“In many areas of the U.S., the frequency, intensity and duration of drought events have been increasing. Water is not something we can take for granted. In 2010, KB Home delivered the first WaterSense labeled home in the nation because we understood that this approach would help reduce the use of a precious natural resource, save our homeowners on utility costs and mitigate drought conditions,” said Jeffrey Mezger, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of KB Home. “We are now expanding our industry-leading approach to water conservation, building all our homes in future Arizona, California and Nevada communities to EPA’s highest water-efficiency standards.”
The homebuilder has long championed the important role that EPA’s WaterSense program plays in helping to both lower its buyers’ monthly utility costs and minimize their carbon footprint and energy usage. According to EPA, WaterSense labeled homes use at least 30% less water than a typical home and can save a household 50,000 gallons of water annually, on average. To date, KB Home has built over 18,000 WaterSense labeled and Water Smart homes — more than any other homebuilder — and installed over 900,000 WaterSense labeled fixtures. The company estimates that these homes, together with the WaterSense labeled fixtures within them, conserve approximately 1.6 billion gallons of water annually.
“Water is an essential part of our daily lives, and EPA’s WaterSense program helps residents and businesses conserve this vital resource,” said EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Radhika Fox. “KB Home is a long-time WaterSense partner and seven-time recipient of the WaterSense Sustained Excellence Award. Their commitment to build homes in the Southwest that meet WaterSense criteria will help combat the megadrought in the West.”
More recently, KB Home became the first builder to implement EPA’s new WaterSense Labeled Homes Program, Version 2.0, which was released in February 2021. The program was piloted in the Las Vegas area, and preliminary field data collected by EPA confirms that homeowners are seeing significant savings. These KB homes had a median water use of just 44,000 gallons of water per year compared to the 97,000 gallons per year or more used by typical homes in the region – a 55% reduction in use of this precious natural resource.
In addition to being a leader in building water-efficient homes, KB Home is the #1 energy-efficient national homebuilder and has built over 160,000 ENERGY STAR® certified new homes, more than any other builder, delivering a level of advanced energy efficiency met by fewer than 10% of new homes built in America. The homebuilder goes beyond EPA requirements by ensuring that every ENERGY STAR certified KB home has been tested and verified by a third-party inspector to meet EPA’s strict certification standards. ENERGY STAR certified homes are up to 20% more efficient than homes built to code, help lower the cost of ownership and are designed to be healthier, more comfortable and better for the environment than homes without certification.
KB Home is the only builder to earn EPA’s WaterSense Sustained Excellence Awards for seven consecutive years. Additionally, the company is the only national builder to have earned awards under all of EPA’s homebuilder programs, including ENERGY STAR, WaterSense and Indoor airPLUS, which focuses on indoor air quality. The company was also named to Newsweek®’s prestigious 2022 list of America’s Most Responsible Companies, the only national builder to receive this distinction two years in a row.
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