Implementing Partner USGBC California and 50L Home Members – Electrolux Group, IKEA, Kohler, and Procter & Gamble – Reveal a Path toward Water Security and Lower Carbon Emissions
LOS ANGELES, Calif., March 20, 2025 – In celebration of World Water Day, the 50 Liter Home Coalition (50L Home)and the U.S. Green Building Council California (USGBC California) – convened by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), and the World Economic Forum (WEF) – announced the preliminary results of a two-year pilot program, showing how existing products on the market, including plumbing fixtures, faucets, appliances, and consumable products designed to help save water and energy can achieve notable savings in domestic water and energy consumption, while consumers continue to enjoy a positive experience. This program is providing insights vital to water-stressed places like Los Angeles and enabling people to use less water at home while enjoying their daily routines.
In addition to lower water and energy bills, a majority of participants in the pilot reported a positive impact of the combination of provided products, appliances and fixtures on their quality of life at home, including the feedback:
- “[The pilot] has made my life easier and more pleasant to do the things I really didn’t enjoy before. I like laundry now!”
- “There’s an added value [in] understanding that we’re actually saving water, even though it doesn’t feel like we’ve really changed a lot of our behaviors.”
The results of this initial two-year pilot showed a reduction of 21% in indoor water use overall vs. the control homes, translating to an 18% reduction in energy use. More than 250 million data points across 31 single family homes enrolled in the pilot provided an assessment of both hot and cold water consumption, at time and point of use. The results included a 23% reduction in overall hot water use, including a 44% reduction in hot water use from kitchen faucets, vs. prior water consumption.
The partnership took a whole-home approach to reducing residential water use in the region through a combination of currently available consumer products and energy-efficient appliances and fixtures. This includes hand dishwashing detergent designed to clean dishes using less water, coupled with high-efficiency kitchen faucets; dishwasher detergent that provides superior cleaning and saves water by skipping the sink, paired with ENERGY STAR® certified dishwashers; laundry detergent designed to perform in cold water, coupled with high-efficiency washing machines; and more. This approach was taken everywhere water is used in the home – kitchen and bathroom faucets, laundry, dishwasher, toilets, showerheads, and irrigation.
THE PROBLEM
More than 30% of the world’s population is experiencing extremely high water stress annually (World Resources Institute, “25 Countries, Housing One-Quarter of the Population, Face Extremely High Water Stress”, upd. 2023), defined as using over 80% of their renewable water supply each year. This includes California, where indoor residential water use averages 180 liters (or 48 gallons) per person per day (Department of Water Resources 2021 Residential Indoor Water Use Study). The 50L Home Coalition’s goal is to reduce that number by reinventing the future of water use to make water-efficient lifestyles irresistible while ensuring a positive consumer experience, where 50 liters (or 13 gallons) of daily water use per person feels like 500 liters (132 gallons) with lower energy use.
The pilot of the 50L Home program began in Los Angeles as it is one of the largest cities in the United States, and the largest in California, the world’s fifth largest economy. Los Angeles, therefore, offers an important testing and demonstration opportunity in a water-stressed area for the 50L Home concept, which highlights innovation, policy, and incentive pathways that can then scale globally.
THE HOW + RESULTS
As the implementing partner, USGBC California worked closely with some of the 50L Home partners – Electrolux Group, IKEA, Kohler, and Procter & Gamble (P&G) – to understand water and energy consumption in 31 pilot homes in Los Angeles in order to drive down water use. The team outfitted the retrofit homes with appliances, fixtures and consumer products from the partners that were designed to help save water and energy. The control homes did not receive any products, appliances, or fixtures. Residents’ perceptions and behaviors were assessed and documented at every step of the pilot process from initial baseline water use to end use. The coalition has also teamed up with Flumeand Droople for monitoring water and energy consumption.
Measurements began in August 2023 and data represents one full year of use. An unprecedented 258 million data points provided this assessment of both hot and cold water consumption, at time and point of use.
The results of this first phase of the pilot show that indoor water use averaged just 87 liters (or 23 gallons) per person per day – 50% less than the average usage in Los Angeles. Reduction breakdown is as follows:
- Reduction of daily hot water use by 44% from kitchen faucets
- Reduction of weekly hot water use by 55% in laundry (per cycle)
- Reduction of daily hot water use by 23% overall
- In the bathroom, water use reduction of 14% in showers, and 23% in high efficiency toilets
For a full list of products, appliances and fixtures provided to pilot participants, please visit the 50L Home Coalition website. https://50lhome.org/los-angeles-pilot/
“The time has come for us to dramatically shift how we approach residential water use and move from one-off solutions to a holistic approach that prioritizes the consumer experience while reducing water use. We believed that was possible, and now we know that it is possible,” says Ben Stapleton, Executive Director, USGBC California. “Our next step is to look to create ongoing behavioral change in how we approach home water use through training, education, and further innovations in design.” USGBC California’s role in the partnership included project scoping, technology innovation, development, delivery of pilots, and case studies detailing key insights, actionable recommendations, and potential pathways for advancing the innovative solutions utilized during the project.
“The 50L Home Coalition Los Angeles pilot is showing us how our experience in innovation and consumer understanding can help unlock new solutions to water challenges, and help consumers live more sustainably while continuing to enjoy delightful in-use experiences,” states Victor Aguilar, Chief Research, Development and Innovation Officer, Procter & Gamble, and Private Sector Co-Chair 50L Home Coalition. “Harnessing these insights, our vision is to develop innovations that perform better while empowering people to reduce their environmental impact at home.”
“After decades of driving water and energy use efficiency in Los Angeles, LADWP is excited to see the advancements demonstrated by the 50L Home pilot. It proves that adopting sustainable and water conserving habits is possible without compromising the modern comforts of home. With the options available in the market, Angelenos can continue to maintain a water-conserving lifestyle to support our sustainable water future,” says Kendall Helm, Chief Strategy and Sustainability Officer, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
NEXT STEPS
The Coalition is planning to launch a similar project in London in 2025, building on the exciting insights from the Los Angeles pilot. The intent of all these projects is to leverage the collaborative efforts of policymakers, industry leaders and communities in an integrated and holistic manner to create a path towards scaled superior water and energy and efficiency through consumer insights, technical learnings, and the identification of incentives that could support wider adoption.
This next wave of innovations is expected to continue paving the way for more sustainable, resilient communities, by maximizing both water savings and enjoyable user experience through more advanced fixtures, smart home, and water reuse solutions, such as recirculating shower technology. The Coalition will continue to do a behavioral analysis to evaluate how consumers interact with these new products.
Transformative landscape solutions believed to provide scalable solutions to outdoor water conservation are an important part of the next phase. They include:
- Full landscape conversions to native and climate-appropriate plants
- Polyculture lawns made up of varied drought-tolerant grasses and groundcovers as a bold new approach to outdoor water efficiency.
In addition to water conservation, these landscape conversions enhance soil health by improving nutrient cycles; water retention to reduce irrigation needs; and resilience to pests, weeds, and climate stress.
The Coalition has also looked to influence policy ranging from rebates to codes and standards, releasing an Energy Cost of Water White Paper in fall 2023, highlighting the embodied energy costs to move water to the home, around the home, and heat it for use.
In spring 2025, USGBC California will publish a paper, sponsored by the 50L Home Coalition, titled “The Paradox of Cheap Water: Strategies for Scaling Efficiency”, which showcases key insights from the Los Angeles pilot and proposes practical strategies for scaling water efficiency on a broader level.