Better Health for All

Lowe's core business activities, as a home improvement retailer, have no significant direct positive or negative health impact. The company has implemented various initiatives focused on employee health and wellness. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Lowe's expanded benefits to include emergency paid leave and telemedicine.

It also partnered with Accolade in 2017 and 2020 to offer personalized health support, including telemedicine, chronic condition management, and benefits navigation for employees. In 2013, Lowe's launched the Employers Centers of Excellence Network, providing no-cost knee and hip replacements to employees. Earlier, in 2010, it partnered with Cleveland Clinic for enhanced cardiac care and conducted a mobile health-screening tour for over 70,000 employees. A wellness center with fitness and relaxation areas was opened at its headquarters in 2019 to enhance employee physical and emotional health. Additionally, in 2009, Lowe's pledged $1.5 million to the Home Safety Council to develop educational materials aimed at preventing home-related injuries.

Fair Money & Economic Opportunity

Lowe's, as a home improvement retail company, does not offer consumer lending, deposit services, or debt products. Consequently, several KPIs are not applicable. There is no evidence of APRs or fee structures for consumer credit products, nor revenue from high-cost financial products. The company does not operate financial service access points, nor does it manage customer finance data. While Lowe's provides employee financial benefits

and supports community initiatives, including grants for small businesses and financial literacy programs , the provided evidence lacks the specific quantitative data (e.g., percentage of pre-tax profit reinvested, reach and outcomes of literacy programs) required to score these initiatives against the rubric's tiers.

Fair Pay & Worker Respect

Lowe's CEO-to-median employee pay ratio was 659:1 in fiscal 2024.

The company's OSHA recordable incident rate (TRIR) was 3.36 in 2024. In the past three years (2021-2023), Lowe's had six substantiated labor-law violations. These include a $400,000 settlement for employment discrimination in 2023, a $700,000 settlement for sexual harassment in 2022, a $12.5 million settlement for benefit plan administration, and multiple wage & hour and labor relations violations in 2021. The company's minimum wage is $15 hourly. In 2024, 95% of associates participated in its engagement survey. Since 2018, Lowe's has invested over $4 billion in incremental wages and share-based compensation for frontline associates and awarded approximately $300 million in discretionary and profit-sharing bonuses in 2024.

Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing

Lowe's requires initial and annual social accountability audits for vendors under its Social Accountability Program, with a corporate-wide human rights review conducted at least annually.

In 2024, third-party audit partners performed 1,302 audits within 1,224 factories in 24 countries, with 1,051 follow-up assessments. In 2022, 1,663 Retail Ethical Sourcing Assessment (RESA) audits were conducted, with 1,270 follow-up assessments. Vendors are notified in advance of a two-week window for audits, but the actual date is unannounced. Additionally, Lowe's Vendor Code of Conduct is incorporated into all of its standard agreements, including the Master Standard Buying Agreement, and all vendors must sign it as part of the overall vendor agreement. This code details social and environmental expectations, including a zero-tolerance stance on modern slavery, forced labor, human trafficking, and child labor.

Honest & Fair Business

Lowe's has faced a class-action lawsuit in 2022 alleging violations of the FCRA for not providing consumer reports used for employment decisions

. In 2024, a vendor lawsuit accused Lowe's of unfair practices, including not honoring purchase agreements and labeling products as defective for resale . Also in 2024, Lowe's modified its DEI policies, which raised ethical considerations . An NLRB judge ruled in 2018 that Lowe's policy preventing employees from discussing pay could violate workers' rights . In 2014, Lowe's paid a $500,000 penalty to the EPA for lead paint safety standard violations by contractors .

Kind to Animals

Lowe's has taken some direct actions related to animal welfare, including stopping the sale of glue traps on its website.

The company is a pet-friendly store and allows The Seeing Eye to train dogs in its locations. Lowe's also expanded its partnership with Petco to nearly 300 store-in-store concepts, which offer pet supplies and veterinary care, and Petco has facilitated over 6.5 million animal adoptions. In 2024, Lowe's invested nearly $500,000 in reforestation projects and supports The Nature Conservancy's work, which has led to the planting of over 1,100 trees and the restoration of 50 acres of prairieland. , However, this investment represents less than 0.05% of its 2020 revenue. Lowe's wood sourcing policy aims to protect biodiversity and avoid deforestation, with a goal to responsibly source 100% of wood products by 2025, achieving 91% in 2024. The company also sells pest control products and items containing leather/hide/fur.

No War, No Weapons

Lowe's Companies Inc. operates as a home improvement retailer, focusing on civilian consumer goods.

The company explicitly states its non-involvement in military production, which indicates zero revenue derived from arms or defense contracts. This also implies no exposure to controversial weapons and no defense-related assets that would require divestment.

Planet-Friendly Business

Lowe's total Scope 1, 2, and 3 greenhouse gas emissions were 114,532,000 tCO2e in 2024.

The company withdrew from Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) validation due to not having a viable pathway for an emissions reduction target related to fossil fuel sales, and its targets are not validated. In 2024, 14% of Lowe's facilities were powered by renewable energy. The nonhazardous waste diversion rate was 40.027% in 2024. For supply chain climate transparency, 65% of procurement spend was disclosed to CDP in 2024. Lowe's responsibly sourced 91% of its wood products in 2024. The company aligns its disclosures with the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) principles and conducts an annual TCFD analysis.

Respect for Cultures & Communities

In August 2024, Lowe's scaled back its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies, discontinuing participation in certain surveys and ceasing sponsorship of community events.

These changes were made in response to increasing conservative opposition and legal actions. In December 2011, Lowe's withdrew ads from 'All-American Muslim' after conservative complaints, which incited protest from activists and politicians. Lowe's has committed to developing a strategy to reduce harms from logging mature and older trees, including pledges to avoid high conservation value forests and wood from habitats of threatened species. The company also committed to exploring requirements for suppliers to obtain Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) from Indigenous communities.

Safe & Smart Tech

Lowe's experienced a data breach in September 2024, impacting 944 employees whose Workday login credentials and personal information, including bank account numbers, were compromised.

Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) was not enforced for these Workday logins, and security questions were bypassed. The company submitted a data breach report on September 2, 2024. On the other hand, Lowe's received an Ethical AI evaluation score of 9/10 and has established an AI Governance Committee to oversee risk control and strategic implementation frameworks, including ethical, legal, cyber, and data privacy risks. However, Lowe's collects extensive categories of personal information, including sensitive data such as precise geolocation, race and ethnicity, government ID, and payment card information. While ALPR data is retained for 90 days and child's information is deleted at age 18, general retention periods for most data are vaguely defined as 'reasonably necessary'. Lowe's Privacy Statement, effective December 10, 2025, outlines state-mandated privacy rights for residents of multiple states and extends some of these rights to consumers in all states, supporting Global Privacy Control (GPC). New initiatives involving personal information undergo formal privacy impact assessments and reviews. Lowe's complies with applicable privacy regulations and participates in various privacy and retail industry groups to provide input on legislative privacy initiatives.

Zero Waste & Sustainable Products

Lowe's has made progress in packaging sustainability, with 90% of its private brand packaging currently utilizing How2Recycle labels.

In Canada, the company achieved a 60% reduction in single-use plastic bags since summer 2018 by charging for them. Lowe's applies circular design principles, collaborating with suppliers to design products for their entire life cycle, promoting reuse, recycling, and recirculation. The company implements numerous waste reduction initiatives, including a reverse logistics program, a 'Product for a Purpose' donation program, plastic film recycling, pallet grinders, Styrofoam densifiers, and significant logistics optimizations such as a 75% truck fill rate and filling 50,000 return trucks. Hazardous waste is managed through internal protocols and active efforts to prevent materials from becoming waste via recycling, donations, and reuse. Lowe's has set clear waste reduction targets for private brand packaging: 100% will be recyclable, reusable, or compostable by 2030, and 100% will feature the How2Recycle label by 2025. Supplier waste requirements include a packaging data tool, a sustainable packaging reference guide, and 96% of strategic suppliers having sustainability goals. Customer education efforts are robust, with How2Recycle labels, communication on plastic pot recycling, reusable bag tips, and a dedicated sustainable home website.