ScottsMiracle-Gro Joins EPA, Industry Groups in Signing of Environmental Stewardship Proclamation
April 20 2006 - 8:05AM
PR Newswire (US)
Development of Environmental Guiding Principles Raises Awareness of
Environmentally Sound Home Landscape Practices for Homeowners
MARYSVILLE, Ohio, April 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- More American
households than ever are spending time on lawn and garden
activities. According to National Gardening Association statistics,
a record 91 million households spent time working on their lawns or
gardens last year. Yet research by The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company
has shown that as few as 25 percent of U.S. homeowners are taking
the right steps to ensure their activities contribute to a better
environment. To address the need for increased education,
ScottsMiracle-Gro, in a cooperative effort with the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), the National Gardening
Association, the Center for Resource Management and other
environmental advocacy and industry groups, formed the Lawns &
the Environment Initiative to help define, promote and encourage
adoption of responsible lawn and landscaping practices. The
organizations will sign a proclamation of their support of 10
"Environmental Guiding Principles" at a ceremony in New York City
on April 28, in conjunction with National Gardening Month. The
principles cover a range of environmentally sound practices that
homeowners can follow, including responsible planting, fertilizing,
watering, mowing and pest-control activities. "ScottsMiracle-Gro
supports the principles established by our partners as they reflect
our own efforts to help homeowners create and maintain beautiful,
healthy environments," said Rich Martinez, Chief Environmental
Officer for ScottsMiracle-Gro. "Our research has shown that the
vast majority of homeowners would be willing to change their lawn
and garden activities if they knew it would make a difference. Our
hope is that this effort will empower them to do to put these
principles into action." Tips from the "Proclamation of
Environmental Guiding Principles" include advice about: * Choosing
locally adapted plant species * Choosing fertilizers that best fit
needs of plants and soil conditions * Following label instructions
when applying fertilizers and pesticides * Mowing lawns at the
highest recommended setting to encourage plant vigor and reduce
runoff * Preventing fertilizers, pesticides, yard debris and pet
waste from entering water sources or wastewater systems. For more
information and advice on how to maintain a healthy and beautiful
lawn and garden, visit: http://www.scotts.com/. About
ScottsMiracle-Gro With more than $2.3 billion in worldwide sales
and more than 6,000 associates, The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company,
through its wholly-owned subsidiary, The Scotts Company LLC, is the
world's largest marketer of branded consumer products for lawn and
garden care, with products for professional horticulture as well.
The Company's brands are the most recognized in the industry. In
the U.S., the Company's Scotts(R), Miracle-Gro(R) and Ortho(R)
brands are market-leading in their categories, as is the consumer
Roundup(R) brand, which is marketed in North America and most of
Europe exclusively by Scotts and owned by Monsanto. The Company
also owns Smith & Hawken, a leading brand of garden-inspired
products that includes pottery, watering equipment, gardening
tools, outdoor furniture and live goods. Additionally, the Company
owns Morning Song(R), a leading brand in the wild bird food
category. In Europe, Scotts' brands include Weedol(R),
Pathclear(R), Evergreen(R), Levington(R), Miracle-Gro(R), KB(R),
Fertiligene(R) and Substral(R). For additional information, visit
us at http://www.scotts.com/. DATASOURCE: Scotts Miracle-Gro
Company CONTACT: Su Lok of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company,
+1-937-578-5169 or Web site: http://www.scotts.com/
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