TRANSPORTATION: Eco-Friendly Fleets

For the most part, account managers, division heads and executives at landscape firms don’t haul equipment, material or debris to and from job sites. They have no need for truck beds or towing capacity, yet most of these non-production employees tool around in the industry-standard pickup truck.
 
With trucks like these yielding around 15 miles per gallon or less in the city, it’s no wonder landscape companies are looking for cost-cutting options like downsizing mangers to hybrid cars. While the bottom line is certainly a consideration for many owners and managers, the decision to move in this direction is about more than that – it’s also about image, morale and corporate responsibility.
 
“When it comes to hybrid vehicles, the question is, will it pay for itself?” says Chris Davitt, president of Ruppert Nurseries, Laytonsville, Md. “The answer to that is, ‘Indirectly.’ We can’t give you numbers that say it will pay us back directly because so much is new, like the cost of maintaining the batteries. But indirectly, when you add in morale and the fact that it’s good for the environment and you’re perpetuating an industry that will eventually be helpful to everyone, it’s going to pay us back.”

COST CONSIDERATIONS. For most companies that have added hybrids to their fleets, the decision was based on balancing cost-cutting initiatives with the feel-good aspect of owning hybrid vehicles, which eventually can trickle down to employees and clients.  
 
Sierra Landscape’s fuel costs have doubled over the last six months. When the Palm Desert, Calif.-based company needed to buy new manager vehicles this year, President George Gonzalez jumped at the opportunity to investigate alternative fuel vehicles, says CFO Bob Sylvester. The company conducted an analysis of the hybrid options on the market and chose hybrid Honda Civics, which, compared to the Ford Explorers four of its managers drove before, will save the company about $85,000 over three years. About three-quarters of the savings will come from the cost of fuel, with Civics averaging 40 mpg compared to the Explorers’ 12 to 18 mpg. The rest of the savings comes from the purchase price of the vehicles – the hybrid Civic is about $5,000 less than the Explorer.
 
“It was not only a financial decision, but it was in line with our mission and vision to move toward greener resources,” Sylvester says. “We have a business responsibility to increase earnings and be profitable, but also a social responsibility as the climate and market are changing.”
 
At Ruppert Nurseries the decision to purchase hybrid cars also is about more than saving money. It has to be, says Davitt, because of unknown factors, like the costs of hybrid battery upkeep, which haven’t been widely measured yet. So Davitt touts the morale-boosting aspect of Ruppert’s move to hybrids. It appears to be working, Davitt says, considering employees are not mandated to drive hybrids, but 70 percent of vehicles in the corporate/branch manager fleet are hybrids, totaling 14 cars.
 
The company allows its managers autonomy in car selection within boundaries (late model, white, four door, etc.). But two years ago management began exploring hybrid vehicles and decided it would encourage employees to move in that direction. The first step was setting an example from the top down. “I was the first one to get a hybrid,” says President Chris Davitt. “That draws more attention to the issue. And people have started to follow. Now we’re seeing branch managers, who were adamant about driving full-size pickup trucks, converting to hybrid Camrys.”
 
It’s an educational process for everyone, Davitt says. “Employees are doing their own research and making decisions, probably for similar reasons, but it’s their own decision. So when I talk about how it helps morale, people are making personal choices they feel good about, and their company is making choices they can feel good about, so it helps on a couple of fronts.”

CLIENTS NOTICE. Todd Pugh, president and CEO of Todd’s Enviroscapes, Louisville, Ohio, made the switch from a $45,000 sport utility pickup to a Toyota Prius (MSRP $21,500 to $23,770) after he toured Nanak’s Landscaping earlier this year. Longwood, Fla.-based Nanak’s began putting managers in hybrids and more fuel-efficient vehicles after Hurricane Katrina and estimates it’s saved 44,000 gallons of fuel per year. 
 
The move has been a big benefit to Pugh, whose $8.7-million company does a lot of work on university and corporate campuses. “These clients are being pressured by students and young people who want to be associated with organizations that are green,” he says. For example, the first question his contacts at a local university asked him during this season’s kickoff meeting was, “What are you going to do to help us reduce our carbon footprint?” Thankfully, he had an answer in the Prius, and the fact that two of his salespeople have been downgraded from sport utility vehicles to Chevrolet Impalas that get about 28 to 32 mpg.
 
Sierra Landscape also has had nothing but positive response from its clients since introducing the hybrids this year. “A lot of them are surprised and they’re pleased about the social responsibility aspect of it,” Sylvester says. Sierra primarily conducts commercial and public design/build and maintenance work, and hopes eco-friendly steps like a partially hybrid fleet will earn the company an advantage on bids in the future. “We haven’t seen preferential treatment being given to green companies, but it’s possible it will happen down the road,” he says. “I think government agencies are moving in that direction, and we expect to see some traction there over the next 12 to 24 months.”
 
Contractors who’ve added hybrids to their fleets also have received a considerable about of buzz and media attention from their efforts. “We’ve had a number of articles about it in the local papers, and it just fits well with the kind of company we want to be,” Ruppert’s Davitt says. “One of our major objectives is to be a company that are employees are proud to be a part of, and this tell our story.”
 
In conjunction with the Prius purchase and the entire eco-friendly focus at Enviroscapes, Pugh decided to create a “greener” logo and to promote it on the hybrid. “I can’t tell you the amount of compliments and comments we’ve gotten,” he says. “It’s really taken us to the next level of what we’re doing as a green company.”  LL