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The Evolution of Green
1 Apr, 2009 By: Pete Grasso Pest Management ProfessionalGreen. It's the biggest buzzword right now — not just in the pest management industry but in every day life. Green is the hot topic everyone is talking about.
It's not a new concept, really. Green has been around for quite some time. Even the idea of green pest solutions has been around for years — and many will argue that integrated pest management (IPM) is green pest solutions.
This magazine has covered the topic of green in the industry many times. Two years ago, as Pest Control magazine, we asked the question, "What does it mean to be green?" (June 2007). Last year, Dr. Austin Frishman urged the industry to be proactive and define and adopt green as a way of doing business (April 2008).
Many pest management professionals (PMPs) have embraced the idea of providing green pest solutions for their customers. Others are still trying to define what it means to have a green program, and some are hoping green is a passing fad. We're here to tell those hearty holdouts that it's not.
Green is here to stay. Green has evolved, and green continues to evolve in the pest management industry.
Evolution of Green
"Two years ago, green seemed to be a vast and broad idea, and over time the scope has narrowed as to what green really means," says Andy Architect, executive director of QualityPro for the National Pest Management Association (NPMA). "PMPs are more comfortable talking about and performing green services than they were two years ago."
The NPMA's QualityPro Green program, which came to fruition last summer, is gaining steam as more and more PMPs become certified.
Architect believes PMPs have started to embrace the concept of green and view it as something to help them differentiate their service offerings.
"Although it may only be a service for a small percentage of their customers, it's something that elevates their company in the mind of the consumers," Architect says.
Linda Prentice, associate certified entomologist with Bug-Out Service in Jacksonville, Fla., believes the industry has reached the point where everyone agrees that going green is the way to go.
"I think the industry has a pretty good idea now of what it means to be green," she says. "When Bug-Out started to define green as botanical, all-natural products, the company looked at the last 10 years and realized it was headed in that direction all along."
Prentice and Bug-Out Service are not alone in that regard. Many PMPs view the IPM service they've been doing for years as green. PMP Hall of Famer Hal Stein, owner of Crane Pest Control in San Francisco, says the whole concept of green pest solutions evolved out of IPM.
Up until recently — when green became the buzzword of the day — PMPs didn't really have a way to market IPM to consumers.
"IPM has been considered green in the pest management industry for the past 10 years, but IPM doesn't mean anything to consumers," says Kevin Kordek, president of A-Active Termite and Pest Control in Virginia Beach, Va. "To the general public, green means something and makes them feel as though they're doing something good."
Matt Nixon, chief executive officer of American Pest Management in Washington D.C. agrees. American Pest Management has been practicing IPM for many years and now their using the green initiative to market their program to eco-conscious consumers.
"I think term green is more about marketing than it is about action." Nixon says. "For our company, we became green almost 15 years ago but we called it IPM or 'common sense,'
"Common sense tells you, if there's a better way to do something, then do it," he continues For us, that meant getting rid of baseboard spraying years ago."
Supply and Demand
Perhaps the biggest question many PMPs have about green is whether or not consumers really want green pest solutions.
It would be simple to say that all consumers want green services, so all PMPs should provide green pest solutions. It's not that simple.
"In the beginning, green was consumer-driven," Stein says. "In response to that, the industry got together and said, 'This is what they want, so how can we fit into the picture.'"
For some PMPs, it's all about what the customer wants. Genma Holmes, president of Holmes Pest Control in Hermitage, Tenn., jumped on green right away because that's what her customers wanted. Holmes conducted her own focus groups to find out what services consumers looked for in a pest management company.
"I don't care what the industry is doing; I'm going to do what my customers are asking for," Holmes says. "Consumers' words to me were, 'We want something green.'"
Many view the green trend as being driven by the younger generation. Even Holmes admits that while she's "not Al Gore," she's gotten into green because her children are into "saving the earth."
Green is so prevalent in today's society — and information flows so freely — that consumers have many resources learn about green.
"What we've seen more in the last couple of years is that, instead of us educating our customers on why we do things the way we do them, they're asking us to do these types of treatments," Nixon says. "It's easier now to be green than it was in the past.
Green's Next Step
The biggest obstacle in the greening of the pest management industry has been agreeing on a universal definition of green within the industry. If you ask any 10 PMPs what it means to be green, chances are you'll get 10 different responses.
"Part of the evolution of green — and I would say it's still an embryo — is that it has a ways to go before there is a definition of green in the pest management industry," Kordek says. "Will there come a point in time when all PMPs subscribe to a particular methodology that is considered to be greener than what we do now?"
There are enough questions about green to easily dismiss it as a passing fad, but it doesn't seem to be going away any time soon.
"Oh, it's not going to stick around for a while at all — it's going to stick around forever," says Bob Kunst, president of Fisher Environmental Services in Mandeville, La. "I personally believe that each company, in its own way, should reach out to its customers and tell them your company is dedicated to going green and using products in the best manner available to ensure the least effect on the environment.
As green continues to build momentum in mainstream culture, so it will continue to build momentum in the pest management industry. Suppliers have jumped on board and are working closely with PMPs to develop greener solutions to pest problems.
"We'll get better and better tools," says Jack Marlowe, president of Eden Advanced Pest Technologies in Olympia, Wash. "I think our ability to step up and do IPM, by the pure sense of that definition, will become better and better."
The technology is improving in the industry and support for green pest solutions is present on every level.
"A lot of the new products are being approved by the EPA," Prentice says. "We're able to tell homeowners that they probably have a lot more toxic products under their sinks than what we're using to treat their home."
The industry needs to improve its methodologies too.
"We're always learning new things," Stein says. "We need to be open-minded about green techniques and practices."
Open-mindedness is an excellent term to describe green. PMPs need to be open-minded about incorporating green, not just into their service offerings, but into the way they operate as a company, Holmes believes.
"A lot of times, I see people doing green as only a marketing initiative," she says. "You need to look at green as a lifestyle, so that when people see your company, they know you're genuine.
In the end, it's difficult to predict where green will lead this industry. It's moved past the point of being just a term — green is now a movement.
"It's an evolving process. It's hard to guess what green is going to be even six or 12 months down the road," Architect says. "What green looks like today in our industry, may not be what green looks like down the road."
Kunst reminds the industry to make an effort to ensure their pest management services are actually green, and not just greenwashing.
"Whether or not everyone will practice green to the same degree, well, that a different story," Kunst says. "Some PMPs will hover around the margins of green. Some will say they're green but they're not. Some will take it to heart and do everything they can to practice a true IPM green program."
Marlowe believes PMPs need to be able to back up their choices when it comes to green pest solutions.
"Regardless of what color you're calling your program, you have to be more deliberate about the choices you're making about materials," Marlowe says "You have to be able to defend your position. Whatever you choose, you need to be able to make your case as to why you choose what you choose."
You can reach Grasso at
pgrasso@questex.com.
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