Home Depot looks to reach 100 percent renewable energy
The Home Depot reported that it reduced Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by more than 127,000 metric tons in 2020, a 22% reduction in carbon intensity, while at the same time growing the business by nearly 20%.
Now the world’s largest home improvement retailer announced a goal to reach 100% renewable electricity for its facilities by 2030, extending its efforts to improve the environment through cleaner energy.
The Home Depot has also joined the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) to reduce global emissions, committing to set goals for Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions by 2023.
The updates and goals are part of the company’s 2021 ESG Report outlining the company’s environmental, social and governance initiatives and progress made in 2020.
“Our commitment to reducing our impact on the planet, taking care of our people, and building strong, sustainable communities is foundational to who we are,” said Craig Menear, chairman and CEO of The Home Depot. “More than 40 years ago, our founders gave us eight core values that continue to guide our business today. The progress we made in 2020 demonstrates the commitment of our associates and suppliers to these values, as they prioritized taking care of our associates, customers and communities, as well as the environment, while navigating a year unlike any other.”
The Home Depot said that its corporate responsibility strategy is organized around three pillars: focusing on its people, operating sustainably and strengthening communities.
In 2020, its U.S. hires were 35% female and 53% ethnically and racially diverse. The company was recently recognized as one of Forbes’ Best Employers for Diversity.
The company enhanced its 20-year diversity and inclusion initiative, elevating the Chief Diversity Officer role, growing its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) program and setting a goal to expand associate resource groups.
In fiscal 2020, the company also paid approximately $2 billion in enhanced pay and benefits to front-line, hourly associates in response to COVID-19. It also paid $616 million in record success-sharing bonus payments to non-management associates.
As part of its existing pledge to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 40% by 2030 and 50% by 2035. It accomplished this by driving efficiencies and investing in green energy.
The Home Depot reduced U.S. store electricity consumption by 44% from 2010 to 2020. In 2020, electricity use in U.S. stores fell more than 14% due to the installation of LED lighting, the use of building automation systems and the addition of energy-efficient heating, air conditioning, and ventilation systems.
The company also continues to make progress toward its goal to remove expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) film from private-brand packaging by 2023, replacing these products with innovative recyclable materials.
Throughout 2020, The Home Depot continued to prioritize taking care of the communities where it operates. It contributed more than $50 million in funds and supplies to support communities impacted by COVID-19, including nearly 3.4 million N95 masks to help front-line healthcare workers nationwide.
The company has crossed a milestone of investing more than $35 million since 2017 in organizations working to improve social equity and announced a commitment to double its investment in the Retool Your School program benefiting historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) to a million dollars annually.
In 2020, The Home Depot spent $3.2 billion with diverse suppliers and announced it is creating a program to encourage suppliers to increase their business with diverse suppliers, expanding the company’s downstream impact with diverse organizations nationwide.
Additionally, The Home Depot Foundation continues its work to serve veterans, train tradespeople and respond to communities impacted by natural disasters. In fiscal 2020, the foundation reached the $350 million mark on the way to its pledge of half a billion dollars to veteran causes by 2025.
As part of its commitment to train 20,000 tradesmen and women by 2028 and invest $50 million to fill the skilled labor gap, the foundation has trained 15,000 tradesmen and women and certified 5,000 since 2018.
In 2020, it also committed $4 million to communities impacted by natural disasters.
The Home Depot’s full 2021 ESG Report is available here.