA Magazine article, What We Eat Matters (WWEM,) encapsulates Ei’s important work during the Era of Regeneration and  is organized into three main WWEM categories:

• Personal Health – Nutrition, Physical, Mental & Emotional Health, and Tasty Food.
• World Water Pollution & Depletion – Chemical Farming, Time-Released Fertilizers and Pesticides, and Water-Intensive Food
• Diversity Reduction – Insect Apocalypse & the Holocene Extinction
  The WWEM article outlines a roadmap for future articles and Ei Educates activities.

Soil & Water: the foundation of life
Soil and water are in a sacred marriage that supports life on Earth and must be addressed in unison. Healthy well-structured soil is a living, breathing ecosystem and retains significantly more water than depleted soil. Additionally, healthy soil filters water and removes contaminants as it flows to aquifers. In return, water keeps a healthy soil ecosystem hydrated.

Insects are the base of predator/prey hierarchy, integral to the natural ecosystem foundation, and essential to supporting the Earth’s life web. Many insects, such as dragonflies and mosquitoes, live their juvenile or larva stage under water and their adult lives on land supporting plants and soil systems; aquatic larva is similar to a butterfly’s caterpillar stage.

The December 2022 RiA article, Soil & Water: the foundation of life, sets a basic premise for the Era of Impact; the article showcases how soil and water are completely integrated with the three Era of Regeneration platforms: Nature Prevails, Soil Health, and Water Use & Toxicity; these platforms carry over into the Era of Impact.