KOHLER,
Wis. – Kohler Co.
was chosen by the Environmental
Protection Agency’s
WaterSense
program as an inaugural Excellence Award recipient for strategic
collaboration.
“Kohler
is honored to be
recognized by the EPA once again, and this time for our collaborative
efforts
on the serious issue of water conservation,” said Rob
Zimmerman, water
conservation and sustainability manager for Kohler Co.
“Kohler has a large
stake in the availability of clean, safe water. And Kohler understands
the
importance to educate homeowners about reducing water usage.”
After
winning back-to-back
WaterSense Partner of the Year awards in 2008 and 2009, Kohler
continues to
lead the industry with its innovative products and programs that bring
water-saving solutions directly to plumbers, designers, specifiers and
homeowners.
The
2010 Excellence Award was given to Kohler for its efforts to bring
together industry leaders and bolster the WaterSense program. Kohler
hosted 49
Save Water America educational and promotional events across the United
States
in 2009, continuing its leadership in the water-efficiency field.
Collaborating
with national retailers, its extensive distribution network and an
interactive
Web site – SaveWaterAmerica.com – Kohler reached
out to tens of thousands of
consumers and trained more than 8,000 professionals on water efficiency.
“Save
Water America is just one example of our strategic collaboration with
EPA and was a multi-faceted initiative involving touch points with
consumers
and trade alike in delivering key messages about water
conservation,” added
Zimmerman.
Kohler
completely redesigned its retail packaging, where the majority of
consumers purchase their plumbing products, namely toilets, bringing
increased
importance to the WaterSense logo for qualifying products. Water-saving
benefits were also displayed prominently on product packaging and
displays so
consumers could easily compare toilets in the stores.
In
showrooms nationwide, Kohler placed more than 1,000 WaterSense toilets
on
display, educating homeowners about the program with messaging about
the
water-saving benefits of these products. Many of these displays were
self-contained, plumbed units, meaning people could actually flush the
toilets
and “test” the performance.
Additionally,
Kohler collaborated with EPA in driving a national publicity
campaign on WaterSense, including participation in EPA’s
“Fix-A-Leak” week, and
“We’re For Water” events, as well as
leveraging national spokesperson and
three-time Master Plumber Ed Del Grande with media and at events.