Los Angeles--The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has named Pardee Homes as an ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year for its outstanding contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by building energy-efficient homes. Pardee's accomplishments were recognized at an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C. on April 15th, 2003.

Pardee, a partner in the program since 1998, was honored for building homes that meet or exceed Energy Star specifications for energy efficiency. Pardee is the first multi-regional homebuilder to make a 100% commitment to ENERGY STAR in all new homes, a commitment that began in 2002 with its new home construction.

ENERGY STAR homes are significantly more energy efficient than homes built to standard code. Every ENERGY STAR home keeps 4,500 pounds of greenhouse gases out of our air each year. In 2001 alone, ENERGY STAR helped Americans save enough energy to power 10 million homes and reduce the air pollution equivalent to taking 12 million cars off the road—all while saving consumers $6 billion.

"Pardee Homes is very pleased to include ENERGY STAR as part of our overall value commitment," said Mike McGee, Pardee's president and chief operating officer. "We are proud to be associated with a new generation of homes that are better for homeowners and the planet."

The ENERGY STAR Award is given to a variety of organizations to recognize their efforts to build energy-efficient homes that provide significant cost savings to consumers and benefit the environment. These Award Winners are selected from over 1,000 organizations that participate in the ENERGY STAR program.

"EPA is proud to recognize companies such as Pardee Homes with an ENERGY STAR Award," said Kathleen Hogan, director of EPA's Climate Protection Partnerships Division. "They have shown tremendous leadership in helping Americans move into new homes that are better for the environment as well as less costly to own."

In addition to the ENERGY STAR Partner Award, Pardee has also been named America's Best Builder by BUILDER magazine, for outstanding performance in multiple facets of homebuilding. Pardee is active throughout Southern California and the greater Las Vegas Valley in southern Nevada. Providing entry-level homes through upper end designs, Pardee ranks among the top five builders by volume in most of its markets.

The company is particularly noted for expedited fulfillment of master-planned communities' schools, parks and recreational amenities, and for commitments to a broad range of civic and philanthropic activities. Pardee also ranks as an industry leader in bringing advanced technologies and greater energy efficiency to new homes. Pardee Homes was established in 1921 as Pardee Construction Company. Pardee is headquartered in Los Angeles. Visit Pardee: www.pardeehomes.com.

The US Environmental Protection Agency introduced ENERGY STAR in 1992 as a voluntary market-based partnership to reduce air pollution through increased energy efficiency. The program offers businesses and consumers energy-efficient solutions to save energy, money and help protect the environment for future generations. More than 7,000 organizations have become ENERGY STAR partners and are committed to improving the energy efficiency of products, homes and businesses. For more information about ENERGY STAR, visit www.EnergyStar.gov or call toll-free 1-888-STAR-YES (1-888-782-7937).