MOORESVILLE, N.C. – Lowe’s announced the release of its 2012 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, titled “Improving the Places We Call Home,” spotlights the work completed across the company to improve Lowe’s workplaces, communities and the environment.

“To achieve greater progress for our communities and our company, we continue to build on our commitment to never stop improving,” said Robert Niblock, Lowe’s chairman, president and CEO. “We’re focused on carrying out those responsibilities every day with the help of our 245,000 employees across North America.”

Lowe’s CSR website details the company’s progress in important focus areas, including the health and welfare of its workforce, support for public education and community improvement, disaster relief and environmental stewardship. The site also provides an expanded interactive map to allow visitors to explore how Lowe’s is meeting the needs of local communities.

Highlights from the annual report include:

Workplace

•Lowe’s added three new mobile health-screening units to its fleet to bring free health screenings and provide important health advice to employees at every U.S. location.

•To foster leadership opportunities, Lowe’s brought together women from across the company for its Women’s Leadership Summit. Lowe’s also was recognized nationally for its efforts to recruit, train and support America’s veterans and people with disabilities.

•The Lowe’s Employee Relief Fund distributed $2.4 million, the largest amount in the history of the fund. Those dollars helped more than 2,100 Lowe’s employees who suffered a significant hardship – an average of 42 employees each week.

Disaster Relief

•Lowe’s Heroes employee volunteers went door-to-door in communities to deliver critically needed supplies and support after tornadoes, Tropical Storm Debby, two major hurricanes – Isaac and Sandy – and wildfires.

•Lowe’s committed $3 million and partnered with the American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity®, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Rebuilding Together® and the First Response Team of America to provide immediate and long-term disaster assistance.

•In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, 35 Lowe’s stores in New York and New Jersey handed out free family-style Thanksgiving dinners to feed more than 136,000 people.

Education

•Lowe’s joined with the Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation to support more than 8,000 community and education projects across North America.

•Lowe’s Toolbox for Education®, the company’s signature education grant program, provided nearly $5 million to fund improvements at more than 1,100 schools in 49 states.

•Lowe’s also broadened its support of scholarships. In addition to continuing contributions to the United Negro College Fund, Thurgood Marshall College Fund and Hispanic Scholarship Fund, Lowe’s partnered with the American Indian College Fund to provide scholarships for American Indian students.

Environment

•The company’s success promoting energy and water conservation brought repeat honors from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Lowe’s won its third consecutive ENERGY STAR® Sustained Excellence Award and became the first retailer to win four consecutive WaterSense® awards. The EPA also honored Lowe’s with its fourth consecutive SmartWay® award for leading transportation initiatives.

•Lowe’s increased its recycling and reuse rates and continued to make recycling easier for customers. The company expanded its plastic plant tray and pot recycling program to Canada and launched a new distribution center program to improve the consolidation and recycling of wood pallets, cardboard and other material. Lowe’s recycled more than 400,000 tons of cardboard and pallets, the equivalent weight of 10 aircraft carriers.

•Lowe’s also strengthened its partnership with Keep America Beautiful to improve local communities across the country by reducing waste, increasing recycling and enhancing community spaces. Volunteers donated more than 100,000 hours of service to their local communities through Lowe’s-supported projects.

To learn more about these efforts and Lowe’s latest social responsibility activities, visit Lowes.com/SocialResponsibility.

Source: Lowe’s