What are “Green Initiatives?” Going “green” is a popular term these days, but what exactly is a “green initiative” in the tree care profession? It’s true that planting and cultivating trees is certainly a green pursuit; plants and trees are an important part of any ecosystem, contributing fresh oxygen to the atmosphere and filtering out impurities in the air, water, and soil. However, the landscaping business can potentially generate large amounts of waste and greenhouse gases that can damage the earth. As such, green initiatives are landscape companies’ efforts to reduce their negative impact on the environment in a variety of ways, such as:
- Going paperless, using digital methods for administration and billing.
- Investing in more environmentally friendly trucks and other power equipment to significantly reduce emissions and fuel consumption.
- Minimizing the amount of tree and plant waste produced to reduce dumping in landfills.
- Recycling natural waste whenever possible. This can include: selling usable wood to lumber mills; sending yard waste and wood chips to manufacturing plants; and composting ground stumps for soil or fill dirt.
- Recycling any non-natural waste used or collected on the job, including scrap metal, paper, glass, aluminum, and plastic.
- Utilizing organic, eco-friendly fertilizers that leave yards green without contaminating soil or ground water.
All these efforts add up to “sustainability”: tree care services that meet the needs of the present without damaging the environment for future generations. If you care about Northeast Ohio’s—and the world’s—environment, it’s important to only hire a tree care company that has a clearly defined green initiatives in place and an overall commitment to sustainability.
