SALEM, Ore. – At the 2010 Portland International Auto Show, DeSantis Landscapes was named the Small Fleet of the Year by the Columbia-Willamette Clean Cities Coalition (Contact: Katie Gentry; 503-580-3806). Clean Cities Coalition is a national organization supported by the U.S. Department of Energy whose main objective is to promote the use of domestically produced alternative transportation fuels.
DeSantis Landscapes has been fueling their diesel fleet, which includes trucks and equipment such as tractors and large mowers, since 2005. During this time the company has avoided using over 13,000 gallons of petroleum fuel and reduced its carbon dioxide emissions by more than 300,000 pounds. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming. This reduction in carbon dioxide emissions is the approximate equivalent of taking 30 vehicles off the road for one entire year.
The biodiesel that DeSantis Landscapes uses is produced locally by Sequential Biofuels which provides jobs to our local economy and keeps dollars working locally to support our own communities.
For DeSantis, the commitment to sustainability has been the foundation of the company and goes beyond its commitment to natural landscaping practices. Day-to-day operations include: the use of hybrid cars for its sales and management team; the use of biodiesel in their trucks, lawnmowers, and other large equipment; four-cycle backpack blowers that reduce emissions by as much as 80 percent and decreased decibel levels by 45 percent; the conversion to green power for its office utilities; and a solar photovoltaic array on its company headquarters that provides approximately 15% of it’s energy needs.
Over the past five years, DeSantis Landscapes has reduced its pesticide use by over 60% and its waste costs by over 25%. DeSantis’ use of biodiesel has helped to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming, by over 300,000 lbs, the equivalent of taking nearly 30 vehicles off the road.
“Cultivating an organization that cares about the footprint it leaves behind has been, and will continue to be, a huge part of who we are,” said the President of DeSantis Landscapes, Dean DeSantis. “As landscapers, we are on the front lines of environmental care and we take that responsibility very seriously.”
About DeSantis Landscapes: DeSantis Landscapes is a family-owned, nationally recognized landscape design, build and maintenance company with offices in Salem and Tigard. The company’s award-winning services have been enjoyed by clients throughout the Willamette Valley and beyond since 1974. Its landscape projects range from commercial properties to large private estates, to the most intimate residential gardens. In all cases, DeSantis creates balanced environments of extraordinary beauty and functionality.