Big Lots.
BIG.US | Other retail sale in non-specialized stores
Big Lots, Inc. is a discount retailer operating in the United States. The company offers a wide range of products, including furniture, seasonal goods, home decor, consumables, and food. Big Lots operates through a network of retail stores and an e-commerce platform. The company focuses on providing...Show More
Better Health for All
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Big Lots' core retail operations have severe negative health impacts. The company sold turmeric spices containing toxic levels of lead, a harmful ingredient, and demonstrated systematic concealment of this known risk by removing warning signs and restocking the product.
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Its food portfolio is predominantly unhealthy, emphasizing shelf-stable goods and snacks, lacking fresh produce, and including candy cigarettes.
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Conversely, Big Lots, through its foundation and partnership with Nationwide Children's Hospital, makes substantial positive contributions to children's mental and behavioral health. The company committed $50 million to the Big Lots Behavioral Health Pavilion, a 386,000 square foot facility dedicated to child and adolescent mental health, described as the largest of its kind in the US.
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This represents revolutionary mental health approaches with transformative impact. Big Lots also champions the "On Our Sleeves" movement, providing free mental wellness educational resources to "every community in America," demonstrating exceptional reach for vulnerable populations and significant health education initiatives.
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During the pandemic, the supported Pavilion rapidly expanded telehealth services, facilitating over 160,000 visits.
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The company also supports culturally sensitive community outreach programs to address mental health disparities.
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Fair Money & Economic Opportunity
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Big Lots is a discount retailer whose business model involves selling merchandise, not providing financial services. The company does not engage in activities that lend, insure, move, or store money for consumers. Therefore, all KPIs related to financial services, such as underserved client share, pricing fairness for financial products, exploitative fee exposure, financial inclusion initiatives, customer finance data accessibility, fair lending compliance, wealth building outcomes, financial literacy initiatives, customer debt burden ratio, geographic inclusion for financial access points, and financial product simplicity, are not applicable to its operations. There is no evidence of profit reinvestment specifically in community finance or profit-sharing with underserved communities.
Fair Pay & Worker Respect
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In the 2023 fiscal year, Big Lots' CEO compensation was 788 times the median employee pay of $9,846.
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The company faces a $169,000 fine from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for 'repeat and serious' safety violations at its West Babylon store, including blocked aisles and exit routes, improperly stacked boxes, and failure to properly mark exit routes.
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OSHA had previously cited the company for similar hazards in three other states.
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Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing
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No specific, concrete evidence was found in the provided articles regarding Big Lots' fair trade certifications, audit frequency, forced or child labor incidents, supply chain traceability, remediation speed for violations, ethical clause coverage in supplier contracts, share of high-risk materials, or supplier diversity spend. The available article focuses on the company's closeout and bargain sourcing strategy
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, and the second article was corrupted. In Q4 2023, bargain products comprised nearly 60% of sales
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, exceeding the retailer's target of 33%
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. The company aims to increase this to 75% of sales
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. A key acquisition was the entire inventory of the toy brand Hearthsong, valued at over $22 million
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, which Big Lots plans to sell at 50-70% off original prices
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.
Honest & Fair Business
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The company incurred a $9,000 civil penalty in July 2023 from the California Air Resources Board for violating the Consumer Products Regulation by selling products that exceeded VOC limits.
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Kind to Animals
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No specific, quantifiable data was found in the provided articles for any of the 'Kind to Animals' KPIs for Big Lots. While Big Lots committed to sourcing 100% cage-free eggs by 2025, the relevant KPI also includes poultry and other animal products, for which no information was provided.
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Therefore, a comprehensive percentage for the entire KPI could not be determined.
No War, No Weapons
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No information regarding Big Lots' involvement in arms manufacturing, military contracts, or conflict facilitation was found in the provided articles. The articles discuss the broader defense industry and government spending, but do not mention Big Lots.
Planet-Friendly Business
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The provided articles do not contain specific, quantifiable data points relevant to the 'Planet-Friendly Business' ethical value. Information regarding carbon emissions (Scope 1, 2, 3), science-based targets, renewable energy usage, water consumption, green building certifications, waste diversion rates, capital expenditure alignment with EU taxonomy, lifecycle impact assessments, recycled material ratios, carbon offset quality, climate-positive investments, supply chain climate transparency, supplier SBTi targets, biodiversity efforts, deforestation policies, environmental impact assessments, net-zero targets, TCFD alignment, climate scenario analysis, stranded asset transparency, water sourcing from stressed basins, packaging CO2 reduction, climate justice initiatives, just transition programs, or climate adaptation financing is not available. While past environmental compliance issues related to hazardous waste disposal were noted in a 2017 settlement, this does not provide a count of annual violations as required by the rubric for current performance.
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Respect for Cultures & Communities
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The provided articles do not contain specific, concrete data points relevant to any of the KPIs under the 'Respect for Cultures & Communities' ethical value. While general philanthropic giving and DEI training completion are mentioned, there is no explicit evidence regarding formal partnerships with indigenous or local community groups, percentage of revenue reinvested in local community development, cultural appropriation incidents, cultural impact assessment protocols, local employment ratios, community grievance mechanisms, FPIC processes, cultural preservation investments, local procurement, indigenous supplier engagement, cultural site protection, social license to operate, charitable giving to cultural heritage organizations, community fund allocation, language inclusivity, cultural incident response, or cultural sensitivity training.
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Safe & Smart Tech
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No evidence available to assess Big Lots on Safe & Smart Tech.
Zero Waste & Sustainable Products
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Big Lots achieved a non-hazardous waste diversion rate of 42.85% in 2022.
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The company has implemented several waste reduction initiatives, including a pallet recovery program that donated over $6 million worth of products
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and more than 600,000 meals in fiscal year 2023.
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Other initiatives include donating furniture, recycling cardboard, paper, and plastic/shrink wrap at corporate sites, transitioning to electronic advertisements, and reducing receipt paper, saving 2,000 short tons annually.
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While the company faced a $3.5 million settlement in 2017 for unlawful hazardous waste disposal at 206 California stores and a distribution center,
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it has since adopted new policies, procedures, and training programs.
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Currently, service providers manage 100% of electronics and universal waste domestically, and batteries are recycled by hazardous waste vendors, with 194 tons of hazardous waste generated in 2022.
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No waste disposal violations have been reported in the past three years. However, the company's waste reduction targets are vague, focusing on identifying more waste streams and increasing participation rather than specific, quantitative goals with timelines.
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