Scott Branstetter typifies the “new breed” of corporate services manager who oversees dining in B&I locations today. As Manager-Facilities, Safety & Security, his role includes oversight of property management contracts for building maintenance, landscaping, security and facility engineering; audio-visual, print, mail and reception services; Eaton’s fitness center; and of course, dining services. Historically, facility services and dining reported through different departmental lines, but over time they were consolidated under Human Resources, he says. Eaton’s growing commitment to a robust wellness program was one reason for that. “It was an evolutionary shift and a change of direction,” adds Patrick DeRenzo, Eaton’s director of programs and operations. “As we looked to put a greater emphasis on wellness as a key value for the enterprise, we wanted to encourage the idea that healthy food can be flavorful. The best way to do that was to bring it to life and to coordinate it with our other wellness programs.”

Eaton’s commitment to wellness is one of the first messages a visitor sees when getting out of the parking garage elevator on the way into Eaton Center.

Joe’s Café, on Eaton Center’s first floor, offers spacious, daylit seating and access to a wraparound terrace seating area.

It also features access access to a wraparound terrace seating area so employees can enjoy some fresh air during lunch.

Guckenheimer General Manager Devin Rench chats with a Joe’s Café cashiers before the lunch rush begins. Guckenheimer operates the foodservice.

The Take Ten Café in Eaton’s main lobby serves breakfast, Starbucks coffee, smoothies and snacks from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The “Top 10” full service dining room on Eaton Center’s 10th floor offers sit down service at lunch and features a set menu that rotates quarterly, with daily entrée and soup specials. It is open to all employees and is frequently used for visitor and client meetings.

An aerial view shows the quarter mile “zig-zag” jogging trail integrated into the landscaping in front of Eaton Center, with a larger, two-mile trail system crisscrossing the 53-acre campus. During the summer, employees are encouraged to join senior leaders in fitness walks during “Walking Wednesdays.”

Specially-designed “collection points” for soiled dishware are tastefully designed into refreshment stations throughout Eaton Center. Eaton has a goal of moving all of its facilities to “Zero Waste Landfill” status, as defined by UL-Environment. It targets UL’s definition for “Virtually Zero Waste,” which specifies a landfill diversion rate of 98% or greater. Eaton met that standard at 39 of its manufacturing facilities worldwide last year. Since 2010, those facilities eliminated a combined total of 2,750 metric tons of waste previously sent to landfills, using strategies ranging from recycling and re-use to new work processes. Dining operations at Eaton Center were planned carefully with a goal of meeting the same targets. Chefs are evaluated on their efficient use of ingredients; pre- and post-consumer food waste is pulped and composted; permanent ware is used for serving wherever possible and water dispensers and glasses (as opposed to disposable containers) are the favored way of providing for hydration needs.

A solar panel array covers the rooftop of Eaton’s Fitness Center, which is equipped with state-of-the-art cardiovascular and resistance equipment and staffed with degreed health and fitness specialists.

Innovations at the new facility and across the company have helped Eaton garner a number of high-visibility, national awards. It was recognized by The National Business Group on Health with its 2014 Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles Award and was one of only two companies to receive the group’s Global Distinction award. It is identified as an American Heart Association “Fit Friendly” company, has been named a Top 100 Global Innovator by Thompson Reuters and is ranked as having one of the world’s top sustainability programs by the NASDAQ Global Sustainability 100 Index.