Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. said March 22 that by the end of 2012 phosphorus will be removed from ScottsMiracle-Gro’s lawn fertilizers, including the market-leading Scotts® Turf Builder® brand. While Scotts said it began reducing phosphorus in its lawn food products in 2006, the new announcement takes that commitment even further, as the company has concluded that most lawns in the U.S. can flourish without supplemental phosphorus applications.
Scotts told Green Markets that it is already possible to find its lawn fertilizers without phosphates. Generally, their phosphate content is already low, somewhere between 0 to 2 percent.
Scotts, however, is not giving up phosphates altogether. Because phosphorus is essential to the initial root development of grass, Scotts says the nutrient will remain in the company’s starter fertilizers, which are used for new lawns. Phosphorus will also remain in Scotts’ lines of organic lawn food, as it naturally occurs in the organic materials contained in the products.
Additionally, Scotts also announced it is increasing its focus on more efficient and optimized ways to use nitrogen in its lawn fertilizer products through enhanced science and technology efforts. This enhanced exploration of nitrogen technology will commence immediately, anticipating that the initiative will lead to more efficient use of nitrogen in lawn fertilizers. Scotts noted that nitrogen is a critical nutrient for maintaining healthy grass.
With approximately $3 billion in worldwide sales, Scotts is the world’s largest marketer of branded consumer products for lawn and garden care.
“We want to provide consumers with the tools they need to create the lawn and garden they want while also being stewards of the environment,” said Jim Hagedorn, Scotts chairman and CEO. “What better time to announce these initiatives than on World Water Day, and also at the start of another lawn and garden season.”
Hagedorn also said a central part of Scotts’ new initiative is a multi-year commitment to new consumer communication, education, and grassroots outreach regarding water quality and conservation. This includes incorporating water quality and conservation messaging into Scotts’ consumer advertising, dedicated Web sites, and other digital outreach tools for consumers, as well as funding for educational outreach efforts with environmental partners and local organizations.
“We have seen the success of consumer education efforts regarding sustainable lawn care practices,” said Hagedorn. “Making sure consumers know how they can get great results from our products while also protecting and preserving water is critical, which is why we’re announcing this new commitment.”
“Protecting water is a cornerstone of our sustainability efforts, but we cannot succeed on our own we know we need to tap into the expertise and capabilities of others,” said Richard Shank, Ph.D., and Scotts chief environmental officer. Shank, a former director of The Nature Conservancy in Ohio, has also served as the director of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. “While we are confident in the steps announced today, we know communities across the U.S. continue to struggle with water quality and conservation issues. We remain committed to offering educational resources that will allow community leaders to focus on larger sources of nutrient pollution and ultimately protect our environment.”
As part of this effort, outreach programs will initially be developed in conjunction with the Alliance for the Great Lakes and the National Wildlife Federation, and the company expects to partner with other organizations as the initiative progresses. Also, the company will enhance its current partnership with Keep America Beautiful (KAB) and make educational resources available through more than 600 KAB local affiliates for community education initiatives on stormwater runoff