How Lowe’s is delivering on its sustainability commitments

Jun 21, 2022

Today, Lowe’s is releasing its 2021 Corporate Responsibility report where you can explore details about the company’s goals and progress in three key areas: community and people, product sustainability and operational excellence.

Vice president of Corporate Sustainability, Chris Cassell, dives deeper into some highlights of this year’s report, why Lowe’s is so focused on enhancing its commitment to sustainability and what you can expect from Lowe’s in the next year. 

Q: What are some of the coolest things Lowe’s is working on in the corporate sustainability space?

A: There are a few things I’m really excited about. One is our focus on what the future of housing looks like from a sustainability perspective and how Lowe’s can contribute to helping homeowners transition their homes to a low-carbon, more sustainable future. Another exciting thing is the work our private brands team is doing around sustainability. They’re developing a program to improve the sustainability of both the products and packaging for our private brands like Origin 21. Finally, I’m proud to say we’re leaning into the success of our 100 Hometowns campaign last year and launching Lowe’s Hometowns, a five-year, $100 million commitment to the communities we serve.

Q:  How is Lowe’s working to reduce its carbon footprint?

A: Our first area of focus has been reducing energy consumption at our facilities while reducing greenhouse gas emissions at the same time. We’ve deployed LED lighting and high efficiency HVAC units at our stores and distribution centers to improve the energy efficiency of these buildings. We are also leveraging new building management system technologies to help automate heating, cooling and lighting to try to cut down additional energy consumption where it’s not needed. Energy efficiency efforts alone, however, won’t get us where we need to be.  The other half of the equation is looking at renewable energy.  As you know, we've been working to negotiate renewable power purchase agreements, like our wind farm in Texas, which help offset the emissions from our remaining energy usage. Another example of this is our announcement that we have partnered with a solar developer to build the largest solar farm in the state of Illinois in the next couple of years.  And this is just the beginning of our journey – we will be exploring more renewable energy options as we pursue our goal of 50 percent renewable energy by 2025 and a 60 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

Q: What is a Science Based Net-Zero Target and why is Lowe’s setting one?

A: There are lots of confusing terms in the sustainability world and this is definitely one of them. The Science Based Target Initiative, or SBTi, was put into place so when companies like Lowe's or other large companies make a commitment to reduce their climate impacts, they're using the same kind of methodology and same measurements. In a nutshell, setting a net-zero target means we are committed to eliminating or offsetting all of our greenhouse gas emissions, not just for the Lowe’s-owned footprint, but for all aspects of our value chain. This includes emissions related to the manufacturing of our products, the transportation of those products, and emissions related to our customers using those products at home.  And all of this needs to happen over the next 30 years. It is a very aggressive target, but we feel like the time has come where everybody really needs to step up and take action towards addressing the climate issues our planet faces today.

Q: Why should people care about what Lowe's is doing in the corporate sustainability space?

A: In the past, many companies focused their time and energy on making the most profit they could. But over time society has realized if you're making a profit at the expense of people, communities and the planet, then you're not going to be successful over the long run. I like to believe my success is leaving the world in a better place than it was when I got here, and I'd like to think that all of us working at Lowe's feel the same way. This is our way of doing that. So, I think our focus on sustainability gives our associates a better sense of purpose about the work they’re doing and makes them feel better about the company they’re working for. I also think it gives us all confidence knowing the company is making the investments and doing the work it needs to do to make sure Lowe's as a company is sustainable over time. If we do that, we’ll continue to thrive and be able to provide great products and services to our customers.

Q: Where do you see Lowe’s having the most impact in the sustainability space over the next year?

A: Our biggest impact overall as a retailer is the products we sell. This year, we’ll look at our product portfolio and ask ourselves, “What types of changes should we make to improve the sustainability performance of our products?”. There are many ways to do this, from improving energy efficiency to including more recycled content, and making products that last longer.  We’re in the process of rolling out new sustainable-buying guidelines across our product divisions to help educate merchants and suppliers on how we can make our product portfolio greener and more sustainable over time. We're also going to be developing a sustainability landing page on lowes.com that will point customers to buying guides, how-to videos, links to rebate centers and sources of information they can use to learn how to transform their home and make better buying decisions. I’m excited about all of the work we have ahead of us, and I have to tell you that we are going to need everyone’s help to be successful.  

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