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Tractor Supply warned that climate change and lack of diversity would hurt its business. Now it’s ignoring those risks
CNN New York —
In February, Tractor Supply Co., known for selling animal feed, pet food and lawn and garden equipment to hobby farmers, told investors that climate change was a significant threat to its business.
Any delay or failure to meet its targets of reducing emissions by 50% within six years and reaching net-zero emissions by 2040 could harm the “public perception of our business, employee morale, customer or shareholder support” and its financial performance, the company said. he said in its annual report.
Tractor Supply also warned it could suffer similar business consequences if it failed to deliver on its five-year diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) plan to increase spending by 35% with diverse suppliers and boost the representation of people of color at management levels and above in the company by 50%.
Hal Lawton, the chief executive of the Brentwood, Tennessee-based company, said the moves “make a lot of business sense for Tractor Supply.”
But Tractor Supply has decided that all those risks are now worth ignoring.
The company announced last month that it will withdraw its carbon reduction targets and eliminate jobs and goals focused on diversity, equity and inclusion. It will also stop sponsoring LGBTQ+ Pride festivals and voting campaigns, as well as sending data to the Human Rights Campaign, one of the largest LGBTQ+ nonprofit advocacy groups in the United States.
By backing away from diversity and climate goals, Tractor Supply has become the latest corporate giant to back downt of progressive initiatives it once championed, joining Bud Light, Target and others. While the company’s changes have appeased some customers, they have damaged its reputation with other customers and employees and could pose the kind of risks the brand recently warned about.
Tractor Supply is “trying to thread the needle,” said Nooshin Warren, a marketing professor at the University of Arizona who studies corporate activism and corporate political culture. “They’re trying to keep both sides happy, which usually never happens.”
Steve Helber/AP
John Boyd, head of the National Black Farmers Association, called on Tractor Supply CEO Hal Lawton to resign.
Tractor Supply, she noted, has become a more diverse company in recent years, and the company’s decision could alienate employees. Racial and ethnic minorities make up 18 percent of its approximately 50,000 employees and 33 percent of its board of directors, and it has received strong ratings from the Human Rights Campaign for LGBTQ+-inclusive policies.
Tractor Supply’s reversal came after Robby Starbuck, who launched an unsuccessful 2022 bid for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District and now hosts a podcast, waged a weeks-long campaign on X urging customers to boycott Tractor Supply and contact its corporate leadership about the company’s LGBTQ+ hiring and DEI initiatives.
“It’s time to expose Tractor Supply,” he first posted June 6, calling attention to corporate components like “LGBTQIA+ events at work” and “a DEI council.”
Another conservative political candidates, activists and customers began criticizing the company on social media and said they would stop buying from the network.
“We have heard from customers that we have let them down,” Tractor Supply said. “We take that feedback seriously.”
“Going forward,” Tractor Supply said, “we will ensure that our activities and giving are directly tied to our business.” The company said that while it is ending DEI goals and carbon emissions targets, it will still ensure a “respectful environment” and focus on land and water conservation efforts.
But Tractor Supply’s reversal has already caused outrage.
The National Black Farmers Association, a nonprofit advocacy group representing 130,000 Black farmers and their families, called for Lawton to resign and said the company has “little respect for (Black) farmers.”
“They’re sending the wrong signal to America at the wrong time in history,” John Boyd, the organization’s president, told CNN. “America is not just white men. It’s made up of a lot of different people. They have a lot of people they’re offending.”
Boyd, a fourth-generation farmer who is a Tractor Supply shareholder and customer and frequently buys feed, mineral blocks and fencing from the chain, said many Black farmers depend on Tractor Supply for their supplies. He feels the company has “caved into hard right-wing nonsense” and plans to stop buying from the chain.
A gay tractor supply store manager in upstate New York has resigned and told the city newspaper that the company “betrayed” employees and customers.
Tractor Supply declined to comment on these statements.
Tractor Supply has a broad customer base.
The company has more than 2,400 stores in 49 states and targets recreational farmers, ranchers, pet and animal owners who live primarily in cities outside major metropolitan areas and in rural communities.
Rural areas tend to be more politically conservative than urban areas. In 2020, Republican candidate Donald Trump won 65% of rural voters, according to Bank. But suburban areas are more divided politically — in 2020, Democratic candidate Joe Biden won 54% of suburban voters.
Tractor Supply’s customer base has historically been primarily older men, who lean Republican, but Tractor Supply has increasingly tried to appeal to millennials and women, who tend to favor Democrats. Since the pandemic, the company has gained ground among younger consumers who moved from cities.
“Customer demographic trends continue to be younger and more female than they were before the pandemic,” Lawton said last year.
Tractor Supply’s reversal could hurt it with these customers, who could be crucial as the company’s historic base ages and exits the market.
“Tractor Supply Co. is turning its back on its own neighbors with this shortsighted decision,” Eric Bloem, vice president of corporate advocacy and programs at the Human Rights Campaign, told CNN in a statement Saturday. “LGBTQ+ people live in every zip code in this country, including rural communities. We are shoppers, farmers, veterans, and agriculture students.”
Squirrelwood Equine Sanctuary, a New York animal sanctuary that says it spends more than $65,000 annually at Tractor Supply, said it plans to stop buying from the chain.
“We never asked for a pride flag out front. We expect respect and inclusion. You have lost our business and any semblance of respect we might have had,” the nonprofit said. he said in X.
Particularly after the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer in May 2020, companies have implemented policies aimed at diversifying their workforces and welcoming customers of all backgrounds.
But Tractor Supply’s reversal is part of a larger corporate retreat on DEI programs and environmental goals.
Many of these efforts are now under attack from right-wing activists, entrepreneurs like Bill Ackman and Elon Musk, among others.
The backlash also comes amid a wave of legislation in Republican-led states to restrict LGBTQ rights and cut DEI programs at colleges and universities, along with lawsuits to block 401(k) plan managers from considering climate change and other environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors when selecting investments.
Right-wing groups have threatened boycotts against brands like Bud Light, Disney and Nike to reverse their inclusion efforts. They’ve even gone after Chick-fil-A for its diversity programs and Cracker Barrel for selling vegetable sausagesbrands traditionally seen as conservative.
Jeff Chiu/AP
Right-wing activists have attacked Bud Light following its partnership with a transgender influencer.
Last year, Bud Light’s partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney sparked an anti-trans backlash and a months-long boycott of the beer brand, during which the company failed to take a firm stance in support of Mulvaney and the transgender community. boycott and subsequent lukewarm responseParent company Anheuser-Busch InBev lost up to $1.4 billion in sales, as well as its credibility with a major LGBTQ+ nonprofit.
Last month, retailer Target said it would limit how many stores would bring its Pride-themed collection to adults after a boycott by right-wing activists last summer led to a sharp drop in sales.
Many companies are “pulling back,” said Nooshin Warren of the University of Arizona. “It seems like pulling back is now the trend.”
CNN’s Eva Rothenberg contributed to this article.