KB Home Leads Calvert's Green Ranking of Major Homebuilders

The socially responsible mutual fund company Calvert has released a study, conducted with the Boston College Institute for Responsible Investment, ranking the 13 largest homebuilders in the U.S. according to their green practices.

Calvert assessed the policies, programs, and performance of each in four areas: energy, water, materials, and land use. Researchers measured energy performance primarily by the number of Energy Star homes built by each company. In the materials rankings the researchers focused on wood procurement and rewarded the top-ranked KB Home in Los Angeles for its policies preferring the use of Forest Stewardship Council-certified wood. Builders Pulte and D. R. Horton followed KB Home in the ranking, while NVR, Inc., came in last. All the homebuilders could do a lot better, according to the report, especially in the area of land use, by encouraging smart growth over sprawl.