The ingenuity and enthusiasm of Kohler Sustainability Champion Joe Austreng kick-started our Hospitality & Real Estate group’s commitment to reducing food waste across our restaurants, banquet halls, and production kitchens. Since 2018, the team has used a Grind2Energy food digester to convert more than 200 tons of food waste into renewable energy and compost, as they work toward their ultimate goal of sending zero food waste to the landfill.

Industry-recognized sustainability leader Ashley Fahey is changing the way we make and design products.

Talented culinary experts like Nicolas Blouin are the passion, charm, and inspiration behind Kohler Hospitality dining. As a 2022 James Beard Award semifinalist for Best Pastry Chef, Nicolas brings his international experience and bold creativity to the delectable dessert offerings across Destination Kohler.

This year, The Beacon, our in-house creative talent behind the Kohler Co. brands, earned 10 Telly Awards, which honor excellence in video content across all screens. A highlight was their “Find Your Just Right” commercial, a delightful spin on the modern-day Goldilocks, which is clever, quirky and visually stunning all at once.

Kohler industrial designer Hiro Chung and his team set out to innovate the commercial handwashing space, combining the feeling of nature with ultimate functionality. Their innovative Waterfoil™ sink creates the sensation of dipping your hands into a river, while combining the ease and sanitation of a fully integrated faucet, soap dispenser, and dryer.

Perry Erickson represents ingenuity, perseverance, and courage to take bold chances. The recipient of our most recent Walter J. Kohler Patent Award, the senior staff engineer is named on 34 U.S. patents and has been a key contributor to many of our iconic and award-winning faucet lines. “Don’t be afraid to try the off-the-wall ideas. Don’t be afraid of failure. Don’t be afraid of sharing your ideas with others.”

Our BLK Catalyst business resource group is on a mission to increase employment opportunities and create gracious experiences for Black associates across all levels of Kohler. With chapters across our U.S. locations, they are leading compelling equity, education, and inclusion initiatives in our workplaces and communities. From Juneteenth celebrations and panel discussions to community outreach and professional development, they are inspiring powerful action toward positive change.

When Kohler Co. partnered with The Milwaukee Bucks Foundation and Jrue and Lauren Holiday to upgrade the bathrooms at three Milwaukee-area domestic violence shelters, Ben Shoup was just the person for the job. The Senior Project Engineer stepped in with passion, resourcefulness, and careful planning to lead the renovation work that will positively impact families in crisis.

Gaurav Verma is an innovator at heart and in action, developing cutting-edge water technologies, hydrotherapy, and smart home products. As the newest member of our Innovation for Good engineering team, he uses his passion and ingenuity to help solve some of the most pressing issues facing the world around us. His latest endeavor? Leading the incubation of a gesture-controlled kitchen faucet concept that won I-Prize funding.