Sun Gro Horticulture and Sustainability

Sun Gro's Commitment to Stakeholders and the Environment

At Sun Gro, we honor commitments to a number of groups that have a stake in our operations. These groups include professional growers, home consumers, and the communities where we operate, and the environment. As the leader in the growing media industry, we strive to provide exceptional products created and produced responsibly and sustainably.

Our Commitment to Professional Growers:

We provide products that are optimized for nursery and greenhouse operations, and that are formulated to meet the specific requirements of each crop. These mixes enable shorter growing cycles and provide superior yields, meaning less energy, fertilizer and water are needed. We produce products that include a variety of ingredients and offer a range of attributes depending on grower requirements. We carefully formulate mixes with ingredients such as:

• Peat moss which helps retain moisture and allows air to reach plant roots
• Locally available compost to enrich mixes with nutrients and organic material
• Organic and traditional plant foods to get plants off to the best possible start
• Materials once considered waste and often sent to landlls such as bark, rice hulls, peanut shells and coconut fiber that provide aeration, drainage and moisture retention
• Perlite and vermiculite, mineral products that provide aeration, as well as water and fertilizer holding capabilities

Our Commitment to Home Consumers:

The plants purchased from our grower partners at retail stores are well-prepared for healthy growth. The soil mix in that nursery container has been formulated to meet that plant's particular nutrient and pH requirements. The mix is also water-wise, holding on to moisture for your plant; you'll need to water less, reducing runoff into streams and aquifers.

While native soils were historically used for starting seedlings, research has shown that peat-based mixes such as those developed and tested at Cornell University are far superior for plants grown both commercially and in the home. We began producing peat based mixes in the 1980's, in response to concerns about depletion of native soils and erosion. You can rest assured that your greenhouse grown plant has gotten an optimal start.

Our packaged soil products sold under the Black Gold, Sunshine and Natures labels will help you enhance not only the attractiveness of your garden, but will help you create a more environmentally friendly space as well. You can conserve water by using mixes that contain water-holding ingredients such as peat moss and coconut fiber or mulches made of a variety of materials that reduce evaporation. Plants grown in a potting soil or amended garden soil establish more quickly. When you add plants to your landscape, you are also doing your part to help the environment. As plants grow, they consume carbon dioxide from the air; carbon dioxide is a compound believed by some to inffuence climate change

Our Commitment to our Communities:

Sun Gro operates in 28 separate locations, many of which are in small rural towns. We are committed to providing jobs that are safe and pay a fair wage. We employ over 800 people and contribute to the economic well-being of our communities. We are also committed to minimizing our impact on the local environment. We conduct environmental impact studies and make sure that our operations do not have an adverse affect on wildlife. When the time comes to cease operations, we take the lead in restoring harvested land to naturally functioning wetlands. We are a founding member of the Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss Association and have been instrumental in developing best practices for peat land restoration so our communities continue to enjoy the original character of these natural resources after our harvesting is complete. You can find more information about the Association and Canada's peatlands, at www.peatmoss.com.

Our Commitment to the Environment:

At Sun Gro we take great pride in our stewardship of natural resources. Peat moss is a renewable resource, and we manage our bogs so that we harvest less peat moss in any given year than is being naturally replenished. In fact, it is being replenished 60 times faster than it is being harvested!

(Each year, 70 million tons of Canadian peat moss accumulate, while only 1.3 million tons are harvested industry-wide.) Sun Gro sustainably harvests only a very small amount of land, fewer than 10,000 acres, an area roughly the size of 24 typical farms. Much of the extensive surrounding acreage remains untouched, leaving hundreds of thousands of acres undisturbed for native plants and wildlife.

We locate our facilities strategically to minimize our use of trucking and fossil fuels. We work closely with trucking companies to fill trucks that would otherwise be on the road empty-especially trucks that deliver goods from the US to Canada and that would return empty if not for our products. We practice continuous improvement at our production facilities, always working to be energy smart in our operations, and we use innovative practices such as compressing products into tight bales to get more product into a shipment and minimize packaging waste. We source many of our ingredients locally to minimize the amount of shipping that we do.

Because plants grow more quickly in our scientifically formulated growing mixes, greenhouses require less energy, fertilizer and water to get them to market.

Our commitment to the environment goes well beyond our core business. It is reflected in everything we do. Our offices recycle paper and other waste. Many of our employees can telecommute to save gas. All of our locations are attuned to common-sense conservation practices such as turning off the lights if no one is in the room. Because even small efforts, when taken together, can have a positive impact on our environment now and for future generations.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Sun Gro's role in the peat moss industry with regard to sustainability?

As the leader in the growing media industry, Sun Gro has also taken a leadership role in sustainability efforts. Sun Gro has been instrumental in developing the Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss Association's^[1] guidelines for sustainable harvest of peat moss and restoration of bogs^[2]. Here are a few little known facts that show just how sustainable our use of peat moss is:

• Peat moss is replenished 60 times faster than it is harvested^[3]. Each year in Canada, 70 million tons of peat accumulates and only 1.3 million tons are harvested industrywide.
• Sun Gro harvests fewer than 10,000 acres, an area equivalent to about 24 average sized US farms^[4].
• The total amount of land under harvest for peat is miniscule—less than 0.02% of Canadian peat lands ^[5] (that's 1 acre in harvest for every 5,000 acres of peat land.)
• Many more detailed facts are available at CSPMA.

What steps does Sun Gro take to ensure environmental sensitivity?

Sun Gro follows best practices before, during and after harvest of peat moss:

• Prior to harvest, extensive Environmental Impact Studies are conducted for Provincial authorities to ensure that local wildlife is not adversely affected.
• During harvest, hundreds of thousands of acres of land adjacent to harvest areas remain undisturbed so that native plants and wildlife can thrive.
• Once harvest operations cease, bogs will be restored to functioning wetlands where a vibrant ecosystem of plants, birds and animals will flourish^[6].

Does Sun Gro have other policies and practices regarding use of natural resources?

Sun Gro is committed to using resources wisely. We provide exceptional products for our customers that not only meet their exacting technical specifications, but that re-purpose a variety of materials once considered waste. For example, we use coconut fiber pith, “coir”, a by-product of coconut harvest along with rice hulls, peanut shells and bark. These ingredients provide benefits like water retention, aeration and drainage. Our mixes are formulated to maximize plant growth in the shortest possible time, so our customers use less water, plant food and energy to achieve plant growth.

Additionally our production locations use locally available materials such as compost to help minimize the burden on local landfills.

What mineral resources does Sun Gro use?

To improve mix performance, we often add vermiculite or perlite. Vermiculite improves fertilizer holding ability so less is required or wasted, and perlite adds air space to help plant roots grow better. Perlite and vermiculite are unique materials because they increase 7-10 times in volume when processed (almost like corn kernels that pop into fluffy popcorn). This means with minimal harvest of these natural resources, a large volume of usable material is created.

In addition, both of these minerals can be converted into energy-saving insulation materials for homes and businesses. Sun Gro produces perlite and vermiculite insulation materials to help customers save energy. Although it takes energy to produce this insulation, the energy costs are recovered quickly and the saving benefits last for years.

What are the benefits of using a growing mix to grow plants?

Research has shown that plants grow faster in peat based mixes. Because of this more rapid growth, greenhouse growers require less energy, water and fertilizer to get a plant ready for consumer purchase. Since peat has exceptional water-holding capabilities, (it can hold up to 20-30 times its weight in water)^[7] home gardens that incorporate peat based mixes use less water, conserving this resource, minimizing runoff and helping to preserve our streams and aquifers.

By using peat-based mixes, we are also preventing depletion of native mineral soils. Historically, growers used agricultural soils for planting and they were “mined” from various locations. In the 1970's concern about erosion spurred Cornell University's development of superior peat-based alternatives^[8].

Another important use of peat based mixes is in reforestation efforts. Forestry seedlings have a higher survival rate when started in peat based mixes, enabling more rapid restoration of our forests. Trees, and all plants for that matter, capture carbon dioxide from the air. Carbon dioxide is a compound believed by some to influence climate change.

What are Sun Gro's recycling practices?

Recycling is an important component of Sun Gro's efforts to minimize waste. Historically, not all components of peat moss and bark were used, but now through further processing, what was once discarded is now used for growing media or mulch. Mulch has dual environmental benefits. It is an excellent use of a forest by-product that was historically wasted^[9], and it helps conserve water in your landscape as well as improving the value of your home.

Additionally, in our offices we recycle paper, and take care to properly recycle used computer equipment to prevent toxins from entering the waste stream. In our manufacturing facilities we pay close attention to our processes and continue to reduce waste in order to reduce the burden on landfills.

Does Sun Gro have an energy policy?

We strive to use energy as efficiently as possible. To ensure that our manufacturing processes are energy efficient, we maintain and upgrade equipment as a routine practice. Our production facilities are strategically located throughout North America to minimize the distance to our customers; most of our customers are within 250 miles of our production locations.

From Canada we ship our products in trucks that would otherwise be returning empty to the US after delivering food and other goods to Canada. Our products are compressed into bales to maximize loads and minimize packaging waste. We source many ingredients locally such as compost, rice hulls, peanut hulls and bark to minimize shipping distance.

We also pay attention to smaller ways to save energy. We work with our employees to reduce travel and commuting where possible. Many of our employees are able to work from home which reduces the environmental burden of driving and improves their personal lives. We even practice “lights out” when no one is using a room.

What is Sun Gro's role in the communities where it operates?

We work hard to be a good citizen in each community where we operate. We operate in 28 separate locations and provide over 800 jobs that are safe and pay a fair wage. In many locations, our operations are vital to the economic well-being of the community. And our products help people everywhere beautify their landscapes and enhance the value of their homes.

What is Sun Gro's commitment to the environment?

Sun Gro is committed to operating in ways that respect the environment. From leading the industry in the sustainable harvest of peat, to using energy wisely, to recycling we act on this commitment. We pride ourselves on being good stewards of natural resources. We believe that wise actions now will preserve the environment for generations to come.