Tractor Supply cuts DEI
Tractor Supply Company announced it will eliminate its Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) roles, withdraw its carbon emission goals and stop submitting data to the Human Rights Campaign.
The announcement, which included other key points (see statement below), came after the company received complaints — including calls for boycotts—in an X thread that begins: “It’s time to expose Tractor Supply.”
The post has generated 2.8 million views and generated 2.2 thousand comments, most of them critical to what is described in the post as a "woke" agenda.
Among the evidence presented by the X post of a woke culture running rampant at Tractor Supply was a photo of CEO Hal Lawton receiving a Covid-19 vaccination. Also, a comment on the company’s web site which embraced a commitment to “providing a diverse, equitable and inclusive culture where we foster different perspectives, ideas and innovative thinking.” The post criticized rainbow flags seen in a warehouse.
Typical of the comments was the following:
Other comments were more subdued:
Threats of boycotting the company came in droves, despite decades of Tractor Supply support for local communities and ag-related causes, including recent examples of raising more than $1 million for Future Farmers of America, and raising over $1.3 million for 4-H youth nationwide.
The company’s full statement describing its new approach to DEI and cause marketing, shared on June 27, is here:
For more than 85 years, Tractor Supply has been focused on one thing…serving Life Out Here. Every day our 50,000 Team Members take care of our customers like family. We deeply value our relationship with our customers and the communities we call home.
We are passionate about being good neighbors in our hometowns because without you, we would not be what we are. It is imperative to us that our customers’ hard-earned dollars are taking care of our Team Members and the communities we all love. As you supported us, we have invested millions of dollars in veteran causes, emergency response, animal shelters, state fairs, rodeos and farmers markets. We have also invested in the future of rural America. We are the largest supporter of FFA and have longstanding relationships with 4-H and other educational organizations.
We work hard to live up to our Mission and Values every day and represent the values of the communities and customers we serve. We have heard from customers that we have disappointed them. We have taken this feedback to heart.
Going forward, we will ensure our activities and giving tie directly to our business. For instance, this means we will:
- No longer submit data to the Human Rights Campaign
- Refocus our Team Member Engagement Groups on mentoring, networking and supporting the business
- Further focus on rural America priorities including ag education, animal welfare, veteran causes and being a good neighbor and stop sponsoring nonbusiness activities like pride festivals and voting campaigns
- Eliminate DEI roles and retire our current DEI goals while still ensuring a respectful environment
- Withdraw our carbon emission goals and focus on our land and water conservation efforts
We will continue to listen to our customers and Team Members. Your trust and confidence in us are of the utmost importance, and we don’t take that lightly.
As we look forward to celebrating our nation’s independence, we also celebrate our more than 50,000 team members across 2,250 stores. Rural communities are the backbone of our nation and what make America great. We are honored to be a part of them.
We are always here and ready to serve you and your family with our legendary service for the life you love. See you in the stores.
In April, Tractor Supply published its fifth annual Stewardship Tear Sheet, which included performance highlights and progress made through 2023 on its sustainability priorities.
The company announced a commitment to set a science-based target to reduce carbon emissions, in line with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). It also said it made significant progress toward its ambitious three-year water conservation goal to conserve 25 million gallons of water by 2025.
In the last two years, Tractor Supply has planted approximately 68,000 trees, restored over 470 acres of riverbank landscape and conserved more than 10 million gallons of water through partnerships with Ducks Unlimited and Trout Unlimited.
A link to the company's Stewardship page has been rerouted to an image of a Tractor Supply store front.
Back in 2021, the company announced goals designed to drive social impact. The plan was to achieve the following goals:
- Double the number of stores where Team Members mirror the communities it serves;
- Increase People of Color at the manager level and above by 50%;
- Increase spending with diverse suppliers by 35%; and
- Increase commitment to funding programs and education for Black and African Americans by 30%.
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