Innovation

Nutri-Lawn has multiple innovations that they have developed over their many years in the industry. We have focused on three innovations, each of which pertains to a sustainable development goal.

The first innovation that we discussed with Dave Petherick, was Nutri-Lawn's annual food drive, held September through October every year. The food drive is focused on aiding local food banks and fighting hunger within the Kitchener-Waterloo region. Not only does the food drive benefit the community but it also benefits Nutri-Lawn. When community members hear of Nutri-Lawn running a food drive it creates a positive representation of the brand, increasing the likelihood that home and business owners will use their services in the future. By running a food drive, it is clear that Nutri-Lawn cares about their community and is willing invest time and company hours into addressing and attempting to solve the hunger issue within their community.

The next innovation that we addressed was the decision for Nutri-Lawn to move to completely paperless operations. A paperless operation addresses the sustainable goal of industry, innovation and infrastructure. Becoming paperless allowed their company to grow in a more sustainable manner, while keeping up with current trends in the business world. The decision to become paperless has saved Nutri-Lawn time and money by making company records easier to locate and allowing their billing process to become much smoother. As stated by Mr. Petherick "We try to leave as small a carbon footprint as possible, by moving paperless, and doing a lot of our routing background work wireless". Becoming paperless also aided their lawn care specialists, by having all routing done through current time GPS. Their new way of routing has increased driver efficiency throughout the city while decreasing extra emissions that were caused by indirect routes throughout the city.

The final innovation that we discussed was Nutri-Lawn's implementation of an integrated pest management system. An integrated pest management (IPM) is an environmentally sensitive approach to controlling pests without ruining their ecological sustainability. IPM aims to "use as little amount of product as possible to achieve the best results" as stated by Mr. Petherick. This approach benefits Nutri-Lawn by saving them money on products as they are more conscious of how much product they are using while ridding an area of pests. This innovation began in 2009 when the ban on certain pesticides came into effect in Ontario.

Inspiration

The first of the three main innovations made by Nutri-Lawn was to initiate a food drive to give and help struggling people in the community. The main inspiration for Nutri-Lawn to start running an annual food drive in their community was when the company was purchased 11 years ago by two men named, Ryan and Ted. As new owners they wanted to create a culture around the company that had a sense of community, family and to give back before creating company growth. This desire inspired them to start running a yearly food drive in each community they operate giving them opportunity to give back and grow the positive view of Nutri-lawn.

Going paperless was the second of the three main innovations made by Nutri-lawn in recent history. This is an extremely important innovation because as the world becomes more reliant on technology, the use of hard copy business records will become insufficient for storing company records. The inspiration for this innovation is that Nutri-lawn wanted to create as small of an carbon footprint as possible. The use of paper creates a large carbon footprint and has a higher cost level than operating an information management system wirelessly.

The third and final innovation made by Nutri-lawn was to use all organic products and implement integrated pest management into their company. The main inspiration for these innovations arose in 2008 when Ontario initiated the Cosmetic Pesticide Ban Act and released the new regulations for pesticide use in Ontario during 2009. These new regulations banned the use of over 80 ingredients and 250 products, inspiring the Nutri-lawn team to use only organically sourced pesticides.

Overall impact

Nutri-lawn is clearly trying to reduce their carbon footprint and create a very sustainable and ecologically-friendly lawn care business. Mr. Petherick noted, “A lot of people are trying to leave less of a carbon footprint…and we go out of our way to give back to the community”. They are also bringing a new culture into their company which creates a sense of community and family between employers, employees and customers. Mr. Petherick said, “It brings on a sense of family and community, when compared to other competitors. Other competitors are based on business and growth, rather than giving back (first) and then growing from that”.

The overall impact of running a yearly food drive, going paperless, and using organic products while adhering to the integrated pest management framework has been extremely positive. In terms of the business, these innovations have created more sustainability with a more organized information system. Socially, these innovations have created a view of the company that is socially responsible and cares about the communities they operate in. Finally these innovations have had a positive impact on the environment, by significantly reducing paper waste, using organic products, and maintaining integrated pest management. This smaller carbon footprint means less pollution and promotes ecological growth. Mr. Petherick reiterates this fact, “you hear more feedback from customers about how wonderful of a job we do, or how personable we are compared to before.”

Business benefit

Nutri-lawn has realized multiple benefits from the innovations. These benefits include a positive view of the company from the public and an increase in the company's overall corporate social responsibility. Another business benefit is that due to the implementation of integrated pest management Nutri-lawn is using a minimal amount of product needed to control pest without wasting extra product or killing other parts of the ecosystems. The reduced product output also reduces costs. Since the company went paperless they store records online, which makes it easier for employees to access and requires less storage space. Phasing in a paperless business model has reduced spending on stationary by 2% of annual spending and is a massive financial benefit. The final business benefit was that going paperless and using organic products have created a smaller carbon footprint improving their company identity.

Social and environmental benefit

The innovations made by Nutri-lawn have created positive benefits for both society and the environment. The first innovation to start a food drive has been extremely beneficial for communities as it has brought people together to collect food and help those who are less fortunate. The other innovations of going paperless, using organic products and applying the integrated pest management have environmental benefits. The use of organic products ensures that there are not unnecessary damages to ecosystems. The IPM ensures that the company is using the proper amount of products to control pests without killing other parts of the ecosystem which helps stimulates environmental growth. Overall, going paperless and using organic products help to reduce the carbon footprint of Nutri-lawn.

Interview

Dave Petherick, Production Manager