The ISA Canopy Partners program is a collaborative initiative that brings together industry leaders to support ISA's mission to promote the professionalism of arboriculture, inform the public about tree benefits, and provide a global network of arborists, urban foresters, and people who care for trees.
We met with Carmine Schiavone, the CEO of SavATree, an ISA Gold Canopy Partner, to discuss their views on the industry and how they see it changing in the coming years.
What industry trends has SavATree noticed and is it actively working towards?
The first trend we see, and ISA is a part of driving this, is that our industry is maturing and becoming more professional, operating with higher standards of performance and knowledge. The industry is also consolidating and becoming less of a cottage industry, where larger participants are making major investments to support building world-class organizations that rival the best in any other industry. We are also seeing more local certification requirements and spending by governments worldwide to protect urban forests – a true recognition of the importance and value trees play in sustaining our environment.
How does SavATree see the industry growing in the next few years?
We are excited about our industry and believe it will continue growing as property values increase and more people return to the office post-COVID restrictions. Demand for what we do will continue to be driven by ever-increasing complexity, with storms, drought, invasive species, and new diseases that negatively impact the trees, shrubs, and lawns that we care for. Property owners are more aware of the value of green spaces and keeping those spaces healthy and thriving—and we could not be more excited about the future!
What does SavATree want ISA’s members and credential holders to know about their organization?
We are very much about tree preservation - it's in our name and ethos, and in my opinion, we provide the highest quality plant health care in the industry. Our Sales team members are all ISA certified, or they're matriculating towards their ISA certification, as we believe in the importance of credentialing to have the professional knowledge required to support our customers in making decisions for their landscape. We believe that our experience is what separates us from our competitors, and ISA plays a big part in raising the knowledge bar. Each team member is encouraged to continue learning every year to reach the highest potential in our industry.
SavATree is a values-based organization where we work together to execute our mission which is "to nurture and preserve our environment" as we believe that thriving communities start with thriving landscapes. We all work to create raving fans, to serve with integrity, as one team, embracing change – so we can take on the challenges that nature gives us to work.
What is SavATree planning to focus on in the coming years?
First and foremost, our number one focus is on keeping our team members safe and healthy. We're always driving towards zero workplace injuries and road incidents, and we will continue to invest in technology, equipment, and our culture of caring for one another to ensure that everybody gets home in at least as good a condition as they showed up to work.
Second, it's about workforce development. Our industry, as a whole, does not have enough skilled talent to do the kind of work that we do. We'll continue to invest heavily in our team, ensuring that all of us are ready to serve the landscapes that we care for while being the employer of choice in the green industry.
Third, we will continue to expand our service offerings to provide more of what our customers ask us to do, which is taking care of what they love and the outdoor spaces that they have invested in.
Lastly, we'll continue to evolve as an organization by improving efficiency through improved processes and technology and ensuring that our employees remain world-class. We strongly believe that when our teammates are happy, well-trained, and fully engaged - they deliver on the promises we make to our customers. We want all our stakeholders feeling great about SavATree.
What are some ways SavATree is investing in the industry?
We are fully invested in advancing our industry, and we do that in many ways by lending our expertise to help develop new safety standards/requirements such as ANSI Z133; we help by sponsoring the Arborist Safety Training Institute (ASTI) through the TCIA, which trains Arborists to work free of injury, and we share our best practices with the rest of the industry so that we all raise the bar for our team members on efficiency and doing the right thing scientifically for nature.
We also support The TreeFund to help expand green infrastructure and development of urban forests and we lobby at the local, state, and federal levels to promote public funding for tree care and advocating for more sources of labor to do the important work that we do.
What we are most proud of is giving back to the local communities we serve with our employees and through financial support. The Boys and Girls Club is our charity of choice, and every year, we give hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America to ensure that we're engaging with the youth of America to help them understand what we do, why the work is important, and why they should love trees and the outdoors as much as we do!