The U.S. Environment Protection Agency (EPA) awarded The Toro Co. with a 2018 WaterSense Excellence Award for its education and outreach efforts. This marks the third consecutive year Toro has received this award.
Toro received one of the 21 WaterSense awards at the WaterSmart Innovations Conference in Las Vegas.
“The responsible use of water is an important focus of our business,” said John McPhee, general manager, Toro Irrigation and Lighting Businesses. “Communicating with and helping to educate those we do business with, as well as the public, is key to creating and sustaining our green spaces. We appreciate that the EPA continues to recognize our efforts and look forward to continuing to work together on this very important endeavor.”
Toro’s efforts included scholarships for students to attend the Irrigation Association Show and sponsorship of the award-winning Water Zone radio show, which discusses water-saving outdoor practices and products to an audience of 5 million people.
In 2017, Toro increased its social media activity related to water efficiency and participated in and conducted dozens of training programs featuring WaterSense-labeled products, reaching several thousand homeowners and professionals.
Since 2006, Toro and more than 1,900 other WaterSense partners have helped consumers save more than 2.7 trillion gallons of water, more than the amount used by all U.S. households for nearly 100 days.
Additionally, WaterSense-labeled products and homes have helped reduce the amount of energy needed to heat, pump and treat water by 367 billion kilowatt hours, which is enough to power more than 34.1 million homes for a year and save $63.8 billion on water and energy bills.
“Through innovation and commitment, our partners are helping to transform the marketplace for water-efficient, high-performing products and homes,” said Veronica Blette, WaterSense program manager. “The WaterSense Sustained Excellence, Partner of the Year and Excellence Award winners are leading the charge to save water, energy and money for future generations.”
