Qualified small business landscape professionals can now buy discounted zero-emission mowers, blowers and other landscape equipment through a new category of funding offered through the California Air Resources Board’s Clean Off-Road Equipment Voucher Incentive Project (CORE).
To be considered for voucher eligibility, small businesses must offer landscape services that help repair, install or subcontract the development of landscape systems and facilities for public and private gardens and other areas that are designed to aesthetically, architecturally, horticulturally or functionally improve the grounds within or surrounding a structure or a tract or plot of land. Additionally, the business must be independently owned and operated with a principal office located in California. Finally, the company must have 100 or fewer employees and average annual gross receipts of $15 million or less over the previous three years.
“Professional landscapers often operate on very tight profit margins and can find it challenging to upgrade to new technology,” said Jacob Whitson, CALSTART’s lead project manager, “CORE’s new landscape voucher incentives will allow them to more easily adopt zero-emission professional equipment for their businesses, while in turn encouraging manufacturers to expand their offerings in this market.”
Administered by CALSTART, the CORE program’s includes more than $27 million of voucher funds allocated for professional landscape services operated by small businesses or sole proprietors.
Equipment purchasers can request vouchers for the following types of landscape equipment starting Nov. 7:
- Edgers
- Hedgers
- String trimmers
- Chainsaws
- Pole saws
- Vacuums
- Handheld leaf blowers
- Backpack leaf blowers
- Walk-behind mowers
- Ride-on and stand-ride mowers
- Batteries
- Chargers
- Power management equipment
CORE’s website features both a list of approved zero-emission landscape service equipment manufacturers and a list of approved dealers throughout California and other states.
To promote broad application of CORE funding, $10 million of the total funding allocation will be set aside for 180 calendar days to ensure microbusinesses have access to participate. The remaining $17 million will be set aside for small businesses. To submit a voucher request, vehicle purchasers must select eligible equipment from the equipment catalog and contact an approved dealer to submit a voucher request. The dealer will submit the voucher request to the Voucher Processing Center and the vehicle purchaser will receive the CORE incentive at the point of sale.