May 5 2008
The environmental and sustainable practices of the United States' largest publicly traded homebuilders will be ranked in a major new report to be released at 1:30 p.m. EDT on May 6, 2008 by the mutual fund company Calvert, one of the nation's leaders in the field of sustainable and responsible investing. Calvert designed the research into homebuilder sustainability with support from the Boston College Institute for Responsible Investment.
In alphabetical order, the 13 homebuilders covered in the report are: Beazer, Atlanta, GA; Centex, Dallas, TX; D.R. Horton, Fort Worth, TX; KB Home, Los Angeles, CA; K. Hovnanian, Red Bank, NJ; Lennar, Miami, FL; M.D.C. Holdings, Denver, CO; Meritage, Scottsdale, AZ; NVR Inc., Reston, VA; Pulte, Bloomfield Hills, MI; Ryland, Calabasas, CA; Standard Pacific, Irvine, CA; and Toll Brothers, Horsham, PA.
News event speakers will be:
- Stu Dalheim, director, Shareholder Advocacy, Calvert; and
- David Wood, director, Boston College Institute for Responsible Investment.
As an investor, Calvert seeks to discern how major U.S. homebuilders compare on policies, programs, and performance relating to the environment and resource efficiency. Despite the slump in the overall housing market, the green building industry is seeing annual growth of as much as 30 percent. Green building features for new homes present a clear opportunity for the homebuilding industry -- homeowners are willing to pay a premium for greener and cleaner homes of $18,500 on average, according to McGraw Hill Constructions 2006.
TO PARTICIPATE: Join this live, phone-based national news conference (with full, two-way Q&A) at 1:30 p.m. EDT on May 6, 2008 by dialing 1 (800) 860-2442. Ask for the "Calvert/IRI green building report" news event.
CAN'T PARTICIPATE?: A streaming audio replay of this news event will be available on the Web at http://www.calvert.com/ as of 7 p.m. EDT on May 6, 2008.