MOORESVILLE, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Lowe’s today announced the release of its annual Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Report, providing a comprehensive review of Lowe’s corporate citizenship activities during the past fiscal year. The report can be viewed on the company's CSR website at Lowes.com/SocialResponsibility.
This year’s report is titled “Better. Together.” It highlights the programs, partnerships and people advancing Lowe’s commitment to build a world-class workplace, strengthen communities and provide environmental leadership.
“Helping to enhance the quality of life for our neighbors has defined Lowe’s culture for more than 60 years,” said Robert A. Niblock, Lowe’s chairman and CEO. “This report documents our ongoing efforts to remain a respected corporate citizen. With the dedication of more than 234,000 employees, we look forward to continuing to work together to create a sustainable future for our communities and our company.”
The multimedia report is divided into three major sections – Workplace, Community and Environment. Each section details Lowe’s progress in important areas ranging from diversity and inclusion to energy management. In-depth stories, videos, photo galleries and an interactive map allow visitors to explore how Lowe’s is meeting the needs of its customers, communities and employees across North America. Here are a few highlights:
Workplace
- Lowe’s launched a pair of precedent-setting benefits: a partnership with the Cleveland Clinic to offer heart surgery at no cost to eligible full-time employees; and a national bus tour to provide free health screenings to more than 70,000 Lowe’s employees. The report profiles a Turnersville, N.J., employee who credits a screening with saving his life.
- Lowe's Employee Relief Fund distributed more than $2 million and assisted nearly 2,000 Lowe's employees and family members who suffered a significant financial hardship, including helping to reunite a manager in South Lexington, Ky., with his family in Haiti after a devastating earthquake left them homeless.
- The company expanded its Lowe’s Heroes employee volunteer program to new stores in Mexico. Companywide, Lowe's Heroes participated in more than 1,300 improvement projects and Lowe's contributed more than $1.3 million in materials.
Community
- Lowe’s joined with Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation to support more than 3,100 community and education projects in the United States, Canada and Mexico through grants totaling more than $30 million. Lowe's Toolbox for Education® awarded more than $4.2 million to nearly 1,000 schools in all 50 states.
- Lowe's expanded its efforts to revitalize neighborhoods and provide safe and affordable housing. Through participation in Habitat for Humanity’s Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project and a national home weatherization initiative with Rebuilding Together, hundreds of Lowe's Heroes helped build and repair homes in 14 U.S. cities.
- Lowe’s provided vital assistance in the aftermath of several disasters, ranging from a tornado in Ohio to floods in Tennessee and Mexico. Lowe’s and its customers donated more than $1.6 million to the American Red Cross earthquake relief efforts in Haiti and Lowe’s Heroes helped Nashville homeowners rebuild after historic floods.
Environment
- Lowe’s success promoting energy and water conservation brought unprecedented honors from the Environmental Protection Agency. Lowe's was named the first winner of the ENERGY STAR® Sustained Excellence Award in Retail and became the first retailer to win the WaterSense® Retail Partner of the Year Award in consecutive years.
- Lowe’s opened stores in San Francisco, Calif., and Quincy, Mass., with rooftop energy-generation systems that use solar power, bringing Lowe’s total solar locations to seven. To help advance the use of renewable energy, Lowe’s also partnered with Appalachian State University to support its entry in the Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon.
- Lowe’s stores and distribution centers recycled nearly 1 billion pounds of wood pallets and cardboard. In addition to expanding appliance and Garden Center recycling programs, Lowe’s installed recycling centers in more than 1,700 stores to provide an easy way for customers to recycle rechargeable batteries, cell phones, CFLs and plastic bags.
To learn more about these stories and Lowe’s latest social responsibility activities, visit Lowes.com/SocialResponsibility.
About Lowe’s
With fiscal year 2010 sales of $48.8 billion, Lowe’s Companies, Inc. is a FORTUNE® 50 company that serves approximately 15 million customers a week at more than 1,750 home improvement stores in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Founded in 1946 and based in Mooresville, N.C., Lowe’s is the second-largest home improvement retailer in the world. For more information, visit Lowes.com.
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=6735830&lang=en