EPA Recognizes KB Home with 2012 ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded KB Home KBH a 2012 ENERGY STAR^® Sustained Excellence Award in recognition of its continued leadership in protecting our environment through energy efficiency. KB Home's accomplishments will be recognized at an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C. on March 15, 2012, which marks the 20^th anniversary of ENERGY STAR.

KB Home, an industry leader and ENERGY STAR partner since 2000, will be honored for its long-term commitment to energy efficiency. To date, the national homebuilder has completed more than 68,000 ENERGY STAR qualified new homes, and since 2009 it has built 100% of its new homes to the program guidelines. The U.S. EPA estimates that, in one year, families living in those over 68,000 ENERGY STAR homes will save more than $33 million on their utility bills while preventing greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from 33,000 vehicles.

In 2011, KB Home introduced its proprietary Energy Performance Guide® (EPG®) in order to show homebuyers the energy efficiency advantages of purchasing a new KB home. The EPG provides an estimate of monthly energy costs for every new KB home as designed, as well as the estimated monthly savings when compared to a typical resale home.

“Building homes to such a high level of energy efficiency delivers remarkable value to our homebuyers and can help lower their total cost of homeownership substantially compared to a typical resale home,” said Jeffrey Mezger, president and chief executive officer of KB Home. “KB Home is honored to once again be recognized by the U.S. EPA for our achievements in the vitally important area of energy efficiency.”

Across the U.S., top companies and organizations are leading the way toward a more energy-efficient future through participation in ENERGY STAR.

Over the past 20 years, American families and businesses have saved nearly $230 billion on utility bills and prevented greenhouse gas emissions equal to those from more than 350 million vehicles with help from ENERGY STAR.

The 2012 Sustained Excellence Awards are given to a select group of organizations that have exhibited outstanding leadership year after year. These winners have reduced greenhouse gas emissions by setting and achieving aggressive goals, employing innovative approaches, and showing others what can be achieved through energy efficiency. These awards recognize ongoing leadership across the ENERGY STAR program including energy-efficient products, services, new homes and buildings in the commercial, industrial and public sectors. Award winners are selected from about 20,000 organizations that participate in the ENERGY STAR program.

“As we celebrate the 20^th anniversary of the ENERGY STAR program, EPA is proud to recognize KB Home with the 2012 ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “KB Home and all our ENERGY STAR award winners are helping Americans find cost-effective ways to save energy in everything we do, which is good for our climate, our health, and our future.”

About KB Home

KB Home is one of the largest and most recognized homebuilding companies in the United States. Since its founding in 1957, the company has built more than half a million quality homes. KB Home's signature Built to Order™ approach lets each buyer customize their new home from lot location to floor plan and design features. In addition to meeting strict ENERGY STAR® guidelines, all KB homes are highly energy efficient to help lower monthly utility costs for homeowners, which the company demonstrates with its proprietary KB Home Energy Performance Guide™ (EPG). A leader in utilizing state-of-the-art sustainable building practices, KB Home was named the #1 Green Homebuilder in a 2010 study by Calvert Investments and the #1 Homebuilder on FORTUNE magazine's 2011 World's Most Admired Companies list. Los Angeles-based KB Home was the first homebuilder listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and trades under the ticker symbol "KBH." For more information about KB Home's new home communities, call 888-KB-HOMES or visit www.kbhome.com.

About ENERGY STAR

ENERGY STAR was introduced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1992 as a voluntary market-based partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through increased energy efficiency. Now celebrating its 20th anniversary, ENERGY STAR offers businesses and consumers energy-efficient solutions to save energy, money and help protect the environment for future generations. About 20,000 organizations are ENERGY STAR partners committed to improving the energy efficiency of products, homes, buildings and businesses. For more information about ENERGY STAR, visit www.energystar.gov or call toll-free 1-888-STAR-YES (1-888-782-7937).