Three homebuilders in the Tucson region have grabbed top honors for environmentally friendly “sustainable building design and construction” from Calvert, a diversified investment management firm that touts “sustainable and responsible investing.”
A Calvert study, while concluding that none of America’s 13 largest publicly traded homebuilders has “fully embraced the emerging market of sustainable building design and construction,” said KB Home, Pulte and D.R. Horton were the best on the list of 13.
Calvert, which manages over $6 billion in assets for institutional and individual investors, said KB Home, based in Los Angeles, is “clearly leading the homebuilding industry in terms of environmental sustainability,” while D.R. Horton, headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, and Pulte, based in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., were tied for second.
“We’re clearly very honored to be found by Calvert to be at the head of the pack,” said John Bremond, president of KB Home Tucson. “It is recognition of some of the work we have been doing for the past few years.”
Bremond said he believed the recognition stemmed from a number of things, including all the company’s Tucson-area homes being Energy Star certified and that the plans of all homes have been evaluated for energy efficiency.
KB Home is also making more efficient use of lumber, eliminating waste in construction and tightening up insulation for minimal leakage. He said the company is seeking approval to use 2×6 framing to increase R-value and reduce energy use.
