Other Kinds of Solutions: Entrepreneurial
One of the leading ways of making our lawn care most sustainable is by supporting eco-friendly landscaping services. Clean Air Lawn Care (CALC) is a green franchise focused on pursuing environmental sustainability while still ensuring utmost customer satisfaction. According to their mission statement, Clean Air Lawn Care is aiming to make organic lawn care more accessible throughout the United States. Three categories of sustainable action are identified on the page’s mission statement: economic, environmental, and social. In order to achieve economic sustainability, they strive to maximize profit and upkeep competition within the industry. Environmental sustainability is achieved through “providing a service, using products, and conducting business in a way that ensures the availability and quality of resources for current and future generations”.1 Social mobilization and growth is a major attribute of this franchise, as they encourage community involvement and give back through education and volunteer opportunities, economic development, and business innovations.
The franchise strives to reach a wide range of consumers and potential entrepreneurs. They are the only franchise in the nation that prioritizes full-service, sustainable, and organic lawn care through the utilization of renewable lawn equipment and natural treatment options. Currently, CALC operates more than sixty locations throughout the country and are actively trying to combat the negative effects of air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and environmental contamination that result from traditional lawn care. On their website, it says “We mow without gas, using renewable energy from solar panels on our trucks to run our electric mowers, trimmers, and blowers. We fertilize lawns with safe, all-organic fertilizers that create healthy soil and leave no harmful chemicals on the property. CALC’s green franchises provide exceptional service to create beautiful lawns that are safe for kids, pets, and wildlife. We ensure our customers have the most beautiful lawn in the neighborhood with organic lawn care products, solar-powered mowers, and quality service!2
Upon ownership of a Clean Air Lawn Care franchise, the franchisee is equipped with necessary training and tools to develop and sustain their own green business. New owners undergo a six-day training program taught by landscaping experts and CALC headquarters employees. Within these programs, the practices and procedures taught are dependent on environmental conditions. Organic lawn care products are manufactured in-house and are created with specific soil requirements in mind. Customizing lawn care based on soil and climate conditions ensures the effectiveness and satisfaction of landscaping. Some of the products made by CALC include Clean Air Liquid Fertilizer and Clean Air Soil Builder. Clean Air Liquid Fertilizer is organic and non-GMO based, which is fully customizable to the environment in which it will be applied. The organic fertilizer base is high in compounds composed primarily of carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen. Their fertilizer works to directly feed the soil, improve soil structure and drainage, as well as create oxygen conditions essential for soil and grass health. Their Clean Air Soil Builder is an organic soil builder designed to produce beneficial soil microbes in order to make nutrients more readily available for a thriving, green lawn. Some benefits of this product include increased carbohydrate production, improved microbial growth, accelerated nutrient uptake, higher rates of photosynthesis and chlorophyll production, improved soil and root health, as well as a reduction in the need for watering and pesticide/fertilizer application. Franchise owners are advised to make other sustainable choices in lawn maintenance by mowing at high settings and leaving grass clippings behind. CALC acknowledges that “mowing high” enables grass lawns to grow faster and with fewer weeds. Long grass also contributes to healthier lawns with better soil and nutrients. As a way to simplify lawn maintenance, they instruct franchisees to leave grass clippings to be mulched and deposited back onto the land rather than disposed of.
Clean Air Lawn Care franchises are dependent on technologies and equipment powered by renewable energy. Since gas-powered lawn equipment contributes directly to air pollution and climate change, these businesses opt for solar-powered lawn mowers in their services. On their website, they say:
“We use solar-powered lawn mowers that are clean, quiet and effective. Our electric lawn equipment is charged using solar panels mounted on the owners’ trucks. All franchise owners are equipped with a mobile charging system that harnesses the energy of the sun to run a 100% electric lawn care operation. The solar panel system is set up in their work truck and includes a large solar panel, charge controller, battery system, 110V inverter and electric equipment with lithium batteries. The solar panel is connected to a charge controller that feeds into a battery system that gets charged from the solar panel when it’s not being used. The lithium batteries of the electric lawn mowers and equipment are hooked into the 110V inverter to charge when other equipment is being used.”3
CALC believes that the independence that comes with opening your own green franchise is an optimal and flexible way to live. On their Franchise Business Model Support page, there are claims that “the Clean Air Lawn Care franchise business model is designed to improve the quality of life for you, your family, and your community. It gives you the independence of running your own business that has a proven and sustainable business model. You’ll have the flexibility of making your own schedule, choosing your employees, and picking the marketing strategy that fits your community and your style. Our franchise model is for people who like to work hard, have fun, and make a difference.”4 They make it clear that they value local business owners and want to work with them in ways that promote both a healthy environment and economic opportunities.
According to customer reviews on Yelp, Clean Air Lawn Care has an overall rating of four stars with 29 provisions of feedback. A majority of the reviews were five and four stars, but a handful of them were rated one star. Some of the pros mentioned in these reviews include timeliness, affordability, friendliness, and effectiveness of service. The main cons addressed were related to being overcharged, wrongly-promised a service, or being provided with insufficient labor and landscaping. It seems as though customers either have a very positive experience, or a very negative one. On the employment websites Indeed and Glassdoor there are twelve reviews from former employees of CALC. These reviews seem very mixed– some employees loved their time working with the franchise, while others hated it. Some pros highlighted in these reviews are that the franchise owners truly care about what they do and provide, there is “decent” pay and no weekend shifts, the ability to work with headphones on once fully trained, and the ability to be outside for most of the day. A couple employee reviews stated that the franchise owner they worked for was a “con, liar, and despicable individual” (former contractor from Westford, MA) and that “the entire company is a joke the so called owner has no idea what he is doing. They want you to do all the work for dirt cheap, in other words they want to keep all the profit for themselves” (former lawn care specialist from Matthews, NC). In the overall positive reviews, some employees still felt as though they were not sufficiently trained– especially on how to inform people about organic and sustainable lawn care. Some other complaints about having a job with Clean Air Lawn Care were non-ideal working hours, occasional harsh weather, and no benefits for part-time employees. 5 6 7 8 9
The discrepancy between Clean Air Lawn Care’s proposed method of business and employee-customer experiences shows that there is definitely room for improvement. Improvement can happen through more efficient training, more knowledgeable communication, more opportunities for benefits like health insurance and paid time off, as well as general flexibility in business operation. Landscaping is dependent on climate, so each franchise should adjust to the environment they are based in to achieve the most effective results. Despite criticisms, CALC claims to provide “steady employment and continuous training while pursuing a path to ownership.”10
Sources:
Clean Air Lawn Care Philadelphia – Philadelphia, PA. Yelp. [accessed 2023 Apr 6]. https://www.yelp.com/biz/clean-air-lawn-care-philadelphia-philadelphia?osq=clean+air+lawn+care.
Clean Air Lawn Care North Delaware – Wilmington, DE. Yelp. [accessed 2023 Apr 6]. https://www.yelp.com/biz/clean-air-lawn-care-north-delaware-wilmington?osq=clean+air+lawn+care.
Clean Air Lawn Care – Seattle, WA. Yelp. [accessed 2023 Apr 6]. https://www.yelp.com/biz/clean-air-lawn-care-seattle.
Franchise Business Model and Support | Clean Air Lawn Care. cleanairlawncarecom. [accessed 2023 Apr 3]. https://cleanairlawncare.com/franchise-business-model-and-support/.
Green Franchise Opportunities – Organic Lawn Care. cleanairlawncarecom. [accessed 2023 Apr 3]. https://cleanairlawncare.com/franchise-opportunities/.
Our Mission Statement | Lawn Care Pioneers | Clean Air Lawn Care. cleanairlawncarecom. [accessed 2023 Apr 3]. https://cleanairlawncare.com/about/mission-statement/.
Organic Lawn Care – Franchise Opportunity | Clean Air Lawn Care. cleanairlawncarecom. [accessed 2023 Apr 3]. https://cleanairlawncare.com/organic-lawn-care/.
Turnkey Business Opportunity | Clean Air Lawn Care. cleanairlawncarecom. [accessed 2023 Apr 3]. https://cleanairlawncare.com/inside-clean-air/.
Sustainable Lawn Care – Green Franchise Opportunity. cleanairlawncarecom. [accessed 2023 Apr 3]. https://cleanairlawncare.com/sustainable-lawn-care/.
