It appears that the none of the US largest publicly-traded home builders have fully embraced green and sustainable building practices. This is the outcome of a study by Calvert Group, Ltd. (free download), one of the nation’s leaders in the field of sustainable and responsible investing, with support from the Boston College Institute for Responsible Investment.
The top-rated builder, from the perspective of green and sustainable design and building practices, is K.B. Home of Los Angeles, CA. They are leading the field with respect to environmentally friendly designs and construction methods.
Here’s the full list:
1. K.B. Home, Los Angeles, CA
2. D.R. Horton, Fort Worth, TX; and Pulte, Bloomfield Hills, MI
4. Centex, Dallas, TX
5. Lennar, Miami, FL
6. Ryland, Calabasas, CA
7. Beazer, Atlanta, GA
8. Meritage, Scottsdale, AZ
9. Toll Brothers, Horsham, PA
And the bottom four, which the report calls “sustainability bottom rung”:
10. K. Hovnanian, Red Bank, NJ
11. MDC Holdings, Denver, CO
12. Standard Pacific, Irvine CA
13. NVR Inc., Reston, VA
Looks like it might be a situation where the home building industry will be changed from the bottom up. Check out the local green buildings programs, organized by the National Association of Home Builders for events and directories of green builders.
