Caring for the natural environment is part of our jobs as landscape professionals. Our teams spend time designing, installing and maintaining landscapes that do so much for our earth.
Because of what we do, we have many opportunities to make small changes that can create an even bigger impact on Mother Earth. Often, these changes also happen to be good for our business.
I’m not sure there’s a company in the country that demonstrates that sustainability is good for business better than Sebert Landscape in Chicago, whose LEED Gold Certified facility we’ll tour during our Field Trip with NALP on Sept. 17-18. Sebert ranked No. 60 on the 2024 LM150 list with a revenue of $61,350,000.
Now listen, I am far from advocating for gas equipment bans or for every company to switch their entire fleet to electric tomorrow. What I am advocating for is that landscape pros look at companies like Sebert and start with the small changes they could make that might help both the planet and their bottom line.
Facility
In my recent interview with Sebert Landscape founder & CEO Jeff Sebert on my podcast, “The Grow Show,” Jeff shares more information about their facility and the choices that went into building it in 2010.
One of the simplest choices they made that any company could implement this fall is using high-efficiency lighting. We installed motion-activated lights in our offices, and coupled with using LED light bulbs, we’ve seen improvements in our energy usage.
Equipment
The Sebert team is all in on battery-powered equipment and has found ways to make it work for them — with charging infrastructure and trailers set up to handle it.
As you consider your equipment needs for 2025, is it time to try out a few battery-powered pieces and see what your crews think? If worrying about charging infrastructure is holding you back, it may be time to sign up to join us at Sebert in September.
Team
People make great companies great. Little things team members do can make a difference to the environment too. For example, salespeople choosing plants, both native and non-native, that are well adapted to your region reduces maintenance needs and supplemental watering. These kinds of choices are win-win-wins. They’re good for our team, good for our clients and good for the planet.
The Sebert team has gone above and beyond these simple choices: They’ve set up infrastructure for charging, installed solar panels on their roof, converted nearly all their equipment to battery or propane power and trained their teams to offer more sustainable choices to their clients when working with property managers.
Touring their facility and learning from their team should be at the top of your to-do list this fall if you’ve thought about making some of these changes but weren’t sure where to start. It’ll be a chance to get away from the day-to-day of your own business, tour a successful operation and meet other success-minded landscape pros to learn together.
Article Credit: landscapemanagement