Better Health for All

Home Depot was penalized $20.75 million for failing to follow lead paint renovation rules, which exposed residents to lead dust and chips.

This was the largest penalty obtained under the Toxic Substances Control Act. Additionally, the company agreed to pay $5.7 million for selling approximately 2,816 recalled products that posed various hazards.

Fair Money & Economic Opportunity

The Home Depot Foundation made approximately $90 million in grants in 2024.

The Homer Fund awarded over $16.9 million in grants in 2024. Additionally, the company provided approximately $250 million in Success Sharing bonus payments to non-management associates for Fiscal 2024. With net earnings of $14.8 billion in fiscal 2024, the total reinvestment in community, employee support, and profit-sharing amounts to approximately 2.41% of net earnings. This falls into the -80 tier for profit reinvestment. As a retailer, the company's core business lies outside financial services, resulting in a score of 0 for KPIs related to consumer lending, financial products, data management, or banking access points. There is no specific data on the percentage of customers from underserved segments, wealth-building outcomes for users, or the impact of financial literacy initiatives, leading to the omission of these KPIs.

Fair Pay & Worker Respect

The company has faced three substantiated labor-law or human-rights violations in the past three years. In January 2025, a $65,000 settlement was reached for a workplace sexual harassment case involving an employee between 2018 and 2021.

In March 2024, a $72.5 million settlement was approved for a class-action lawsuit alleging the company failed to properly pay hourly wages. Additionally, in February 2024, the National Labor Relations Board determined the company violated federal labor law by firing an employee for displaying 'BLM' on their work apron. For pay equity in 2024, adjusted pay for women relative to men was 101%, and for racial/ethnic minority associates relative to non-minority associates was 100%. The recordable occupational injury rate was 2.81 per 200,000 hours in 2024.

Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing

The Home Depot contractually requires all suppliers to comply with its Responsible Sourcing Standards, which cover prohibitions on child and forced labor, health and safety, environmental matters, compensation, and working hours.

Approximately 61.6% of wood and wood products are third-party certified, and timber products constitute 11-20% of the company's procurement spend. Tier 1 suppliers are subject to re-audits based on previous results: Grade A suppliers are audited every 2 years, Grade B every 1 year, and Grade C and F suppliers every 6 months.

Honest & Fair Business

No specific, quantifiable data points were found in the provided articles to score any of the KPIs against the 'Honest & Fair Business' rubric. While the company has policies and programs in place, such as a Business Code of Conduct and Ethics

, a whistleblower program with a 24-hour anonymous AwareLine , a Supplier AlertLine , and an FCPA Oversight Committee , the articles do not provide the specific metrics or outcomes required by the rubric's quantitative thresholds for scoring.

Kind to Animals

Home Depot demonstrates a lack of active engagement in animal welfare policy improvement. The company continues to sell glue traps, which cause prolonged suffering to animals, despite PETA urging them to stop.

This is in contrast to competitors like Target and Walgreens, which have ceased selling these products, indicating a lack of responsiveness to animal welfare concerns and a silent stance on industry standards.

No War, No Weapons

Home Depot's core business is not involved in arms manufacturing, military contracts, or defense-related activities, resulting in several KPIs being scored as N/A. The company demonstrates strong performance in conflict minerals, with 100% of in-scope private-brand and proprietary Tier 1 suppliers participating in due diligence for calendar year 2022, and all 31 identified smelters from conflict regions certified as DRC Conflict-Free.

This indicates 100% compliance with its ethical red lines regarding conflict-free sourcing. Home Depot also maintains a comprehensive Responsible Sourcing Program, conducting 1,420 risk-based audits across 33 countries in 2023, covering human rights and conflict-related risks. These annual audits, along with ongoing screening against sanctioned entities, support adherence to humanitarian procurement standards and an annual review process for partners with conflict-related risks, with results publicly available.

Planet-Friendly Business

Total Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions were 209,543,000 tCO2e in fiscal year 2024.

The company has SBTi-validated targets to reduce absolute Scope 1 and 2 emissions and absolute Scope 3 Category 11 emissions by 42% by the end of fiscal 2030 from a fiscal 2020 base year. In the reporting year ending January 28, 2024, 14.16% of total energy consumption was sourced from renewable sources. In fiscal year 2024, the company diverted 26.45% of its nonhazardous waste from landfill. The company has a Wood Purchasing Policy in place since 1999. Approximately 61.6% of its wood products are third-party certified, and 2.28% of its disclosure volume is determined as deforestation- and conversion-free through third-party certification.

Respect for Cultures & Communities

The Home Depot has no reported cultural appropriation incidents. In 2024, consumers recognized the company as the most culturally inclusive brand, reflecting its commitment to connecting with all customers and reflecting their needs in communications.

The company's DEI program, led by a Chief Diversity Officer, includes Associate Resource Groups and various trainings. The Home Depot's Path to Pro website is available in both English and Spanish, demonstrating strong language inclusivity. No incidents disrupting cultural or heritage sites are reported, aligning with the company's retail business model which typically does not directly impact such sites.

Safe & Smart Tech

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada found Home Depot disclosed customer personal information to Meta without valid consent via Meta's "Offline Conversions" tool

, a practice ongoing since 2018 and resolved in October 2022 , leading to a finding of non-compliance with PIPEDA . Home Depot also experienced a data breach in April 2024 affecting 10,000 employees , with disclosure occurring after a threat actor claimed responsibility . While the company has classification and retention policies , its privacy policy lists broad data collection, including sensitive information , without explicitly stating data minimization practices or retention periods . Users have strong control over their data, with options to review, correct, delete, opt out of data sharing for targeted advertising, and limit the use of sensitive personal information . The company provides data security and privacy awareness and training to all associates annually . It maintains a 24/7 security operations center and uses tools for monitoring and mitigation of cyber risks . Internal teams conduct targeted audits and penetration tests , and third parties are engaged annually to independently evaluate cybersecurity maturity and perform risk assessments . The company adheres to applicable Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards and indicates compliance efforts with California privacy regulations .

Zero Waste & Sustainable Products

The company has implemented over 10 waste reduction initiatives. By the end of 2023, it eliminated expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) film from new private-brand packaging, removing approximately 6.0 million cubic feet of EPS

and over 39 million square feet of PVC film . Between 2017 and 2023, over 1,280 packages were redesigned , and in 2023 alone, approximately 23 million packaging units were right-sized across more than 280 private-brand SKUs , which helped avoid about 1.5 million pounds of damaged product . The company has set company-wide waste reduction targets, including a goal to reduce or convert 200 million pounds of virgin plastic used in products and packaging to recycled or alternative materials by 2028 . Additionally, it aims for all new private-brand fiber packaging to be compostable, recyclable, or made with recycled content by the start of 2027 . The company also aims for its suppliers to reduce or convert 200 million pounds of plastic used in products to recycled or alternative materials by the end of 2028 . In 2024, the company recycled approximately 13% of its hazardous waste, excluding CFL bulbs and lithium-ion batteries . However, in June 2024, the company received a notice of penalty from the Department of Energy, assessing a civil penalty of approximately $1.6 million for alleged violations, which was resolved and paid .