Here to Help You Provide Essential Services to Your Customers

Here to Help You Provide Essential Services to Your Customers

SiteOne® Landscape Supply is committed to helping you manage your business during and after the pandemic globally known as COVID-19. While millions are sheltering in place to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus disease, thousands of workers including landscape contractors, remain called to the job. On March 28, 2020, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security updated the “Advisory Memorandum on Identification of Essential Critical Infrastructure Workers During COVID-19 Response” to clearly identify landscapers as essential workers. (Security, 2020)

“Workers such as plumbers, electricians, exterminators, builders, contractors, HVAC Technicians, landscapers, and other service providers that are necessary to maintaining the safety, sanitation and essential operation of residences, businesses and buildings such as hospitals, senior living facilities, any temporary construction required to support COVID-19 response”.

This is an ever-changing situation, and some governors are putting mandates on what is classified as “essential” and what is not. We encourage you to frequently check the National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) list of state by state guidance and follow the state law.

Our branches are operating and are in full compliance with the safety guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). To further support social distancing, we encourage customers to enroll in SiteOne’s Staged portal – this gives you the power to place your order for seed, fertilizer, irrigation, et. al. Staged so that it is ready to load when you arrive at your branch or have it delivered to the jobsite.

Why Are We Essential Services?

We all know that services performed by landscape contractors go well beyond the obvious weekly maintenance of lawns and flower beds. And like the Department of Homeland Security, most state, provincial and local governments agree that your services are necessary for the continued maintenance and safety of residential communities, commercial properties and municipalities. This includes your key role in essential infrastructure projects like public works and construction. These are jobs that mitigate potentially life-threatening issues such as:

· Disease that thrives in water

· Pests like mosquitoes, fleas and ticks

· Fungicides in the soil

· Trees and limbs that can fall during or after spring or summer storms

· Snow and ice hazards

And as the weather warms in the United States, these services are needed. Additionally, a study from the University of Washington / USDA Forest Service (Wolf, 2014) shows that plants have mental health benefit; specifically, plants and gardens have the power to: 

· Reduce anxiety and depression

· Improve mental clarity

· Increase physical activity

Going to work every day to perform landscaping services, whether it is mowing, fertilizing, weed control, hazard mitigation, spraying for insects, pruning trees and bushes or planting new plants can help your customers to manage the marathon that is COVID-19 in the safe and secure place that is their living area.

What Should You Do During This Timeframe?

1.     Make your employees and customers safety your top priority. In addition to practicing social distancing, make sure your workplace and employees are following recommendations outlined by OSHA:

· Promote frequent and thorough handwashing with running water and soap. If water and soap aren’t available, provide an alcohol-based (at least 60-percent alcohol) hand sanitizer.

· Encourage social distancing by reducing the number of people in one vehicle. Perhaps have crews meet at a jobsite rather than carpooling to one location.

· Promote the use of covering coughs and sneezes.

· Reinforce that workers need to stay at home if they are feeling ill.

Click here to read OSHA’s full guidance on preparing the workplace for COVID-19.

2.     Arm crews with guidance. We encourage you to print a letter written for state and local officials by the National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) further communicating that landscapers are essential to the health and well-being of the community. Click here to download the letter, print it and give it to each worker to carry on their person or in their vehicle.

3.     The NALP also provides a form for landscapers to communicate the need to remain open during the pandemic to local government officials.

Lastly, we are developing resources for you to quickly use to communicate with your customers and are working with our Business Solutions team to help you be financially prepared during this time. We want to make sure your business stays healthy through this difficult time so stay tuned to SiteOne.com/covid-19.