The Scotts Company and Environmental Stewardship

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The Scotts Company and Environmental Stewardship

• Discussions with the Chesapeake Bay Program
  Office
• December 8-9, 2004
• The Scotts Company

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Profile of The Scotts Company

• Headquartered in Marysville, Ohio
• Founded in 1868 by Civil War veteran Orlando
  McLean Scott
• Scotts is the worlds leading producer and
  distributor of consumer lawn and garden products,
  with brands such as Turf Builder, Roundup,
  Ortho and Miracle-Gro
• Scotts has annual revenues of nearly 2 Billion
  and employs approximately 6500 employees
  worldwide, with locations throughout the U.S. and
  the world
•  

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Early Innovations
Developing Healthy Lawns
1868 Founded by O.M. Scott as a hardware store
featuring weed-free seed
1947 Scotts sells first weed and feed dry
fertilizer for lawns
1962 Scotts obtains US Patent for a grass
variety (Windsor KY Bluegrass)
1907 Scotts begins selling grass seed by mail
1972 Scotts begins its Consumer Helpline, which
receives one million calls per year
1928 Turf Builder becomes first fertilizer for
consumer market
1930 Scotts sells first lawn fertilizer spreader
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The Scotts Company
Adding Solutions to help Consumers
1995 Scotts and Miracle-Gro combine, joining
No. 1 lawn and garden products Scotts stock
moves to NYSE
1997 Scotts acquires Emerald Green, setting the
stage for Scotts LawnService
1999 Scotts acquires Ortho from Monsanto, global
marketing rights to Roundup
1997 to 1999 Scotts becomes leader in Europe,
acquiring top brands in UK, France and Germany
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Scotts Recognizable Brands
Gardens
Lawns

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Growing Media
Controls
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Lawns GardenMost popular outdoor activity
with consumers

• Gardening is the No. 1 outdoor leisure activity
• Consumers over 50 are largest participants in
  gardening
• Baby boomers (45-64 age) are the fastest growing
  segment of US population
• Source National Gardening Association, Market
  Facts Inc.

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Why Do People Garden?

• Good Exercise Studies performed at Stanford
  University Center for Research in Disease
  Prevention showed that 30 minutes in the garden
  can burn the equivalent amount of calories as 30
  minutes of light jogging.
• Builds Strong Bones A study of more than 3000
  women age 50 or older done by the University of
  Arkansas showed that those who garden have higher
  bone density levels than women of a comparable
  age who jog, swim, walk or do aerobics.
• Promotes Physical Healing According to research
  at the University of Delaware, hospital patients
  with a window view of a growing landscape
  reported a much more positive hospital stay,
  required fewer painkillers, experienced fewer
  postoperative complications and generally
  recovered faster than patients without a
  landscape view.
• Emotional Well-Being A survey of 145 mid-aged
  women gardeners by Massey University found that
  the main reason they garden is not for the
  physical benefits, but for the spiritual sense of
  well-being they get from spending time in their
  gardens.

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Why is Turf Care Important?

• Healthy lawns and gardens are important assets
  for protecting and enhancing our environment
• Healthy Lawns offer many environmental benefits
• Clean Air
• Natural Cooling
• Clean Water
• Noise Reduction
• Injury Prevention

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Specific Turf Benefits

• Clean Air A 50 by 50 area of well-maintained
  lawn will
• create enough oxygen to meet the needs of a
  family of four
• every day. Grass in the US traps about 12
  million tons of dust and dirt from the air
  annually
• Natural Cooling Healthy lawns reduce surface
  temperatures by 30-40 degrees as compared to bare
  soil and 50-70 degrees when compared to paved
  areas. The lawns of 8 average sized suburban
  homes provide the cooling effects of 70 tons of
  air conditioning
• Filters Water Healthy turf is a natural sponge,
  filtering water before it passes into groundwater
  supplies. Studies show that thick lawns slow the
  speed of runoff and allow water to infiltrate 15
  times better than do patchy lawns with a lot of
  weeds.
• Noise Reduction Grasses and plants reduce noise
  levels by 20-30
• Injury Prevention Healthy turf reduces sports
  injuries by up to 40

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Scotts is Dedicated to a Beautiful World

• Its our mission
• Beautiful (to Scotts) means healthy for people
  and the environment
• Healthy lawns and gardens that people can enjoy
  (more later)
• Products that work, are easy to use and are safe
  for consumers and the environment.

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Stewardship at Scotts

• Rich Martinez recently named first Chief
  Environmental Officer, indicating renewed focus
  and commitment
• Building a team and coordinating all efforts
• Generating Programs and Priorities
• Best Management Practices for common sense
  consumer programs (consistent with those from
  Lawns and the Environment, various university
  coop extension programs)
• BMPs/BAT for Scotts Internal Product
  Development
• Internal Metrics for Scotts (and lawn/garden
  industry) sustainability
• Developing Environmental Communications
• Developing Outreach Programs

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BMPs for Consumers

• Lawns and the Environment Initiative is
  developing Environmental Guidelines for
  Responsible Lawn Care and Landscaping, as well
  as Top Ten Tips
• Scotts will condense these (with input from
  Universities and Cooperative Extension) and
  communicate them broadly to consumers

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BMPs for Scotts Products

• Add EdgeGuard to all Rotary Spreaders
• Drive Sales of RTU Pest Controls Versus
  Concentrates (switch all Ortho liquid products
  advertising to RTUs)
• Targeted and Accurate Application
• Less Product Used
• Reduced Consumer Exposure
• Add More Targeted Application Devices like the
  Pull N Spray
• Add Phosphorus-Free Fertilizers to Lawns Annual
  Program Line Design (Turf Builder!)
• Replace Miracle-Gro All Purpose formula with
  lower Phosphorus Alternative
• Review and Revise Products with Unsustainable
  Ingredients
• Shift MG Potting and Garden Soils to all
  natural

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Communications

• Auditing our Advertising and Marketing to Ensure
  Messages are Consistent with Environmental
  Stewardship Objectives
• Refining our Messages, Consistent with Product
  and Consumer Use Best Management Practices
• Will be Delivered through Strategic Partnerships
  and Outreach

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Scotts Outreach Efforts

• Scotts is Partnering to More Effectively
  Communicate our Environmental Messages
• Keep America Beautiful
• Chesapeake Bay Program Office
• The Nature Conservancy (LI)
• ASPCA
• NY Botanical Garden
• The National Garden

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What is our Industry Doing?

• Participating in initiatives like The Lawns and
  the Environment
• Our trade association, RISE (affiliated with
  CropLife America) has just formed a Residential
  Workgroup to focus on consumer issues and
  communications
• Engaging in open dialogues with stakeholders
• Ongoing continuous improvement
• Becoming more open and transparent
• Educating the public about the benefits of
  healthy lawns and landscapes
• Example Project Evergreen

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Chesapeake Bay Usage Concerns

• University of Maryland/Maryland Cooperative
  Extension Turf Nutrient Recommendations
• Soil tests are highly recommended
• Most lawn grasses need some nitrogen added
  annually in order to insure proper growth and
  resistance to pests
• Application rate should be no more than 1 pound
  of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet
• Phosphorus is critical for new seeding light
  applications are sufficient for mature lawns
• Scotts Usage Data Shows
• 50 homeowners do not apply lawn nutrients
• Those who do typically make two applications/year
  (spring and fall)
• Best environmental bang for our buck is to
  educate consumers on responsible use (keep
  fertilizer off hard surfaces, etc.)
• Source Maryland Cooperative Extension, Fact
  Sheet 702, Lawns and the Chesapeake Bay

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Our BMPs to Protect Water Quality Agree with
Maryland Cooperative Extensions

• Keep fertilizer off paved surfaces . Sweep any
  fertilizer that gets on pavement back onto the
  lawn.
• Use a drop spreader instead of a rotary spreader
  in restricted spaces or when fertilizing near
  water or pavement. Scotts EdgeGuard spreader
  prevents unintended application.
• Calibrate your spreader/read and follow label
  directions.
• Fill and wash spreaders over grassy areas.
• Avoid getting fertilizer into natural drainage
  areas.
• Never apply fertilizer to frozen ground or
  dormant lawns.
• Source Maryland Cooperative Extension, Fact
  Sheet 702, Lawns and the Chesapeake Bay

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Scotts Current Chesapeake Bay Initiatives

• Scotts Diverts Organic Nutrients out of the Bay
  Waste Stream and Converts them into Beneficial
  Uses in Two Ways
• Perdue Program Scotts uses granulated chicken
  manure in Miracle-Gro Organic Choice Fertilizer,
  Garden Soil and Potting Mix
• Mushroom Compost Scotts uses 400,000 tons/year
  at its Oxford and Avondale, PA facilities,
  diverting this material from the waste stream,
  preventing point source pollution and converting
  it into potting soils

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Discussion

• Questions?
• Suggestions?
• Partnering Opportunities?

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