Turning green

By CRISSA SHOEMAKER DEBREE
Bucks County Courier Times

May 7, 2008

Toll Brothers ranks nine among 13 of the nation’s largest homebuilders when it comes to “green” building practices, according to a report released Tuesday by an investment management firm.

But the survey, prepared by Calvert and Boston College’s Institute for Responsible Investment, found that none of the top 13 publicly traded homebuilders has fully embraced sustainable building design and construction processes.

“The industry has a long way to go,” said Stu Dalheim, director of shareholder advocacy at Maryland-based Calvert.

“Some have committed to ambitious goals,” he added. “[But] as of the publication of this report, no major homebuilder has publicly committed to environmental responsibility as a core business strategy.”

The study looked at policies, programs and actual performance in four areas: energy use, building materials, water use and land use.

Topping the list was K.B. Home of Los Angeles, which the survey recognized for its clear sustainability strategy, environmental partnerships, sustainable sourcing of wood and other building materials and other programs. Calvert put four homebuilders on the “sustainability bottom rung.” They are: K. Hovnanian, MDC Holdings, Standard Pacific and NVR Inc. None of those builders, the report said, has acknowledged there’s even a market for green homes.

Toll Brothers scored third for its policies. But the company’s overall score dropped to 11 for both performance and programs, the survey found.

Toll and other “third-tier” builders — Beazer, Ryland, Meritage and Lennar — have a strong commitment to environmental goals but have yet to commit to or implement programs, the survey said. Toll, for example, is reporting on its climate change impacts and has promised to develop strategies to address the issue.

“These companies have a lot of potential but have not yet fully delivered,” the study said. “Hovnanian, Toll Brothers and Lennar have yet to move from the recognition of environmental responsibility to significantly increasing the number of sustainable homes they offer.”

Ed Weber, a regional president for Toll Brothers, said the company installs efficient water heaters, heating and air conditioning systems and appliances in its homes. The builder also uses sustainable wood products and energy-efficient building materials. But the cost of committing entirely to green building can outweigh the benefits in some regions, he said.

“We have taken a much stronger interest in green building over the past year,” Weber said. “We have done research throughout where we build and figured out what it would take for us to become greener. And in certain areas, we’re definitely building green and trying to do more to become a green builder. But some of the areas are more costly than others. We’re still trying to evaluate if the marketing benefit is worth the additional cost.”

Dalheim and David Wood, director of the Institute for Responsible Investment, said green homes could be a way out of the current housing slump that has cost builders millions of dollars. That would be good news to both builders and investors.

“This could be a time for people to differentiate themselves from the competitors,” Wood said. “The larger homebuilders are waiting for someone else to take the lead and they’ll catch up. That may not actually work.”

Megan Reshetar, a sales associate and sustainable building adviser for Reshetar Custom Homes in Bedminster, said there’s definitely a market for green homes. All 20 of the homes in the builder’s Springtown Knoll development in Springfield will be built to green standards, she said.

The homes in the development are situated to take advantage of the sun’s position to provide heat in the winter, Reshetar said. The homes use sustainable lumber and energy-efficient building materials. All construction waste is being recycled, she said.

The cost of green building adds about 3 percent to 4 percent to the cost of the homes, which start at $590,000, but Reshetar said the homes will save 35 percent to 40 percent every month on utility bills.

“This is the start of many [green building developments,]” Reshetar said. “Once we turned green, we have no reason to go back to the traditional building.”

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