Lowe's Receives 2011 WaterSense Excellence Award

EPA honors Lowe's 3^rd straight year for promoting water efficiency through collaborative efforts

MOORESVILLE, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has named Lowe's a winner of a 2011 WaterSense^(R) Excellence Award. Lowe's, the 2009 and 2010 WaterSense Retail Partner of the Year, was recognized for excellence in strategic collaboration and received the award Wednesday at the WaterSmart Innovations Conference in Las Vegas.

"Being honored for the third consecutive year reflects Lowe's sustained commitment to working with the EPA to educate consumers about water-efficient practices," said Bob Gfeller, Lowe's executive vice president of merchandising. "We'll continue to increase our efforts to provide water-saving solutions that benefit today's homeowners and future generations."

More than 2,000 partners across the United States participate in the EPA-sponsored WaterSense program. The EPA honored Lowe's for its demonstrated leadership in collaborating with others to promote water efficiency and enhance the market for water-efficient products and programs.

Lowe's collaborative efforts in support of water conservation included:

    --  Teaming with the City of Dallas during WaterSense's Fix a Leak Week.
        Lowe's coordinated with vendor partners to provide product donations and
        deliver them to local contractors who repaired leaks and replaced
        fixtures for more than 100 low-income Dallas residents.
    --  Partnering with the EPA to support the We're for Water campaign, a
        cross-country tour from Los Angeles to New York that encouraged families
        to adopt simple changes at home to start saving water. Lowe's provided
        gift cards to participating families and hosted a We're for Water event
        at the Lowe's in College Station, Texas.
    --  Coordinating in-store national Earth Day events with WaterSense. Lowe's
        helped develop activity booklets and scavenger hunts to educate
        participating children about the benefits of water efficiency. More than
        71,000 children attended the events.

Lowe's, a WaterSense partner since 2008, has increased its efforts each year in stores, online and throughout local communities to help consumers improve the overall efficiency of their homes and save on utility bills. The EPA estimates that the number of WaterSense-labeled toilets and bathroom faucets Lowe's sold in 2010 can save customers $13 million each year on water bills and more than 1.8 billion gallons of water annually - enough water to fill more than 2,700 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

Find out more about Lowe's WaterSense partnership at Lowes.com/SocialResponsibility. For more on simple ways to save energy, water and money, visit Lowes.com/EfficientHome.

About Lowe's

With fiscal year 2010 sales of $48.8 billion, Lowe's Companies, Inc. is a FORTUNE^(R) 50 company that serves approximately 15 million customers a week at more than 1,750 home improvement stores in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Founded in 1946 and based in Mooresville, N.C., Lowe's is the second-largest home improvement retailer in the world. For more information, visit Lowes.com.

    Source: Lowe's Companies, Inc.