ScottsMiracle-Gro 2021 Corporate Responsibility Report: Operations and Supply Chain
We incorporate sustainability principles into all aspects of our operations to GroMoreGood by striving for efficiency, using fewer resources and creating products that our consumers can trust.
Download: ScottsMiracle-Gro 2021 Corporate Responsibility Report
Our operational impacts are managed through a robust Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) management system. Our EHS software system helps us schedule compliance activities, track key EHS indicators and report and investigate incidents. We maintain an EHS Audit program to help ensure our operations meet environmental, health and safety regulations and align with the standards we set for ourselves. Through third-party, external assessments and quarterly internal reviews, we are able to identify opportunities for continuous improvement and/or gaps in our performance. By tracking our metrics, we’re able to drive improvements in areas that matter to us as a business, including waste, water, energy and health and safety. Our goal is to utilize established data collection processes for emissions and waste in all locations by the end of 2022, from which we will establish baseline metrics and future improvement goals.
We recognize that we have the ability to influence how our suppliers and partners operate their businesses, and we make every attempt to work with them to create positive outcomes. Through our code of business conduct and ethics, we set expectations for how we expect our partners to behave.
Health and Safety
First and foremost, we are committed to the safety of our associates. our numerous health and safety programs are designed to protect our team members. Our EHS management system is one tool that we use to promote the health and safety of our associates. Our behavior-based safety program allows our associates to submit concerns regarding conditions they perceive as unsafe or share feedback when they observe unsafe work behaviors. This feedback enables us to stay on top of safety issues in real time. Our robust health and safety policies, programs and management systems played a large role in our Company’s prompt and effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
We are committed to tracking and improving the industrial hygiene at our plants. This includes identifying opportunities to reduce workplace hazards in the work environment per Occupational Safety and health Administration (OSHA) standards. We are dedicated to upgrading our facilities to protect the health and safety of our frontline associates. In 2018, we opened the Centennial plant in Vancouver, Washington, which provides a cool, well-ventilated working environment filled with natural light that associates report contributes positively to their well-being. In 2020, we embarked on a multi-year capital improvement project at our largest manufacturing facility in Marysville, Ohio.
Waste
We are committed to eliminating unnecessary waste from our business, whether in our direct operations or beyond, across North America. In 2020, we prioritized setting goals and identifying further opportunities where ScottsMiracle-Gro can contribute to reducing waste. We work to reduce the amount of waste we send to landfills within our own operations. We aim to reduce our materials use, recycle or reuse materials as much as possible. Our plants have implemented a range of recycling initiatives, including wooden pallets, cardboard and plastic, and communicated with our associates how to reduce their impacts. At our headquarters in Marysville, Ohio, we’ve developed a successful food waste composting program, which has, in the past six years, diverted more than 118 tons of waste from landfills. Our facilities generated approximately 41,294.6 short tons of non-hazardous waste in fiscal year 2020.
The loss of once-reliable markets for certain recycling continues to affect our operations, forcing many of our sites to send material to landfills while searching for alternative outlets. Despite this significant challenge, we were able to divert 23,593.7 tons of waste from landfills last year, achieving an overall diversion rate of 57% across our North America operations. Reducing packaging impacts—while prioritizing consumer safety and product quality—is an area of continued interest for our company, our customers and consumers. You can learn more about our packaging waste reduction efforts in the products section of our latest Corporate Responsiblity Report.
