Meritage Homes Releases Third Annual Environmental, Social, and Governance Report

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Aug. 28, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Meritage Homes (NYSE: MTH), the fifth largest homebuilder in the U.S., today published its third annual environmental, social, and governance report (the “2022 ESG Report”), which details the Company’s ongoing sustainability initiatives, diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts and related milestones achieved in 2022. Following last year’s inaugural annual Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (“TCFD”) report, the current year’s TCFD data is merged into the 2022 ESG Report.

Given its longstanding legacy of transparency, Meritage continued to provide its ESG disclosures under the shareholder-endorsed reporting frameworks of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board, the Global Reporting Initiative, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the TCFD.

“We strengthened our ESG commitment in 2022 by deepening our relationships and engagement with our customers, employees, communities, vendors, peers, industry and governmental organizations and shareholders,” said Hilla Sferruzza, chief financial officer at Meritage Homes. “This year’s report also highlights how sustainability is embedded in our strategy, business practices and planning. We’re proud to be an industry ESG leader and are excited by the opportunities to continue collaborating with all of our partners and delivering a Life. Built. Better.®”

Key highlights from Meritage’s 2022 ESG Report include:  

Environmental:

• Delivered 14,106 ENERGY STAR® certified homes in 2022 with an average HERS Index score of 53. 
• Recognized as a ten-time recipient of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year.
• Conducted an inaugural ESG vendor survey with 82% participation from national vendors to baseline an understanding of its vendors’ sustainability, safety and ESG data.
  

Social:

• Became the first U.S. public production builder in 2022 to offer expansive mortgage interest rate locks and buy-downs to its customers to address affordability in advance of the series of unprecedented interest rate hikes.
• Received the prestigious Avid Cup – Production award, the highest customer satisfaction honor for any builder, for the second year in a row.
• Included among Fortune’s ‘World’s Most Admired Companies’ and Newsweek’s ‘Most Responsible Companies’ in 2022.
• Created the ESG Internal Council comprised of function-lead team members across the organization to implement ESG initiatives.
• Contributed $3.8 million in monetary and in-kind donations in 2022.
  

Meritage’s 2022 ESG Report and the related appendix in excel format can be found in full here.

About Meritage Homes

Meritage Homes is the fifth-largest public homebuilder in the United States, based on homes closed in 2022. The Company offers energy-efficient and affordable entry-level and first move-up homes. Operations span across Arizona, California, Colorado, Texas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah.

Meritage Homes has delivered over 170,000 homes in its 37-year history, and has a reputation for its distinctive style, quality construction, and award-winning customer experience. The Company is an industry leader in energy-efficient homebuilding, a ten-time recipient of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ("EPA") ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year for Sustained Excellence Award since 2013 for innovation and industry leadership in energy-efficient homebuilding, and the recipient of the EPA's 2023 Market Leader Award for Certified Homes as well as the EPA's 2022 Indoor airPLUS Leader Award.

Released August 28, 2023