We realized long ago that we are in a unique position to contribute toward the cause of preserving the environment. To many, this may initially seem counterintuitive. After all, we have all kinds of vehicles running around burning fossil fuels, putting all kinds of chemicals into pools. It obviously doesn't sound very environmentally friendly.

But think about it.

The pools are going to be cared for by someone. Therefore the trucks are going to run, and the chemicals will be applied. Where our ability to help the environment comes in is primarily in our ability to reduce the carbon footprint for this activity versus what it would generally be if done by others. In this manner, we make a difference. Actually, we make an impressively big difference.

There are a variety of systems, policies, and procedures that in total make up our Eco Initiative:

GPS Speed Threshold Alerts. We utilize GPS in ways that others have not thought of. One way is speeding alerts. Our GPS system monitors the speed at which our vehicles are traveling. When a threshold is exceeded, an alert is emailed to the management team, with repurcussions for driver of that vehicle. We estimate, based on the results of studies done by others, that our fuel economy initiatives reduce our consumption by a significate 5% to 15%.

GPS Idle Alerts. Our GPS system also monitors the amount of time that a vehicle does not move. Once this exceeds a threshold, an alert is sent to management, which then counsels the involved associate. This helps us to prevent excessive idling, which unnecessarily wastes fossil fuels.

Rush Hour Avoidance. Our field personnel begin their day well before our office opens, with all of them on their route between 6:00 and 7:00 in the morning. Starting early allows us to avoid rush hour, which in turn dramatically reduces fuel consumption. As an additional benefit, getting an early start, and a jump on the heat, helps us to do our jobs more effectively.

Properly Inflated Tires. Studies show that keeping tires properly inflated can save two weeks of fuel per year, a big impact. It also improves safety, good for our associates and the public at large. Each week, we check and adjust the tires pressure on vehicles in our fleet, improving fuel efficiency, and therefore helping to preserve our environment.

Safety Training. Twice per month we have ongoing early morning training sessions. A part of each of these is a safety component, which includes emphasis on safe driving speeds. We have found that associates, if simply asked, will do alot. Many companies make the simple mistake of not asking. We do ask them to, among other things, drive at safe speeds. We are confident that on balance they do, and that this reduces fuel consumption in addition to providing safety benefits.

Load Management. By loading each day, and loading intelligently, we estimate we are able to reduce our overall loads on the road by thousands of pounds. This reduces fuel consumption, and wear and tear on the vehicles, including the tires, thus reducing our carbon footprint.

Professional Chemical Management. There is an old expression in the pool business, "what goes to the pool stays in the pool," a humorous way of saying if a little is good, a lot is better. We don't accept this. Proper water management, which we manage via daily reviews as part of our management procedures, in addition to providing an enhanced pool environment and helping to preserve a pool's surface and equipment, avoids the unnecessary waste of excessive chemical use, further reducing our carbon footprint.

Fuel Efficient Vehicles. We utilize the most overall efficent vehicle available for the job. This means we use compact trucks for many tasks, instead of full size trucks that others in the industry may use. Smaller trucks get dramatically better gas mileage, helping to minimize our environmental impact.

Vehicle Preservation. In the swimming pool maintenance industry, vehicles are largely taken for granted, with the general operating strategy of driving them until they break in half from all the rust. It takes energy, a lot of it, to make a vehicle to begin with. Additionally, we believe that to attract and retain high quality associates, we need high quality, properly maintained equipment, and that our customers appreciate this as well. Thus we don't accept the standard "rust bucket" philosophy. At Pool Service America, we thoroughly wash our trucks every week, or more if necessary. This adds years to the life of our vehicles for those that acquire them from us when we are done, saving the signficant amount of energy needed to make the vehicles to replace them.

Intelligent Route Management. Our market penetration gives us a natural advantage in reducing "windshield time" reduces overall miles driven and consequent fuel consumption. We work to enhance this by actively managing our routes to further reduce the average commute between sites. Less average commute time equals less fuel consumed which equals less of a carbon footprint. It is a difficult thing to try to quantify, but intuitively we know this effect is big.

Energy Efficient Office Lighting. In our offices, we utilize energy efficient fluorescent lighting, with lights on timers to avoid lighting areas when not necessary.

Heating & Air Conditioning Timers. The climate control systems in our office are on timers to avoid expending energy when the office is not in use.

Reverse Osmosis Drinking Water. Drinking water is made available to our associates as a benefit. We used to provide this via the traditional 5 gallon jug delivery service. Then we began reading some of the environmental impact stories out there. Being water experts, we quickly realized there is an alternative. Today drinking water is provided via an onsite reverse osmosis water dispenser. avoiding the need for the plastic bottles, which themselves consumer energy to produce and apparently take over 1,000 years to decompose, and also saving the fuel otherwise required for the truck to deliver them. Once again, this serves, we believe, to reduce our carbon footprint.

Promotion of Environmentally Sensitive Pool Equipment. There are pool equipment options today, from super quiet, super energy efficent pool heaters, to variable speed pumps so energy efficient they quickly pay for themselves in savings, that are stunningly more energy efficient than traditional alternative. At Pool Service America, we endeavor to be not just order takers but solutions providers, providing our customers with the range of options and the cost versus benefits of each.

If you are an alert reader of the above you might (maybe slightly cynically) say to yourself that that all sounds great but all these things save us money as well. You would be correct. You got us. But you know what that make us? Smart. Isn't a smart company just what you're looking for?