The EPA presented Caroma with its inaugural Excellence Award for Caroma’s high number of WaterSense-labeled products in the marketplace, and Moen was named Manufacturer Partner of the Year.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s WaterSense program presented high-efficiency, dual-flush toilet manufacturer Caroma with its inaugural Excellence Award for Caroma’s number of WaterSense-labeled products in the marketplace - all 47 of its floor-mount, dual-flush toilet models, more than any company in the industry. The company’s award-winning Smartflush toilets surpass both the U.S. federal requirement of no more than 1.6 gpf for new toilets, as well as the North American high-efficiency toilet standard of 1.28 gpf.

The EPA made the presentation at the WaterSmart Innovations Conference in Las Vegas during its second annual WaterSense awards banquet Oct. 6, co-hosted with the Alliance for Water Efficiency.

“We are deeply honored and grateful to receive an Excellence Award, and we are proud to be a leader in the effort to preserve the world’s most valuable resource,” said Derek Kirkpatrick, Caroma North America’s general manager. “Caroma has been a tireless supporter of sustainable technologies for more than 70 years, and we look forward to strengthening our commitment to changing the way bathroom water is used and conserved.”

WaterSense Partners Of The Year Named

The EPA also named four Partners of the Year for their exceptional efforts in promoting water efficiency and WaterSense-labeled products. The WaterSense program’s more than 2,000 partners help save water for future generations by promoting water efficiency and WaterSense-labeled products.

“These partners contributed significantly to our efforts to make WaterSense-labeled products a household fixture in 2009,” said Peter S. Silva, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Water. “They also helped consumers who purchased these products save 36 billion gallons of water and more than $267 million in water and sewer bills in 2009.”

The partners of the year are:

Manufacturer Partner of the Year: Moen. Bathroom fixture manufacturer Moen earned the WaterSense label for all of its 267 bathroom faucet fixtures, ensuring availability of water-saving faucets for consumers at every price point, and garnered significant national media attention for WaterSense.

Promotional Partner of the Year: Cascade Water Alliance, King County, Wash. Cascade Water Alliance collaborated with retailers and plumbers to promote water efficiency in the Puget Sound region and rebated more than 3,000 WaterSense-labeled toilets for households and local businesses.

Retailer Partner of the Year: Lowe’s Cos. Big-box retailer Lowe’s launched a “Build Your Savings” program to help customers select products that save energy, water and money, winning WaterSense Retail/Distributor Partner of the Year for the second year in a row.

Irrigation Partner of the Year: Judy Benson of Clear Water Products and Services (Clear Water PSI), Florida. Benson educated businesses and consumers on outdoor water efficiency and encouraged other irrigation professionals in the central Florida region to partner with WaterSense.

To learn more about the WaterSense awards winners, visit www.epa.gov/watersense.

Links

• Caroma
• Moen