Top 5 North American retailers operate remarkable CSR programs

The leading retailers in North America also tend to be amongst those with the leading corporate social responsibility programs. Whether it be via the donations of goods and services, foundations to assist in education and housing or community based funding programs each of the largest retailers in North America take a very active role in giving back and being socially responsible.

While lack of space precludes me from touching on each and every program that the most popular retailers operate I wanted to provide a quick overview of the work that they are doing, some links to learn more and some statistics (where available) that will probably astound you. The top five retailers are names you’ll all know and collectively operate from over 13,000 locations throughout North America.

1. Walmart: The Arkansas based chain operates from some 4,779 locations and is the biggest company and biggest employer in the United States. Boasting a very active employee volunteer program the company focuses on a series of grants that are community-centric in the areas that they operate in. According to their 2013 data the Walmart Foundation gave some $1.3 billion in cash and in-kind contributions globally, more than 82% of all Walmart business is in the United States and Canada. For 2013 in-kind donations accounted for $1 billion, while $316.3 million was given in cash globally. Learn more about the Walmart Foundation.

2. Kroger: The Ohio based company is the largest grocery chain in the world and the 2nd biggest retailer in the United States. The Kroger Foundation places an emphasis on local grants for organizations that are recommended at the store level. Organizations they assist include food banks, community health programs and educational foundations. I was unable to locate annual data but this report from the Kroger Foundation reports donations of $37 million over the last five years. Very appropriate for a supermarket chain a large ratio of this support has been aimed towards providing hunger relief.

3. Costco: The Washington based warehouse store has moved up to third place although operating from a comparatively few 447 locations. With a huge emphasis on employee giving Costco maintains a workplace that focuses on supporting organizations that benefit children, education and health, and human services. On the employee front Costco employees raised over $17 million in the US & Canada alone in 2013. Learn more here.

4. Target: The huge Minneapolis based chain slipped from 3rd to 4th in ranking but still command a huge part of the retailing pie from almost 1,800 locations. Now rapidly growing in Canada the Target Corporation has a clearly defined CSR program that is in complete tandem with giving back to the exact communities where the company has locations. For many years now the company has given a strict 5% of all profits to the community causes that they support amounting to more than $200 million per year. Learn more about Target’s corporate responsibility program here.

5. Home Depot: I get lost quickly in these stores and would much prefer looking at books or getting lost in a record shop. However Home Depot are a huge company now with just under 2,000 locations in the US, Canada and Mexico. Via the Home Depot Foundation the company reports that they have invested over $380 million in local communities since 2002. At present they are managing a very specific CSR strategy in aiding military veterans to ensure that they have a home, the company has assigned $80 million over a 5-year period to aid in the construction or rehab of over 6,000 housing units. Learn more at the Home Depot Foundation.

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