Greener Lawns, Stronger Businesses with Kelly Giard

Sustainability often gets treated as a cost, something a business absorbs because it's the right thing to do, not because it can also drive growth.

Kelly Giard, Founder and CEO of Clean Air Lawn Care, built his company to prove otherwise. His path to a sustainable lawn care franchise started with a single statistic: the EPA estimates that 10 to 12 percent of the nation's air pollution comes from small engines, much of it tied to lawn equipment. "That sounds like a solvable problem," Kelly told hosts Stephen Sakach and Tullio Siragusa on The Bliss Business Podcast.

Sustainability Had to Be Built Into the Model

Kelly left a career as a stockbroker to build Clean Air Lawn Care from his garage in Fort Collins, Colorado, replacing gas mowers, blowers, and chemical treatments with electric equipment, solar charging, and organic fertilization. "For Clean Air Lawn Care, sustainability is not an add-on," he explained. "It's built into the equipment, the products, the operations, and the customer experience."

Early Customers Were Part of the Experiment

The early equipment wasn't good. "Our blowers were called brooms," Kelly said of the underpowered, non-swappable-battery tools his crews started with. Customers who signed on anyway, sometimes paying 100 percent more than a traditional lawn service, weren't just buying a service. "They understood what we were trying to do," Kelly said, "and they were open to being more of an early adopter." Today, that premium has dropped to 10 to 15 percent as battery technology matured.

Solar-Powered Trucks and a Surprising Soil Discovery

Kelly's father, a retired electrical engineer, helped design a solar charging system that turns each Clean Air truck into a mobile generator. Separately, research with a scientist at Colorado State University found that switching a lawn from chemical to organic treatment can significantly increase carbon sequestration in the soil. "It becomes a pretty significant and really affordable... way to have a pretty big impact on somebody's personal footprint," Kelly said.

Local Ownership Keeps the Mission Honest

Clean Air franchise owners typically live in the communities they serve, sponsoring local soccer teams and building relationships face-to-face. Kelly points to the economics behind it: 94.4 cents of every dollar stays local. The company also runs an "18-er" program that awards a franchise territory, fee-free, to technicians who hit specific goals over 18 months, a direct pipeline from crew member to owner-operator who already knows the neighborhood.

Key Takeaways

• (3:04) The EPA statistic that started it all: small engines and 10-12% of air pollution

• (6:36-7:43) Why sustainability had to be built into the model, not bolted on

• (10:41-12:00) Early "broom" blowers and a patient, mission-driven customer base

• (13:15-14:45) How his father's solar-truck design became a marketing tool

• (15:09-16:12) The Colorado State University research on organic lawns and carbon sequestration

• (18:24-20:43) The fee-free "18-er" program that turns technicians into owners

• (24:02-25:45) Why 94.4 cents of every dollar stays local, and what that buys

FAQ

How did Kelly Giard make sustainable lawn care franchising profitable?
Clean Air Lawn Care started with a nearly 100 percent price premium over traditional lawn services. As electric equipment and battery technology improved, that premium dropped to 10 to 15 percent, making the sustainable model price-competitive.

What makes Clean Air Lawn Care's franchise model different?
Franchise owners typically live in the communities they serve, and 94.4 cents of every dollar spent stays local. The company also runs an 18-month "18-er" program that awards technicians a fee-free territory once they hit performance goals.

What role does solar power play in Clean Air Lawn Care's operations?
Kelly Giard's father, a retired electrical engineer, helped design a solar charging system that turns each service truck into a mobile generator, extending the workday and reinforcing the company's environmental commitment.

🎙️ Hosted by Stephen Sakach and Tullio Siragusa

🎧 Produced by Martha Huerta

Read the full recap on Scaling Sustainability Through Local Ownership, meet more guests on our guest page, or explore the Featured Guest Series.