Inside the main meeting room at Kohler cooperate office, executives are betting that the old-model, water-wasting toilet will soon go the way of the gas drinking vehicle.
Kohler officials say they’ve identified at least 36 states anticipating water shortages in the next 5 years, or enough to trigger a major shift toward water-efficient plumbing products, the same way rising oil prices have moved U.S. consumers toward more fuel-efficient vehicles.
"It’s the next generation’s oil fight," said Mark Mahoney, a Kohler spokesman.
But unlike U.S. automakers, Kohler doesn’t want to be asleep at the wheel when the market shifts and have to ask for bailout money.
In fact, the company would like to start that shift all on its own.
New marketing campaign
That’s why Kohler has kicked off a new marketing campaign where company representatives will visit more than 25 cities across the country to educate consumers about water conservation and to introduce them to the ultra-efficient toilets, faucets and showerheads that the company manufactures.If successful, the initiative would be good for the environment and potentially huge for Kohler’s bottom line, given the company’s estimates that 100 million homes — or about one half of all U.S. households — currently use old, inefficient toilets and other outdated plumbing fixtures.
If those same homes were outfitted with efficient kitchen and bathroom fixtures, it would conserve 1.6 billion gallons of water per day, while also saving consumers significant amounts of money over time, Kohler officials said.
"That represents a tremendous opportunity," said Shane Judd, a senior product manager who’s heading up Kohler’s water conservation program. "It’s a huge initiative, actually it’s probably our biggest."
Conservation demand grows
Judd said that Kohler has produced efficient toilets, faucets and showerheads for years, but until recently, demand wasn’t high enough to produce a very wide range of water-conserving fixtures.
That’s changing as consumers switch to more environmentally-friendly products, and Kohler has been responding with a growing assortment of plumbing fixtures that are certified by the Environmental Protection Agency for meeting stricter efficiency and performance standards.
However, water usage still isn’t the first thing people think of when they’re looking to go green, and that’s exactly what Kohler officials hope they can change.
"A lot of people are aware of their energy usage, but they’re not aware of how much water they use," Judd said. "They’re literally wasting water for no reason."
Efficiency costs no more
Toilets account for 25 percent of a home’s water usage, the largest of any household item. Purchasing and installing a more efficient model comes with no extra cost compared to a standard product, and there’s no sacrifice in performance, according to Judd. The same holds for efficient faucets and showerheads.
"Frankly, you wouldn’t even know the difference," he said.
Judd said that a family of four can save 39,000 gallons of water per year — or the equivalent of an entire backyard swimming pool — when switching to these products, and they’ll also save money on their water bill.
Kohler representatives plan to bring that message to consumers living in cities where local governments are offering rebates on water-efficient products, along with regions of the country with water shortages, and areas with high concentrations of older homes, like the Midwest.
"(Water shortages) are not just isolated to the Southwest. Look at Atlanta, where the average homeowner wasn’t thinking about water usage too much, and then they ran out of water," Judd said.
Web site launched
The company has also launched a Web site, www.savewateramerica.com, with information and resources on water conservation. Visitors can take a three-question quiz calculating how much money and water they can save by replacing their old toilets.
As part of the campaign, the company will donate $500,000 in water-efficient products to Habitat for Humanity, along with $1 for every quiz completed by consumers at the Web site.
According to Mahoney, it’s the first time the company has ever launched a grassroots style marketing campaign.
"Literally, for the first time ever, we’ll be selling Kohler toilets in tents," Mahoney said.
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