Environmental Efforts |
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KB Home recognizes that in fulfilling its central business
mission, the company must act as environmental steward and
demonstrate environmental leadership in the homebuilding
industry. In recent years, the company has explored new
ways to make its communities and neighborhoods compatible
with the natural environment, sought opportunities to partner
with local government agencies on important environmental
initiatives, and looked for innovative ways to make its
homes more efficient.
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Being Water Wise
KB Home recently opened its Valdemosa community in Temecula,
California, the company’s first “California
Friendly” landscaped community in the state.
The centerpiece of this community is California Friendly
landscaping, an innovative water conservation initiative
sponsored by Eastern Municipal Water District, the Metropolitan
Water District of Southern California, the Family of Southern
California Water Agencies and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
The water-wise landscaping Valdemosa feature include front
yards with native California and drought-tolerant plants,
as well as the latest generation of programmable “smart
timers” that irrigate according to need and local
climate conditions, and that will turn off when it rains.
The low-volume irrigation system and precision sprinkler
heads deliver streaming water in gallons per hour instead
of the standard gallons per minute.
KB Home’s Valdemosa community offers something
tangible for homebuyers by providing California Friendly
features that support efficient and practical living in
Southern California. KB Home is proud to participate in
the California Friendly program, which is bringing drought-tolerant
landscaping to the California market. |
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Infill Development and Redevelopment
KB Home supports reinvesting in established communities where infrastructure
already exists. That is why the company is committed to
providing “infill” development and redevelopment.
Having our architectural design team in-house gives us the
flexibility to build homes that meet specific needs, improve
urban life and revitalize neighborhoods near existing jobs
and transportation centers.
A growing part of KB Home’s business, infill project
include the company’s new Legends at Cascades community
in Sylmar, California, that will provide the rare opportunity
for police, teachers and others who work in Los Angeles
to buy homes within the city. The Springfield community
in Austin, Texas, was the first full neighborhood completed
under the City of Austin’s S.M.A.R.T. Housing Initiative
– an ordinance that stimulates Safe, Mixed-income,
Accessible, Reasonably priced and Transit-oriented for
new housing for low-to-moderate income residents. The
Midtown Plaza community redeveloped a former saloon site
in the heart of San Jose. |
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Recycle/Reuse
In 2001, KB Home was honored by the
California Integrated Waste Management Board for the state-of-the-art
way in which it “deconstructed” and effectively
recycled materials from obsolete homes at the former Mather
Air Force Base near Sacramento. KB Home pulverized tons
of concrete on-site and recycled it, rather than shipping
it to landfills. The company also recycled copper pipe,
aluminum windows and even the old wood framing, which was
used as landscape mulch (after removing asbestos and leaded
paint).
Additionally, KB Home slowed production to allow charitable
organizations to remove several thousand usable appliances
on a schedule that worked for them. The company also removed
discarded tires from a landfill, ground them up, and mixed
them with asphalt to produce a rubberized asphalt road
that is expected to last six times longer than traditional
pavement and produce less vehicle noise. As urban redevelopment
becomes more common, the kinds of recycling and reuse
practices KB Home used at Mather AFB will be required
to avoid overloading landfills with deconstruction materials. |
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Energy Conservation
KB Home has consulted with scientists
from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the
U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Research
Lab to develop innovative architectural designs and specifications
to reduce energy consumption. As a result, a number of our
communities now earn Comfort Wise or ENERGY STAR ratings.
In addition, in all of our studio design centers, we offer
our customers a full range of “energy efficiency”
and “water wise” options. |
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Protection of Forests
For several years, KB Home
has worked cooperatively with the Natural Resources Defense
Council to help assure that lumber used by KB Home does
not originate from endangered or old-growth forests. In
practice, the company acts to ensure that its lumber suppliers
and subcontractors strictly avoid procuring wood from areas
that need particular environmental protection, such as the
Tongass National Forest in Alaska, where KB Home publicly
urged the federal government to continue its ban against
logging. In addition, in a successful test community near
San Francisco, the company spearheaded a large-scale use
of lumber certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. KB
Home frequently supports state, county and municipal public
park measures and strives to preserve or replace trees in
our communities including initiating tree-planting efforts
at schools and other public facilities. |
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Smart Planning
KB Home has successfully built communities within
designated “preferred” or “desired”
development areas—locations specifically deemed to
be preferred for development by municipalities and environmental
organizations. For example, in Austin, Texas, the city government
has formally designated a “desired development zone.”
In response, KB Home develops land and seeks land development
permits within this zone. |
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Land Stewardship
Strict adherence to the city's tree preservation and parkland ordinances,
even in communities outside the city limits, resulted in the San Antonio
division achieving a 2006 award as the "Most Improved Developer" by
Scenic San Antonio. Taking water quality and land stewardship seriously,
the division's land and permitting teams are striking a responsible
balance between building quality homes for families and protecting
heritage trees and other natural landmarks. |
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Creek Restoration
KB Home volunteers from the San Antonio division recently removed more than 70
tires, 20 rusted shopping carts and other debris from a creek on the city's
Eastside. During the year, volunteers typically plant trees, remove graffiti and
pick up trash along an "adopted" highway as a part of the division's pledge to
donate more than 2,000 hours annually to improve the quality of life in the
city. |