Social Responsibility Strategy for Ladybug Lawn Care LLC

Ladybug Lawn Care is a small landscaping company located in Tucson, Arizona. The company is owned by David and Carol Smith; they employ 6 full time people and at least 4 part-time seasonal employees. David does the designing, Carol does the bookkeeping for the business, and they both work in the field with the employees. Ladybug Lawn Care not only maintains existing landscaping but remodels and designs new gardens for its customers. Because the company is located in Southeastern Arizona, they specialize in desert landscaping or Xeriscaping. They also provide their customers full service landscaping options including tropical, green lawns, ponds and fountains. They subcontract jobs beyond their scope such as pools, gazebos, patio, fencing, and gates, to businesses that have the same ethical and environmental beliefs.

Environmental Considerations
“The environmental dimension of corporate social responsibility refers to business’s impact on the environment. The goal, as a socially responsible company, is to engage in business practices that benefit the environment.” [ (Smith, 2012) ] The area in which the company is located is considered high desert; consequently the region is often in a state of drought. Ladybug owners and staff have made the effort to become knowledgeable in the use of Xeriscaping. Xeriscaping is a term trademarked by the water department of Denver, Colorado (Denver Water). “Xeriscaping refers to a method of landscape design that minimizes water use.” [ (Xeriscaping, 2012) ] The company uses plants that are appropriate for the local climate, use less water than traditional landscaping, and can be designed in such a way as to be visually beautiful while at the same time avoiding evaporation and run-off. The company has been a recipient of a number of botanical awards for their gardens including the J.D. Di Meglio Artistry in Landscaping Award from the Sonora Desert Museum for unique beauty in Xeriscape landscaping.
In an effort to be environmentally friendly the company has also started composting the garden waste that it would normally take to the city dump. The company benefits from this practice several ways; by using the garden waste they save on the fees charged when they take the waste to the dump. By creating their own compost they save on the cost of purchasing commercially produced compost, mulch, and fertilizer. The company built six composting bins for under $200.00 and utilizes a chipping machine that they already own to reduce the size of the organic material. The environment benefits because the company is reusing the organic material it would normally discard; the organic compost provides nutrients back into the soil for better plant growth and the compost also acts as a natural pesticide. [ (Compost, 2012) ]
In addition to using compost as a natural pesticide; Ladybug Lawn Care uses more environmentally friendly pesticides and herbicides. The company does purchase some products from the Safer brand products but usually prefer to make their own. The ingredients that they use to make their organic pesticides include: neem oil, salt, vinegar, mineral oil, citrus oil, cayenne pepper, organic liquid soap, eucalyptus oil, onion, garlic, tobacco spray, and spearmint leaves. [ (III, 2010) ] They mix the ingredients depending on the problem they are treating and the type of plant to be sprayed. In addition to using green products for the business, David teaches a free one day class through the local community college once or twice a year before growing season to teach green gardening and Xeriscape techniques to do-it-yourself gardeners in his area.
Ethical Leadership
The owners of Ladybug Lawn Care have always led by example; the couple is very people oriented and enjoy interacting with their employees and customers. They are well respected in their community and believe that the greater good of their community is more beneficially than just the self-serving interest of turning a profit. Several of their employees have been with the company over 5 years because David and Carol show them respect and encourage them to express their ideas and suggestions. They are aware that decisions they make affect their employees; for example when David and Carol were thinking about adding rainwater harvesting systems to company, they set down with all the employees, told them about the products, and asked for their thoughts on adding these systems to the company offerings. The company was able to offer the new products to their customers with the support of all the team members because everyone was on board with the decision.
The Smiths believe that education is empowering. They often pay for employees to attend classes or seminars that help with general studies as well as horticulture. Ladybug Lawn Care awards two $2,000 scholarships a year to a college student with an interest in horticulture or culinary arts. Some of the students are employed by the company during the summer months to gain experience as well as earn money.
Ladybug Lawn Care and its employees donate over a hundred hours a month volunteering in their community. The company provides supplies and the owners and employees provide the skills and labor to support several community gardens in the Tucson area. They have gardens at five local elementary schools in support of the science, sustainability and green programs taught in the schools. Their support also sustains a large community vegetable garden at a local Boys and Girls Club. [ (Reinhart, 2012) ] The club sells enough produce from the garden at the local farmers market to fund several of its after school programs. In addition, Carol teaches nutrition and cooking classes to the children. She uses the garden produce to show them how make meals that are high in nutrition and easy to prepare.
Sustainability
Ladybug Lawn Care promotes sustainability several ways throughout their business. In landscaping; the use of Xeriscaping, rainwater harvesting and the use of solar lighting all support the concept of sustainability. Xeriscaping through careful planning and design allows for the reduced usage of ground water for irrigation. By using appropriate plants that take in to account light, wind and moisture requirements a Xeriscape garden can survive and even thrive in drought conditions. Soil grading and soil amendment make the most of rainfall retention and run-off prevention. In addition the company uses rainwater harvesting to allow their customers capture and reuse rainwater for gardening and irrigation. In the last few years the cost of solar lighting has come down in price and it is now a very economic and green way to light a garden. It has several advantages over traditional wired lighting so Ladybug Lawn Care uses it to add drama and safety to their customers’ gardens. It is easy to install and can be used in places that would be hard to light with traditional lighting. Since it does not draw on electricity it does not increase the customers’ electric bill. [ (Jackson, 2012) ]
The company also tries to take sustainability in to account with their equipment and vehicles. David likes to use electric tools whenever possible for three reasons. First, the electric tools are quieter thereby reducing noise pollution especially in residential areas. The second reason is the lack of exhaust fumes which add to air pollution. The third reason is that the tools are lighter to carry and work with; this makes it easier on the employees by reducing fatigue and injury. Although David still has to use gasoline or diesel power equipment for larger jobs, most residential jobs use the electric tools.
Due to the nature of the business they must use trucks for most of the work. When David wanted to replace the company trucks, he did research on which were the most cost effective to own. He took in to account mileage per gallon (mpg), cost, and repair records. He also kept in mind the dependability of the brand as he usually keeps his vehicles 5-7 years. The four trucks that he purchased were the Ford F-150 FFV (flex-fuel). This truck was rated at 17/23 mpg and had a great repair record. Because he was buying four trucks, David was able to bargain with the local dealership for a reduced purchase price.
The other vehicle that the company uses is the Passion Coupe Smart Car. Carol uses this car to run any errands for the business and David uses the car to go on estimates whenever possible. The car gets 34/38 mpg and has a good repair record. The car is different enough that with the Ladybug Lawn Care graphics wrap they had put on the car, it is eye catching, and a great form of advertising for the company. David makes sure that all of the vehicles used for the business are well maintained to make them efficient and to prevent any unnecessary repairs.
The business also tries to be green in its bookkeeping. Carol has cut down on the amount of paper the business produces by opting for online statements and configuring online bill paying from the bank. She uses a computer based accounting and paperless timecards system, direct deposit for employee paychecks and pays payroll/sales taxes online. She also encourages “being green” with her vendors by requesting online receipts whenever possible.
Legal Considerations
Ladybug Lawn Care reduces, reuses, or recycles as much of the waste from each job that it can. It always complies with city laws regarding the quiet times, building codes, and waste disposal. David obtains a building permit from the city when necessary for both new design work and remodeling jobs. David holds an Arizona Registrar of Contractors Dual License K-21 that allows Ladybug Lawn Care to do both commercial work under the A-21 license and residential work under the C-21R for Landscaping Irrigation Systems.
The company carries the required insurance and bonding for a landscaping company. Ladybug Lawn Care carries a general liability policy and auto policy through their insurance company, Auto-Owners Insurance. They have a $500,000 bond as required by the state of Arizona and have their worker’s compensation insurance through SCF Arizona.

Works Cited

Compost. (2012, November 6). Retrieved November 28, 2012, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Composting
III, D. E. (2010, April 28). 10 Homemade Organic Pesticides. Retrieved November 29, 2012, from Global Healing Center: http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/organic-pesticides/
Jackson, R. (2012). How Green Landscaping Works. Retrieved November 19, 2012, from howstuffworks.com: http://home.howstuffworks.com/lawn-garden/professional-landscaping/alternative-methods/green-landscaping.htm
Reinhart, C. (2012). Strategies a Company Can Employ That Help Develop Social Responsiblities for a Business Policy. Retrieved November 30, 2012, from Chron.com: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/strategies-company-can-employ-develop-social-responsibility-business-policy-12970.html
Smith, M. (2012). Five Dimensions of Corporate Social Responsiblity. Retrieved November 23, 2012, from Chron.com: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/five-dimensions-corporate-social-responsibility-54700.html
Xeriscaping. (2012, November 11). Retrieved November 27, 2012, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xeriscaping