LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--KB Home (NYSE: KBH) today announced the publication of its 15th Annual Sustainability Report, the longest-running publication of its kind in the homebuilding industry. The 2021 report chronicles the company’s long-term pursuit to build better homes, better communities and a better future.
KB Home has continued to lead with a customer-driven, industry-first commitment to sustainability. The report details the homebuilder’s achievements and goals across important dimensions that play a key role in its mission to build new homes that reflect what homebuyers value and how they want to live.
“Sustainability has long been a strategic priority because it matters to our homeowners, their families, our employees and our environment,” said Jeffrey Mezger, KB Home Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. “We will continue to invest in our commitment to sustainability, driving greater impact while operating with integrity and purpose. We plan to progressively pioneer new approaches to building homes, creating vibrant communities and helping generations of American families achieve homeownership.”
Highlights from KB Home's 2021 Sustainability Report include:
Better Homes
Building better homes can help to reduce climate change and protect the world we all share. For 15 years, KB Home has been committed to building sustainable homes designed to use energy and water efficiently, create healthier indoor environments and offer comfort and well-being, while also reducing the long-term cost of homeownership for its customers.
In 2021, the company:
- Maintained its position as the #1 energy-efficient national homebuilder based on a national average Residential Energy Services Network Home Energy Rating System (RESNET® HERS®) Index score of 49, an industry-leading publicly reported score.
- Reached a new milestone of over 160,000 high-performance ENERGY STAR® certified homes built, more than any other builder in the nation.
- Cumulatively saved homeowners an estimated $856 million in utility bills and reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by an estimated 6.3 billion pounds.
- Delivered its 14,000th solar home, achieving 44 cumulative megawatts of solar power installed and producing an estimated total of 75 million kilowatt hours of renewable energy annually.
- Earned RESNET’s HERSH2O (Water Efficiency Rating System) award, the first national homebuilder to receive this recognition based on achieving the lowest index score of 47 and on average using 53,000 less gallons of water annually when compared to the average water consumption of homes in the Las Vegas area, a 55% savings.
- Included MERV 13 rated air filters, one of the highest-rated residential filters on the market, in every new community, demonstrating continued leadership in supporting the health and well-being of homeowners.
Better Communities
Creating better communities helps to support an American dream that’s as richly diverse and optimistic as Americans themselves. KB Home believes that safe, welcoming and nurturing neighborhoods are the foundation of a positive social and family life. The company also believes in supporting the wider communities in which it lives, works and builds.
Last year, KB Home:
- Helped more than 13,000 customers achieve the dream of homeownership, 62% of which were first-time homebuyers and 63% of which were from diverse backgrounds, reflecting the face of America.
- Continued to support a workplace that treats employees with fairness and dignity, promotes inclusivity and provides equal opportunities for professional growth; women and minorities constituted 40% and 35% of company employees, respectively, as of fiscal year-end 2021.
- Contributed to the revitalization of established neighborhoods by delivering nearly 1,800 new homes across more than 25 infill/redevelopment communities.
- Created meaningful change through KB Cares, a philanthropic program that contributed more than $1 million to local communities and over 1,200 hours of volunteered time by KB employees.
- Launched a partnership with mission-driven Sackcloth & Ashes to address homeless needs by donating over 15,000 blankets to homeless shelters nationwide.
Better Future
Striving for a better future means creating value for all stakeholders by operating with integrity and purpose. KB Home continually strives to build a more sustainable company committed to excellence and supported by strong governance standards and practices.
In 2021, KB Home:
- Continued to implement a robust governance framework and leading practices to oversee the management of the business and drive long-term stockholder value.
- Publicly articulated additional guiding principles and long-established business standards and practices, including biodiversity and e-waste diversion statements.
- Aligned stakeholder reporting with the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and Global Reporting InitiativeTM (GRI) frameworks and expanded the mapping of its business activities to United Nations Sustainability Development Goals (UN SDGs).
- Partnered with suppliers to implement practices to decarbonize the value chain and reduce GHG Scope 3 emissions, including strategies to lower embodied carbon of building products.
Awards and Recognition
KB Home is the only national builder to have earned awards under all of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) homebuilder programs, including ENERGY STAR, which establishes energy-efficiency standards, WaterSense®, which outlines water-efficiency standards, and Indoor airPLUS, which focuses on indoor air quality.
Newsweek® recognized KB Home’s sustainability leadership for the second year in a row on its prestigious 2022 America’s Most Responsible Companies list as well as on its inaugural 2022 America’s Most Trusted Companies list. Other distinctions included placement on The Wall Street Journal® and Drucker Institute’s 2021 Management Top 250 Best-Managed Companies list, Fortune’s 2022 list of the World's Most Admired Companies and Forbes’ 2022 America’s Best Midsize Employers list for a second consecutive year, which ranked the company in the top 10% of the 500 companies compiled.
For more information on KB Home’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives or to view the full report, visit kbhome.com/sustainability.
About KB Home
KB Home is one of the largest and most recognized homebuilders in the United States and has built over 655,000 quality homes in our 65-year history. Today, KB Home operates in 47 markets from coast to coast. What sets KB Home apart is the exceptional personalization we offer our homebuyers — from those buying their first home to experienced buyers — allowing them to make their home uniquely their own, at a price that fits their budget. As the leader in energy-efficient homebuilding, KB Home was the first builder to make every home it builds ENERGY STAR® certified, a standard of energy performance achieved by fewer than 10% of new homes in America and has built more ENERGY STAR certified homes than any other builder. An energy-efficient KB home helps lower the cost of ownership and is designed to be healthier, more comfortable, and better for the environment than new homes without certification. We build strong, personal relationships with our customers, so they have a real partner in the homebuying process. As a result, we have the distinction of being the #1 customer-ranked national homebuilder in third-party buyer satisfaction surveys. Learn more about how we build homes built on relationships by visiting kbhome.com.
