Clean Air Lawn Care proves that green can be profitable

FORT COLLINS – Kelly Giard wants to clear the air – one lawn at a time.

Clean Air Lawn Care was conceived in 2003, when Giard says he scribbled down the idea of an environmentally friendly landscape maintenance firm late one night. In 2005 the then-stockbroker hired a graduate student to research the concept.

“She looked into whether the equipment available could deliver, and could such a business be viable,´ said Giard, who holds both a bachelor’s degree in environmental policy and analysis and a master’s in finance from Boston University. When both answers were yes, he and wife Stephanie invested about $50,000 in Clean Air Lawn Care.

The business officially launched late in 2006, and has grown to 23 territories with 10 – soon to be 12 – franchisees and six company-owned locations in cities from Seattle to Atlanta, with corporate headquarters in Fort Collins. For bringing his vision to life, Kelly Giard has been named Northern Colorado’s Bravo! Emerging Entrepreneur for 2008.

Why would a stockbroker chuck it all to mow lawns, even before the global market meltdown?

The short answer is that the company combines the 37-year-old’s experience – he had a lawn-mowing business while in high school in Walla Walla, Wash. – with his passion.

“Small engines, mostly in lawn maintenance equipment, contribute 5 to 10 percent of the nation’s air pollution,” Giard explained. “We believe that can be zero percent. Our goal is to change the way America mows the lawn.”

But he’s as passionate about running a successful business as saving the planet.

“I believe in the triple win,” Giard said. “A business has to serve its customers and be profitable as well as have a positive effect on the environment. That’s harder than it sounds.”

Equipment challenges

Clean Air Lawn Care’s phenomenal growth – Giard estimates 150 percent in Fort Collins in addition to the franchises – comes in the face of skepticism from established landscapers. “A lot of people in the industry told us we were stupid,” he recalled.

He also figures he’s spent an additional $250,000 to $500,000 to find the best all-electric mowers and maintenance techniques to keep them operating clean and green.

“The technology is moving at a pretty fast rate,” Giard said. “But it’s like the cell phone. We’re past the old brick stage, but we’re not to the iPhone yet. We just keep pushing the envelope.”

Part of that involves a partnership with manufacturer Black & Decker to help improve its electric outdoor equipment.

Franchising is an integral part of the Clean Air business plan. Local owners know not only what local lawns and gardens need, but also what local regulations will allow, especially in the use of non-chemical fertilizers.

Giard plans to continue pushing the envelope by growing to between 300 and 500 franchises throughout the nation and parts of Canada within the next decade.

“It’s good to be smart,” he said. “But it’s good to be lucky, too. We had no idea this big green movement was coming, but we were brave enough to step out onto the wave and not let it pass us by.”

Clean Air continues to ride the environmental wave as a featured business in the Spring 2009 State of the Green Union report recently released by Fort Collins-based GenGreen, a comprehensive resource for those interested in a locally focused, environemtnally conscious lifestyle. It recognized Clean Air for its exemplary efforts in both environmental and social responsibility.

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