Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment

Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment (RISE), established in 1991, is an affiliate of CropLife America, with which it shares a Washington, D.C. office. RISE, a lobbying and public relations trade organization, defends the "urban usage" of pesticides in homes, schools, and landscapes. It also defends "urban vegetation control."

RISE has what it describes as "an excellent working relationship with" the Environmental Protection Agency. Its website notes its involvement, with EPA, on the "Consumer Labeling Initiative, a campaign encouraging people to read and follow household product labels (including pesticides) before using." 

Other groups RISE affiliates with include the Golf Course Superintendents of America, the National Arborist Association, the National Pest Management Association, the Professional Lawn Care Association of America, the National Roadside Vegetation Management Association, and the Mountain Lakes Vegetation Management Society. 

Regarding local resolutions passed by 70 cities and one province in Canada which limit pesticide use for lawn care, RISE president Allen James said, "Local communities generally do not have the expertise on issues about pesticides to make responsible decisions." According to James, it's better to consider such issues at the state level. "Decisions are made much more carefully and the train moves much more slowly" at the state level, he told Scripps Howard News Service. 

Angela Bendorf Jamison is one of RISE's main media contacts. Jamison is a former reporter who heads the small, North Carolina-based PR firm Communicopia Marketing Services. The Communicopia website lists RISE among the firm's clients, along with lawn care product manufacturer The Scotts Company, plant services provider SePRO Corporation, and Duke Energy's retail arm, DukeSolutions. 

Contact information
RISE 1156 15th Street, NW, Suite 400 Washington, DC 20005 phone: 202-872-3860 Fax: 202-463-0474 Web: http://www.pestfacts.org/ Web: http://www.westnilevirusfacts.org/

SourceWatch resources

 * Industry-funded organizations
 * Project EverGreen