Lowe's sustainability score: 32/100
Making progress starts at 46. The highest score on SINK is 71.
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Lowe's sells home improvement products, from appliances, flooring, paint and kitchens to building materials, lumber, tools and garden goods, in stores and online, and offers installation services and tool rental. At 30 January 2026 it had 1,759 home improvement stores and outlets in the United States and over 540 branch locations in the United States and Canada.
More about Lowe's
Lowe's Companies, Inc. was incorporated in North Carolina in 1952; its roots go back to 1921, when its first hardware store opened in North Wilkesboro. It had about 167,000 full-time and 109,000 part-time associates at 30 January 2026 and $86.3 billion net sales in fiscal 2025.
Founded 1952Head office Mooresville, United StatesStaff ~167,000 full-time and ~109,000 part-time associates (30 January 2026)Revenue ~US$86.3B net sales (US$86,286M, fiscal 2025 to 30 January 2026)Website ↗
Lowe's footprint was 129,315,000 tCO2e in 2025, the sum of its printed Scope 1, market-based Scope 2 and Scope 3 lines, down from 133,389,000 t in 2024. Most of it is the electricity and fuel its products use once sold (91,492,000 t), and that fall rests on modelled data. Scope 1 rose to 413,000 t from 388,000 t. Its 31% renewable figure counts 372,787 certificates; it also takes power from the 150 MW Harquahala solar project under a 15-year agreement. Its targets are absolute but self-set, with no SBTi validation. Landfilled waste rose from 433,000 t to 506,000 t. It paid EPA penalties over hazardous-waste breaches in 2022 and 2023.
Lowe's scores 32/100 (Below expectations) on SINK's independent climate assessment, scored from public data only. Scores are free. Nobody can pay to change a score, speed it up or hide it. Last verified November 2026.
That places Lowe's joint 728th of 1,118 companies scored, and joint 44th of 67 in Retail (non-fashion).
What is Lowe's doing well, and where does it fall short?
Strongest on Carbon Footprint: Operations and Carbon Footprint: Supply Chain (8/10, 7/10). Weakest on Energy Source and Nature & Biodiversity Impact (4/10, 4/10).
Where Lowe's lost points
For each question that lost points, the evidence our public rubric looks for that we didn't find.
What would raise this score
- How clean its energy isShow at least half its energy is renewable, with a transition plan.
- Its effect on natureMeasure its effect on nature and have it independently verified.
- How it uses materials and handles wasteReport measurable waste or recycling targets publicly.
Every question that lost points
- Emissions from its own operations8/10No verified figures published with their method and a falling trend.
- Emissions from its supply chain7/10No full value-chain map or supplier engagement programme.
- Whether its emissions are falling6/10No consistent fall over several years across its operations and supply chain.
- How clean its energy is4/10Less than half its energy shown to be renewable, or no transition plan.
- Its effect on nature4/10Its effect on nature isn't measured or independently verified.
- How it uses materials and handles waste4/10No measurable waste or recycling targets reported publicly.
- Its effect on water5/10No measured water footprint with reduction targets.
- Its climate targets5/10Its targets aren't science-based or committed to the Science Based Targets initiative.
- How openly it reports7/10No annual impact report, or no pay linked to climate targets.
- Its record on controversies6/10Points deducted for controversies or its business model. The finding is under question 10.
A score changes when the evidence does. We use new published evidence at the next rescore. Anyone can send us new evidence, free. How to send it.
How is Lowe's's SINK score calculated?
Same ten questions for every company. No private weighting.
SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × ScaleWhat evidence is Lowe's's score based on?
9 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which of the ten questions it informed.
33% of them were published by Lowe's itself; the rest come from independent sources.
“Direct (scope 1) GHG emissions (thousands of metric tons COe)2 413 388 413”
“Lowe’s is a member of the Clean Energy Buyers Association”
“*Targets are not validated by Science Based Target initiatives (SBTi)”
“Reduce absolute scope 1 and 2 emissions by 42% from 2021 levels”
“A civil penalty of $141,729.75 is assessed.”
“$6,250 for the RCRA violations identified in this Agreement.”
“Emerson Electric and Lowe’s scored Ds but each owned more than 2,000 web pages with net zero terms.”
“it has not disclosed its total plastic packaging footprint or set a goal for overall reduction of plastic packaging”
“Lowe’s latest forestry sourcing update lacks the ambition and specificity needed to protect forests and promote human rights.”
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How does Lowe's compare with other retail (non-fashion) companies?
Where Lowe's sits among retail (non-fashion) peers.
Among the 67 major retail (non-fashion) brands we've scored, Lowe's is tied =44th of 67, with 3 others.
Who scores higher in Retail (non-fashion)?
The 3 companies in the sector scoring nearest above Lowe's.
Boots says its footprint was 1.14 million tCO2e in 2025 across Boots UK, Ireland, Opticians and No7, down from 1.22 million t in 2022, and that this includes the products it buys and sells; it publishes no breakdown, so SINK treats its supply-chain figure as partial and the size deduction (0.70x) applies.
See the breakdown →Superdrug reports Scope 1 and 2 under the GHG Protocol in its filed accounts, but its Scope 3 covers only logistics and business travel; purchased goods, the dominant footprint for a £1.7bn health and beauty retailer, are not quantified, so the Scope 3 completeness cap applies.
See the breakdown →Ahold Delhaize's footprint was 62.84 million tCO2e in 2025, down from a restated 64.00 million t in 2024, and 60.40 million t of it is in its supply chain, mostly the food and other goods it buys.
See the breakdown →Which companies moved this week, and why.
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