Acuity Brands Announces Agreements with Violet Defense and PURO Lighting; Continues to Expand UV Disinfection Product Portfolio

Atlanta, Oct. 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE: AYI) announced today it has entered into strategic agreements with Violet Defense LLC (Violet Defense), an innovator of patented germicidal UV lighting technology that kills bacteria and inactivates viruses, and Puro Lighting, LLC (PURO), a lighting and technology company that uses Violet Defense technology to create UV disinfection* solutions for many different industries and categories.These strategic agreements will give Acuity Brands access to Violet Defense’s patented UV technology to expand its portfolio of UV disinfection products. PURO and Acuity Brands will also work together on the development of a next generation of UV lighting products.The products from Violet Defense and PURO employ a method pioneered by Violet Defense to deliver high intensity full spectrum ultraviolet light, using a pulsed xenon lamp and UV transmissive lens, in unoccupied spaces, to quickly kill bacteria and inactivate viruses. Independent clinical testing has confirmed that pulsed xenon products can substantially reduce the pathogenic bioburden.The compact size of the UV disinfection products from both companies make them unobtrusive when installed in a ceiling and easier to implement than many traditional UV solutions. Violet Defense and PURO have each been involved to date in several high-profile installations of UV disinfection products using the pulsed xenon technology.“Customers are highly motivated right now to find UV disinfection products for a wide variety of requirements and budgets, providing a great opportunity to deliver effective solutions,’ said Rick Earlywine, Senior Vice President, Acuity Brands Lighting. “These agreements with Violet Defense and PURO enable us to add new capabilities to our portfolio using a powerful technology that will give our customers an additional layer of protection against pathogens.”*Any references to “disinfection” are referring generally to the reduction of pathogenic bioburden and are not intended to refer to any specific definition of the term as may be used for other purposes by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.About Acuity BrandsAcuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE: AYI) is a market-leading industrial technology company. The Company designs, manufactures, and brings to market products and services that make the world more brilliant, productive, and connected including building management systems, lighting, lighting controls, and location-aware applications. Acuity Brands achieves growth through the development of innovative new products and services.Through the Acuity Business System, Acuity Brands achieves customer-focused efficiencies that allow the Company to increase market share and deliver superior returns. The Company looks to aggressively deploy capital to grow the business and to enter attractive new verticals.Acuity Brands is based in Atlanta, Georgia, with operations across North America, Europe, and Asia. The Company is powered by over 10,000 dedicated and talented associates. Visit us at www.acuitybrands.com.All trademarks referenced are property of their respective owners.Forward-Looking Information   This release contains forward-looking statements, within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements that may be considered forward-looking include statements incorporating terms such as “expects,” “believes,” “intends,” “estimates”, “forecasts,” “anticipates,” “could,” “may,” “should”, “suggests,” “remain,” and similar terms that relate to future events, performance, or results of the Company and specifically include statements made in this press release regarding (a)  Violet Defense LLC and PURO Lighting LLC and their products’  ability to kill bacteria and inactivate viruses, (b) our ability to expand our portfolio of UV disinfection products and work together with PURO Lighting LLC to develop a next generation of UV lighting products, as well as (c) our ability to add new capabilities to our portfolio and offer another powerful technology that will give our customers an additional layer of protection against pathogens. Forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the historical experience of the Company and management’s present expectations or projections. The risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in our forward-looking statements are more fully described in the Company’s SEC filings including risks discussed in Part I, “Item 1a. Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended August 31, 2019, and Part II, “Item 1a. Risk Factors” in the Company’s Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended May 31, 2020. The discussion of those risks is specifically incorporated herein by reference. Management believes these forward-looking statements are reasonable; however, undue reliance should not be placed on any forward-looking statements, which are based on current expectations. Further, forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and management undertakes no obligation to update publicly any of them considering new information or future events.# # # # #Media Contact:                                           
Neil Egan
Neil.Egan@acuitybrands.com
770-860-2957