The award marks Kohler’s 13th year of recognition for innovating water-efficient plumbing products, promoting water conservation
KOHLER, Wis. – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recognized Kohler Co. with a 2022 WaterSense Sustained Excellence Award for its continual efforts to innovate water-efficient plumbing products, promote water conservation, and aid in the protection of this natural resource. This award is Kohler’s 8th Sustained Excellence recognition and its 13th year of recognition overall by the WaterSense program.
In recognition of its commitment to promoting WaterSense and water efficiency in 2021, Kohler was honored today during the WaterSmart Innovations (WSI) Conference and Exposition in Las Vegas, along with along with 33 other awardees – utilities, manufacturers, builders, retailers, and other organizations that partner with WaterSense to promote water-efficient products, homes, and programs.
“Protecting natural resources like water take form in everything from innovative products to awareness to advanced technology,” says Ratish Namboothiry, Kohler Director of Innovation for Good & Sustainability. “We are honored to be recognized by the WaterSense program and to stand side-by-side with so many impactful organizations helping to reduce water waste.”
The company’s long-standing commitment to developing and marketing products that carry the WaterSense label continues to deliver water, energy and cost savings to American consumers. In 2021, Kohler Co.’s various plumbing brands launched 186 WaterSense-labeled products.
Since 2007, cumulative savings due to Kohler brands is over 437 billion gallons of water, 9.26 million metric tons of avoided CO2 emissions, and $7 billion in energy and water costs.
These efforts represent some of the passionate work done by the company and its associates within Kohler’s Believing in Better operating philosophy. It focuses on three pillars: better planet, better communities, and better lives. Within the Better Planet pillar, Kohler is improving its operational environmental footprint while paying uncompromised attention to designing environmentally friendly products that help its customers and consumers to reduce their own environmental impact. This mission is embedded throughout the company and brands as part of Kohler’s overall global operations.
More about initiatives within Kohler’s Believing in Better philosophy can be seen in the company’s first Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report highlighting goals and progress across environmental sustainability, diversity, equity and inclusion and social impact.
WaterSense, a voluntary partnership program sponsored by EPA, is both a label for water-efficient products, programs, and homes and a resource for helping consumers learn ways to save water. Since 2006, more than 2,100 WaterSense partners and over 40,000 models of certified water-efficient plumbing and irrigation products have helped consumers and businesses save 6.4 trillion gallons of water—enough water to supply all households in the United States with water for eight months. In addition to water savings, WaterSense has helped reduce the amount of energy needed to pump, treat, and heat water by 754 billion kilowatt hours and helped consumers save $135 billion in water and energy bills. These savings also helped prevent 288 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, which is equivalent to planting 4.8 billion trees.
“Throughout 2021, our award-winning partners helped people protect this precious resource by promoting WaterSense labeled products and water-efficient behaviors,” said Veronica Blette, Chief, WaterSense Branch. “Saving water is particularly critical in areas impacted by drought, but is also a path to helping consumers stretch dollars by reducing their water and energy bills.”
