Lowe's 2013 Annual Report Download - page 14

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recently opened RDC in Rome, Ga., the distribution center was designed to use high-efficiency, light-emitting diode (LED)
fixtures for outdoor security lighting.
We strive to deliver products to our stores in a fuel-efficient and an environmentally responsible manner through participation
in the SmartWay® Transport Partnership, an innovative program launched by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
in 2004 that promotes cleaner, more fuel-efficient transportation options. Lowe’s received a 2013 SmartWay Excellence Award
from the EPA, our fifth consecutive SmartWay honor, for initiatives that resulted in reduced emissions, greater fuel efficiency
and less overall highway congestion. We have also increased shipping of products by rail and increased the efficiency of
truckload shipments from and to our RDCs.
We continue to take steps to improve our recycling programs and reduce the amount of waste we generate. Through these
efforts, we are able to reduce our disposal costs and minimize the impact on the environment of the operation of our stores and
other facilities. We also offer convenient recycling for our customers at many of our stores for items such as rechargeable
batteries and compact fluorescent light bulbs.
Additionally, we continue to focus on helping consumers reduce their energy and water use and their environmental footprint
while saving money when they purchase our products and services. We offer a wide selection of environmentally responsible
and energy-efficient products for the home, including ENERGY STAR® appliances, WaterSense® labeled toilets, paint with no
volatile organic compounds (VOC), and indoor and outdoor LED lighting. Through our in-home sales specialists, we offer
customers installation of insulation and energy efficient windows.
The EPA honored our long standing-leadership as a retailer of energy-efficient products by awarding Lowe's our fourth
consecutive ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award (2010-2013). Lowe’s has received 11 consecutive ENERGY STAR
awards (2003-2013), including four ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year awards for educating consumers about the benefits of
energy efficiency. In 2013, the EPA WaterSense program also honored Lowe’s long-standing efforts with its first-ever
Sustained Excellence Award. The honor represents our fifth consecutive award for employee training, consumer education and
national efforts to promote water conservation.
We annually track our carbon footprint and participate in the Carbon Disclosure Project, an independent nonprofit organization
hosting the largest database of primary corporate climate change information in the world. To further reduce our footprint, we
incorporate energy-efficient technologies and architectural systems into new stores and retrofits of existing stores, such as
energy-efficient lighting, white membrane cool roofs and HVAC units that meet or exceed ENERGY STAR qualifications. We
also participate in demand response programs where we voluntarily reduce our lighting and HVAC loads during peak demand
periods to support electric grid reliability.
For more information on Lowe’s environmental leadership efforts, please visit Lowes.com/SocialResponsibility.
Compliance with Environmental Matters
Our operations are subject to numerous federal, state and local laws and regulations that have been enacted or adopted
regulating the discharge of materials into the environment, or otherwise relating to the protection of the environment. These
laws and regulations may increase our costs of doing business in a variety of ways, including indirectly through increased
energy costs, as utilities, refineries, and other major emitters of greenhouse gases are subjected to additional regulation or
legislation that seeks to better control greenhouse gas emissions. We do not anticipate any material capital expenditures during
fiscal 2014 for environmental control facilities or other costs of compliance with such laws or regulations.
Reaching Out / Our Community
Lowe’s has a long and proud history of supporting local communities through public education and community improvement
projects, beginning with the creation of the Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation in 1957. In 2013, Lowe’s and the
Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation contributed nearly $25 million to schools and community organizations in the
United States, Canada and Mexico.
Our commitment to improving educational opportunities is best exemplified by our signature education grant program, Lowe’s
Toolbox for Education®. The program has benefited more than five million schoolchildren since 2006, funding improvements
at 940 schools in 49 states in 2013.
For more than a decade, we’ve been working with national nonprofit partners to strengthen and stabilize neighborhoods in the
communities we serve. In 2013, Lowe’s contributed more than $6 million and teamed with Habitat for Humanity and