Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ: CTAS) commissioned a survey conducted online by Harris Poll, May 3-5, 2017, among 2,072 U.S. adults ages 18 and older to identify U.S. worker concerns during power outages. The study found that more than a third (34 percent) would not feel very confident in their ability to navigate the building safely.

“The poll results show that people consider lighting critical to their safety when an emergency occurs,” said Taylor Brummel, Marketing Manager, Cintas Fire Protection. “The U.S. experiences more power outages than any other developed country in the world1, so it’s important for businesses to be prepared. Whether its severe weather, faulty power grid equipment, a fire or any other issue, emergency lighting can assist in guiding occupants to safety when power fails.”

The poll also found that if the lights went out at their place of work, 50 percent of U.S. adults would not feel very confident in their ability to walk up and down stairways safely. Additionally, 42 percent of employed Americans would not feel very confident in their ability to calmly execute their workplaces’ emergency plan.

“Emergency and exit lighting is often ignored or excluded from life safety programs,” added Brummel. “However, due to the increasing risk of power outages in the U.S., it is important for building owners to prioritize emergency and exit light maintenance.”

Power outages are on the rise and are nearly four times more likely to occur now than in 20002. The average U.S. power customer loses power for 3.5 hours per year, dramatically exceeding the average compared to countries like Japan whose average customer experiences only six minutes of power loss per year.3

To learn more about emergency lighting, download Cintas Fire Protection’s new white paper, “Emergency Lights: An Often Overlooked but Critical Component to a Building’s Life Safety System,” here: www.cintas.com/emergencylightdata.

For more information about Cintas Fire Protection, visit cintas.com/fire-protection-services/.

Survey Methodology

This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Poll on behalf of Cintas from May 3-5, 2017 among 2,072 U.S. adults ages 18 and older. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact Matt Serra at 904-355-8680 or via e-mail at mserra@mulberrymc.com.

About Cintas Corporation:

Cintas Corporation helps more than one million businesses of all types and sizes get READY™ to open their doors with confidence every day by providing a wide range of products and services that enhance our customers’ image and help keep their facilities and employees clean, safe and looking their best. With products and services including uniforms, mats, mops, restroom supplies, first aid and safety products, fire extinguishers and testing, and safety and compliance training, Cintas helps customers get Ready for the Workday®. Headquartered in Cincinnati, Cintas is a publicly held company traded over the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol CTAS and is a component of both the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index and Nasdaq-100 Index.

1 http://www.ibtimes.com/aging-us-power-grid-blacks-out-more-any-other-developed-nation-1631086

2 http://assets.climatecentral.org/pdfs/PowerOutages.pdf

3 http://issues.org/22-4/apt-2/