Acuity Brands (AYI) 8-K Other Events

Exhibit 99.1

News Release

Acuity Brands, Inc. 1170 Peachtree Street, NE Suite 2400 Atlanta, GA 30309   Tel: 404 853 1400 Fax: 404 853 1420   AcuityBrands.com

Company Contact:

Dan Smith

Acuity Brands, Inc.

(404) 853-1423

ACUITY BRANDS DECLARES QUARTERLY DIVIDEND

ATLANTA, January 8, 2010 – The Board of Directors of Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE: AYI) today declared a quarterly dividend of 13 cents per share. The dividend is payable on February 1, 2010 to shareholders of record on January 19, 2010.

Acuity Brands, Inc., the parent company of Acuity Brands Lighting, Inc. and other subsidiaries, is one of the world’s leading providers of lighting fixtures and related products and services with fiscal year 2009 net sales of over $1.6 billion. The Company’s brands include Lithonia Lighting^®, Holophane^®, Peerless^®, Mark Architectural Lighting^™, Hydrel^®, American Electric Lighting^®, Gotham^®, Carandini^®, RELOC^®, MetalOptics^®, Antique Street Lamps^™, Tersen^™, Synergy^® Lighting Controls, Sensor Switch^®, Lighting Control & Design^™, and ROAM^®. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Acuity Brands employs approximately 6,000 associates and has operations throughout North America and in Europe and Asia.