The idea came to Kelly Giard in the middle of the night.
For three hours he scratched out the details on a yellow legal pad.
When he was through, he had mapped out the details of a lawn care business that even a Prius-driving, carbon-conscious customer could use without guilt.
Five years after his light-bulb moment, his business, Clean Air Lawn Care, offers environmentally friendly lawn care services here and in other locations across the country.
The Fort Collins, Colo.-based company uses electric- and biodiesel-powered equipment that’s quieter and cleaner than conventional gear. Its trucks are fitted with solar panels for charging the equipment. Some pieces need to be plugged in at night, so the company purchases carbon-offset credits that make it a carbon-neutral business.
Clean Air offers mowing, trimming and blowing services as well as grass removal to an organic waste recycling center. Employees don’t treat the lawn with chemicals. A green lawn care company is a new concept, especially for those in the traditional landscape business, said Giard, who grew up in Walla Walla and owned his own mowing service in high school and college. Some in the “horsepower driven” landscape industry didn’t think the equipment his company uses has the horsepower or speed to do the job, he said.
“Don’t get me wrong, they are really good people,” he said. “But this is way out of the box they think in.”
When Giard started the company in Fort Collins in 2005, finding reliable battery-powered equipment did prove challenging, he said. After some trial-and-error, the company found equipment that worked. Giard decided to use biodiesel-fueled mowers because he said a decent electric riding lawnmower isn’t on the market yet.
The Northwest Clean Air franchises here and in Portland, Ore., are some of the best-performing, Giard said. He isn’t surprised. Seattle is full of the ideal customer for his company, which he described as conservation-minded and fairly affluent. A smaller portion of customers are drawn to the service because it’s quieter than a traditional service. Clean Air services cost 10 percent to 15 percent more than traditional services.
The local Clean Air is based in Bothell and its owner, Peter Hamilton, said he has about 65 customers. If people truly care about the environment, they’ll take care of their own yard with their own electric or hand-powered equipment, he said. He sees his business as offering people a green version of a service they would use anyway.
“There will always be plenty of people who don’t want to mow their lawns — forever,” Hamilton said.
Right now the business serves the Seattle metro area, including Snohomish County up to Marysville, but they hope to expand to Bellingham in a few years. Company founder Giard expects 300 to 500 Clean Air franchises will open nationwide in the next decade. Plenty of people are interested in the service, he said. The main obstacle is finding a labor force with the right stuff. Giard said the company shut down a franchise in Atlanta when they couldn’t find a pool of good employees and the right person to run it.
“It’s hard work,” said Giard, who still mows a few lawns. “The machines aren’t self-propelled, and it’s hot down there. You can drink two gallons of water in an average summer day doing what we’re doing. It’s a lot easier to sit on a riding lawnmower.”
Clean Air doesn’t offer other landscaping services. In Harmony, a sustainable landscape company in Bothell, does and is working with Clean Air to offer a pilot program so customers can get the full-meal deal.
Reporter Debra Smith: 425-339-3197 or dsmith@heraldnet.com
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