2012 WaterSense Awards:
dition of Champions
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Since the program's inception in 2006, WaterSense labeled products have helped Americans
save $4,7 billion in water and energy bills and 287 billion gallons of water. That amount of water
could supply the entire city of Atlanta, Georgia, the host of the 1996 Summer Olympic Games,
for more than eight years!
But it takes more than just a label to achieve that kind of gold medal performance. There are more than 2,600 WaterSense
partners who create, sell, promote, and provide more than 5,000 different models of WaterSense labeled products and
nearly 150 WaterSense labeled new homes. Working collaboratively, WaterSense partners also encourage innovation in
manufacturing and support sustainable jobs for American workers, all while helping consumers save water, energy, and
money.
This year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is pleased to recognize five WaterSense Partners of the Year and
five Excellence Award winners who made extraordinary efforts in 2011 to:
• Advance the WaterSense mission.
•	Increase awareness about WaterSense in a measurable way.
•	Increase the adoption of water-efficient practices among their constituents or
community.
The following partners championed WaterSense labeled products, new homes, and
programs to help Americans understand the importance of saving water and recognize the
WaterSense label as the national symbol for water efficiency.
EPA
*
WaterSense
OH1 1 PARTNER
Zj\J I Za OF THE YEAR
PROMOTIONAL PARTNER OF THE YEAR
Colorado Springs Utilities (Colorado)
As many WaterSense partners know, collaboration among
utilities and other entities can take water efficiency efforts
to new heights. A team
effort led by Colorado
Springs Utilities, along
with local builder Wayne
intermill, EnergyLogic,
Inc., and 2008 WaterSense Retailer Partner of the Year
Ferguson Enterprises, resulted in the first WaterSense
labeled home in Colorado and the six-state EPA Region 8.
Colorado Springs Utilities supported the project from start
to finish, introducing Mr. Intermill to the WaterSense new
homes program at a U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC)
meeting and coordinating with the building suppliers and
Colorado Springs Utilities
K's how wcVe all corrvccsrci
certification provider to ensure that the products and
inspection would meet WaterSense criteria. During the
three-week 2011 Parade of Flomes, 5,000 visitors explored
the WaterSense labeled home, which also became the first
home to receive LEED® for Homes certification, ENERGY
STAR® qualification, and the WaterSense label.
In 2011, Colorado Springs Utilities also engaged
consumers and local businesses in the water efficiency
movement by offering them personalized ways to get
involved. The organization's YOUtilities YouTube video
contest inspired customers to document the ways in
which they save water and energy at home. The contest,
which aimed to create consumer advocates for water-
efficient products and practices, produced a number of
phone (866) WTR-SENS (987-7367) website www.epa.gov/watersenseEMAiLwatersense@epa.gov
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2012 WaterSense Awards
pushed the limits of sustainable building while earning
the WaterSense label. The KB Home GreenHouse,™ an Idea
Home created with Martha Stewart, was a concept home
designed to achieve net-zero energy use and the highest
levels of resource efficiency. The net-zero energy use
concept then became a reality with KB Home ZeroHouse
2.0 models in Tampa, Florida, and Austin and San Antonio,
Texas. These models showcase KB Home's net-zero energy
use options, which are now available at select
communities across the country. The ZeroHouse models
in Austin and San Antonio also earned the WaterSense
label.
To ensure that its homes were water-efficient inside and
out, KB Home worked extensively with Hunter Industries
to develop a weather-based
irrigation system option for
homebuyers making their selections
at the KB Home Studio. KB Home
also encouraged Hunter to follow
WaterSense specification criteria for
weather-based irrigation controllers
in order to earn the WaterSense
label for its products.
KB
HOME
All new KB Home employees are required to take a "My
Home. My Earth." training course as part of their new-hire
orientation. Employees must pass a certification test on
the features and benefits of WaterSense labeled products
and new homes. Employee groups, such as sales
counselors and the KB Home studio team, complete
additional training so they can explain the benefits of
water-efficient landscaping packages, weather-based
irrigation controllers, and hot-water recirculation systems
to homebuyers.
Visitors tour the first home in the nation to receive LEED®
for Homes certification, ENERGY STAR® qualification, and
the WaterSense label,
entertaining and informative videos for the community to
enjoy.
The utility also helped hundreds of commercial kitchens
save water by offering them free, water-efficient pre-rinse
spray valve nozzles for cleaning dishes. A Colorado
Springs Utilities team visited nearly all of the participating
kitchens to demonstrate how the nozzles function, gauge
the businesses' satisfaction with the products, and offer
advice on additional water-efficient upgrades. The
commercial retrofit program helped facilities save more
than 20 million gallons of water in 2011, or one-third of
utility's annual water savings goal. The program also
generated goodwill among business owners who saved
on water, energy, and wastewater costs and provided the
WaterSense Pre-Rinse Spray Valve Task Force with
valuable feedback.
BUILDER PARTNER OF THE YEAR
KB Home
Two-time Wa terSense Builder Partner of the Year KB
Home continued to break new ground in 2011 when it
came to incorporating WaterSense labeled products into
its new construction and earning the WaterSense label for
many of its new homes. KB Home also communicated the
value of WaterSense to industry stakeholders,
homebuyers, and its employees through a variety of
internal and external channels.
In 2011, KB Home built nearly 100 WaterSense labeled
new homes in five communities in Northern California,
Central Texas, and Central Florida. The company was also
responsible for a series of construction projects that
All KB homes, including WaterSense labeled models in
Roseville, California, feature WaterSense labeled
products as standard features.
phone (866) WTR-SENS (987-7367) website www.epa.gov/watersenseEMAiLwatersense@epa.gov
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2012 WaterSense Awards
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MANUFACTURER PARTNERS OIF
THE YEAR
This year, WaterSense is recognizing two Manufacturer
Partners of the Year.
American Standard Brands
From March to November 2011, the American Standard
Responsible Bathroom Tour crossed the country, offering
hands-on product demonstrations of WaterSense labeled
toilets, faucets, and showerheads at more than
100 plumbing wholesale supply
firms and teaming up with
13 local utilities to promote local
rebate programs along the way.
For those who missed the
chance to experience the water-
efficient bathroom on wheels, a
free Responsible Bathroom smart phone application
provides water conservation decision-making tools, facts,
and information. The app allows users to calculate the
cost savings of different plumbing products and water-
efficient behaviors.
Off the road, American Standard pursued other
collaborative efforts to educate a wider audience on the
benefits of WaterSense labeled products and water-
efficient behaviors. American Standard, two-time
WaterSense
Promotional
Partner of the Year
Cobb County
Water System, and
Georgia's first
Licensed Green
Plumber® hosted a
two-hour "Go
Green and Save
Green" workshop in
association with
WaterSense's Fix a
Leak Week and
St. Patrick's Day, educating attendees on how to check for
leaks and install water-efficient products. American
Standard also partnered with the Green Education
Foundation to create a new K-12 curriculum that helps
students learn about sustainable building, ecology, and
the environment, in addition to encouraging the
foundation to partner with WaterSense.
ngs Designed Around You
The American Standard Responsible
Bathroom Tour hits the road on its
way to stops at more than 100
plumbing wholesale supply firms.
American Standard introduced a WaterSense labeled "no
tools" toilet in 2011. This SAVER™ toilet is designed to be
installed with simple hand tightening; everything needed
to install it comes right in the box. The simple, illustrated
step-by-step instructions help novices to install a new
WaterSense labeled toilet. The company also continues to
support both consumer and professional audiences with
its light-hearted but informative Professor Toilet blog.The
nearly 20,000 unique visitors to the site in 2011 are a
testament to how a blog offering a little humor and a lot
of great information can make an impact.
Kohler Co.
Three-time WaterSense Manufacturer Partner of the Year
and two-time WaterSense Excellence Award winner
Kohler Co. knows that wasting water is just plain weird.
That is why the company teamed up with three-time
WaterSense Retailer Partner of the Year Lowe's, Bosch
Home Appliances, Procter & Gamble, the Shelton Group,
and WaterSense to launch a public service announcement
(PSA) campaign called "Wasting Water Is Weird."
{wastingwaterisweird.com) The central campaign figure,
"Rip the Drip," showed up in people's homes when they
wasted water to remind them just how weird it is to use
more water than you need.	^
The campaign struck a	1ft lHI FB
positive, humorous tone and	*
was splashed across a number of media platforms,
including video PSAs for broadcast outlets, a website,
social media, and outdoor and online advertising.
Kohler continued to pursue partnerships with water
utilities, retailers, and professional, technical, and trade
organizations in 2011 to promote WaterSense labeled
products and water-efficient practices. The company's
partnership with Habitat for Humanity resulted in the
installation of WaterSense labeled toilets, faucets, and
showerheads in 550 Habitat homes in California and Texas,
while its partnership with 2011 WaterSense Retailer
Partner of the Year The Home Depot increased consumer
awareness of the features and benefits of WaterSense
labeled products. The two companies launched an in-
store tool to help consumers and professional installers
identify products that earn points in USGBC's LEED for
Homes rating system, collaborated on a larger-than-life
Earth Day celebration in New York City's Times Square,
and offered displays and presentations to customers in
drought-ridden Texas to direct them to water-efficient
products available on The Home Depot's shelves.
phone (866) WTR-SENS (987-7367) website www.epa.gov/watersenseEMAiLwatersense@epa.gov
October 2012

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2012 WaterSense Awards
Kohler also ensured that consumers across the country
had access to innovative, high-performing, and water-
efficient products. Kohler introduced 40 new WaterSense
labeled toilet
models to the
North American
market in 2011,
including the
most water-
efficient, dual-
flush toilet in
Kohler's history.
The company's
stock of lavatory
faucets and urinal
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The "Wasting Water is Weird
Campaign" strucka humorous tone
and was splashed across a number of
media platforms.
up of nearly 100 percent WaterSense labeled models,
while its count of WaterSense labeled showerheads more
than doubled. With the introduction of Kohler's Katalyst
technology, which combines air injection with a unique
flow design, consumers can enjoy a luxurious showering
experience while using less water.
RETAILER PARTNER OF THE YEAR
Lowe's Companies, Inc.
In a 2011 address, Lowe's Companies, Inc. Chief Executive
Officer Robert A. Niblock credited WaterSense and other
government resource efficiency programs for helping
ensure the company's future in a constantly evolving
marketplace. Lowe's
support for the
WaterSense program
proved equally vital to the "VERSTOP
effective promotion of	IMPROVING
WaterSense labeled
products and water-efficient practices last year. Through
the success of a broad range of marketing activities and
strategic partnerships, Lowe's earned the 2012
WaterSense Retailer Partner of the Year award—its third in
the past four years—while helping customers save about
four billion gallons of water in 2011.
WaterSense was a central theme of the Lowe's Efficient
Home marketing campaign, which emphasized a "save
energy, save water, save money" message. Through this
campaign, Lowe's educated customers about the
WaterSense label and helped them identify WaterSense
labeled products at the point of sale. To increase the
impact of the campaign, Lowe's trained sales associates to
(SfiU
^ WaterSense
The WaterSense program
and WaterSense labeled
products were central
features of Lowe's Efficient
Home marketing
campaign in 2011.
engage customers about the money- and water-saving
benefits of WaterSense labeled products and introduced
revised signage and in-store display packages that
presented WaterSense labeled products as a way to both
save water and lower utility bills. Lowe's also collaborated
with several utility partners on in-store events that
advertised rebates on	_
WaterSense labeled
products.
Outside its stores, Lowe's
partnered with a number of
WaterSense stakeholders to
promote the WaterSense
program. Lowe's supported
the Arizona Municipal
Water Users Association's
inaugural Fix a Leak Week
activities and provided
complimentary gift cards to
the winners of the four-
mile "We're for Water: Join
the Chase" race. Lowe's
also worked with the
Shelton Group, Kohler Co.,
Bosch Home Appliances,
and Procter and Gamble to launch the "Wasting Water is
Weird" campaign.
EXCELLENCE AWARD FOR FIX A LEAK
WEEK ACTIVITIES
Arizona Municipal Water Users Association
(AMWUA)
AMWUA's inaugural four&rtile, professionally timed "We're
for Water" road race in honor of Fix a Leak Week attracted
nearly 150 runners, while the associated informational fair
educated hundreds of additional community members
about finding and fixing leaks. Adding to the fun was a
whimsical, largerBhanSife running toilet mascot, Leaky
Loo McFlapper, who brought the concept of chasing
down leaks to life. AMWUA
also hosted a number of
promotional efforts prior to
and throughout Fix a Leak ONE FOR WATER
Week, including a media
event at an extremely water-efficient home in Phoenix to
give homeowners examples of successful water-saving
upgrades. Through AMWUA's efforts on the ground and
online, 34 municipalities, water companies, water-reiated
amWua
phone (866) WTR-SENS (987-7367) website www.epa.gov/watersenseEMAiLwatersense@epa.gov
October 2012

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2012 WaterSerise Awards
o\tfjeStafe.
Interstate Stream Commission
agencies and organizations, local businesses, and national
retailers participated in the 2011 Fix a Leak Week
promotion in Arizona.
New Mexico Office of the State Engineer
(NMOSE)
NMOSE created a unique traveling display to celebrate Fix
a Leak Week 2011. At six collaborative events across New
Mexico, the organization engaged the public in
discussions about residential water leaks. Hands-on
exhibits included how water meters can be used to
identify water leaks and how consumers can easily and
inexpensively test and replace leaky toilet flappers, while
videos detailed other common household leak detection
and repair practices. The goal was to demystify this
information for consumers. NMOSE also hung a "Check,
Twist, and Replace" poster at its
booth and distributed Fix a Leak
Week fact sheets, activity pages,
and WaterSense We're for Water
pledge cards. NMOSE reached out
to all 635 public water suppliers in
the state to encourage them to
participate in Fix a Leak Week activities and experience
the benefits of WaterSense partnership firsthand.
EXCELLENCE AWARD FOR EDUCATION
AND OUTREACH
American Water
In 2011, American Water spearheaded a national outreach
campaign to educate consumers on the importance of
protecting water resources from source to tap. The Save
Water Today campaign included a website
(www.SaveWaterToday.org) and a series of four PSAs
featuring celebrities who donated their time to promote
water efficiency. Each PSA,
developed in partnership
with the Student
Conservation Association AMERICAN WATER
and WaterSense, offered
viewers one practical household water saving tip. By the
end of 2011, Save Water Today's website had logged
approximately 20,000 page views, while the PSAs aired
more than 15,000 times in 25 markets. The PSAs went on
to generate their own media buzz, which led to air time
during the NASCAR Indianapolis Brickyard 400 and
requests from a number of towns and water authorities to
air the PSAs in their communities.
~
Alliance
"on Water
Efficiency
EXCELLENCE AWARD FOR STRATEGIC
COLLABORATION
Alliance for Water Efficiency (AWE)
AWE continued to serve as a national advocate and
organizer for WaterSense in 2011. AWE convened its
WaterSense and Water-Efficient
Products Committee nine times
over the course of the year as a
venue for stakeholders to discuss
the WaterSense specification
process and showcase
developments in water-efficiency
programs, practices, and products.
AWE shared its knowledge of WaterSense labeled
products and partnerships at more than 80 speaking
engagements and 75 events across the United States and
Canada. AWE's work was also essential in welcoming and
supporting Canadian partners to the WaterSense program.
EXCELLENCE AWARD FOR EMPLOYEE
EDUCATION
The Home Depot
In 2011, The Home Depot trained its more than 300,000
associates on the high-performance and water-saving
benefits of WaterSense labeled products through a wide
range of innovative and engaging methods. Efforts
included online training modules, a "Green Team"
program, pages on The Home Depot's
intranet, monthly merchant updates,
product knowledge evaluations, and
conversations on The Home Depot's
social networking website, The
Warehouse. Thanks to the company's
internal educational tools, associates
in all 1,975 stores were equipped to market and educate
customers from homes and businesses nationwide on the
economic and environmental value of WaterSense labeled
products.
phone (866) WTR-SENS (987-7367) website www.epa.gov/watersenseEMAiLwatersense@epa.gov
October 2012

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