On October 7, 2021, the 2021 WaterSense Award winners were announced during the WaterSmart Innovations Conference, and two ASPE Affiliate Sponsors were among the recipients. Kohler Co. received a 2021 WaterSense Sustained Excellence Award, and Niagara received a 2021 WaterSense Excellence Award.
Kohler Co. won its seventh WaterSense Sustained Excellence Award this year, as it continued its commitment to promoting WaterSense and producing labeled products. In 2020, Kohler launched a collection of new WaterSense-labeled fixtures, including 14 new toilets, 36 faucets, 25 showerheads, and 20 new urinal/flushometer bowls and valves. Throughout the year, Kohler consistently promoted WaterSense on its website, products, digital communication, and in the Kohler Design Center, which despite being shut down for three months during the pandemic, had 28,000 visitors in 2020. Kohler’s 2020 media placements and social media posts mentioning WaterSense exceeded 360 million and 660 million impressions, respectively. The company demonstrated its commitment to water efficiency by participating in WaterSense product specification reviews and by funding research conducted by the Alliance for Water Efficiency that assessed the water savings potential of affordability programs focused on conservation in Detroit. During the pandemic, the Kohler Relief Showering Trailer, which features WaterSense-labeled fixtures, was deployed to several temporary field hospitals to refresh and recharge frontline healthcare workers. Kohler continued its philanthropic efforts by donating plumbing fixtures to Habitat for Humanity homes built in Wisconsin, as well as to a Michigan pilot program preparing to upgrade water efficiency in older homes outside Detroit.
Earning its fifth WaterSense award for Excellence in Promoting WaterSense Labeled Products, Niagara® continued to prove its dedication to water savings in 2020. Niagara offers credited continuing education for architects and engineers that highlights the importance of water conservation and installing WaterSense-labeled products in new construction. Although Niagara couldn’t promote their labeled products in person during most of 2020, they included information about WaterSense in every virtual event where representatives presented, as well as on their website, social media, and product packaging. In addition, Green Builder’s Home of the Year and the Sustainability Awards program recognized Niagara’s WaterSense-labeled Nano® toilet as an Innovation of the Year, and the company began designing a number of new products specifically for professional plumbers in four different categories to meet WaterSense specifications.
