Tractor Supply is ending DEI and climate efforts after conservative backlash online

Climate, Cop26, Climate Change

Tractor Supply is ending DEI and climate efforts after conservative backlash online

Tractor Supply says it is ending an array of corporate diversity and climate efforts

ByWYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS Associated Press and HALELUYA HADERO Associated Press

June 28, 2024, 2:46 PM

    NEW YORK -- Tractor Supply is ending an array of corporate diversity and climate efforts, a move coming after weeks of online conservative backlash against the rural retailer.

    Tractor Supply said it would be eliminating all of its diversity, equity and inclusion roles while retiring current DEI goals. It did not elaborate on what was entailed in eliminating DEI roles.

    The company added that it would “stop sponsoring nonbusiness activities” such as Pride festivals or voting campaigns — and no longer submit data to the Human Rights Campaign, the largest advocacy group for LGBTQ+ rights in the U.S.

    The Brentwood, Tennessee-based retailer, which sells products ranging from farming equipment to pet supplies, also said in a statement Thursday that it would withdraw from its carbon emission goals to instead “focus on our land and water conservation efforts.”

    These changes mark a stunning shift in policy and messaging from Tractor Supply, which once touted its diversity and inclusion efforts. Just earlier this month, Tractor Supply President and CEO Hal Lawton maintained that the company remained “very consistent” in how it approaches its own DEI and ESG — environmental, social and governance — programs for a number of years.

    “(We've) just been very consistent in our emphasis there,” Lawton said in a June 5th interview with The Associated Press, pointing to company web pages that he said reinforced and reported on those efforts. “We haven’t walked away from anything.”

    Thursday's move appeared to reverse much of that — and arrives amid a wider backdrop of conservative backlash and litigation that has targeted companies across industries, as well as a wide array of diversity initiatives, including fellowships, hiring goals, anti-bias training and contract programs for minority or women-owned businesses.

    Legal attacks against companies' diversity and inclusion efforts have particularly been on the rise since June of last year, when the Supreme Court ruled to end affirmative action in college admissions. Many conservative and anti-DEI activists have been seeking to set a similar precedent in the working world.

    Beyond the courtroom, some companies and brands — from Bud Light to Target — have been hit with online campaigns calling for boycotts.

    Meanwhile, some other corporations and law firms have quietly altered their diversity programs, a stark contrast to the very public announcement on Thursday by Tractor Supply. In its statement, the company said “heard from customers that we have disappointed them” and “taken this feedback to heart.”

    “We will continue to listen to our customers and Team Members," Tractor Supply added. "Your trust and confidence in us are of the utmost importance, and we don’t take that lightly.”

    A Tractor Supply spokesperson declined to provide further comment Friday.

    This week's move arrives after the company faced ample pushback online from conservative activists and far-right accounts across social media, including from the prominent right-wing account known as Libs of TikTok.

    The backlash against Tractor Supply appeared to bubble up earlier this month. In a June 6 post on social media platform X, conservative political commentator and filmmaker Robby Starbuck told his followers to “start buying what you can from other places until Tractor Supply makes REAL changes and shows that they respect the majority of their customers enough to not spend the money we give them on causes we’re deeply opposed to.”

    Starbuck and other conservative social media users continued to criticize Tractor Supply in the following weeks — and celebrated Thursday's news from the company.

    In contrast, others have expressed disappointment with Tractor Supply's announcement — with some arguing that the company is giving in to hate and harming its customers by abandoning crucial principles. Many users on social media are also vowing to now shop elsewhere.

    Eric Bloem, vice president of programs and corporate advocacy at the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement that Tractor Supply is “turning its back on their own neighbors with this shortsighted decision.” The organization had worked with Tractor Supply to create inclusive policies and practices for years, he added.

    “LGBTQ+ people live in every zip code in this country, including rural communities. We are shoppers, farmers, veterans and agriculture students,” Bloem said. "Caving to far right extremists is only going to hurt the same folks that these businesses rely on.”

    OTHER NEWS

    23 minutes ago

    Support for Albo, Dutton plunges

    23 minutes ago

    Taylor Swift gets stuck on platform at Dublin concert as dancer forced to step in

    26 minutes ago

    Advocate calls on Alberta to opt out of $10-a-day child care plan

    27 minutes ago

    Video: Love Island fans slam Jess White for getting the 'ick' with new bombshell Trey Norman after 'chasing a balding man who played her like a fiddle on national TV'

    27 minutes ago

    Video: Louis Tomlinson and his sister Lottie delight Glastonbury fans by bringing a TV for fans to watch England's nail-biting 2-1 victory over Slovakia

    27 minutes ago

    Video: The Block winners Steph and Gian Ottavio reveal next project after record win: 'We've got this ultimate plan'

    28 minutes ago

    Manchester United 'close to reaching settlement with Newcastle to appoint Dan Ashworth as their new sporting director' with the Magpies having held out for compensation fee of around £20m

    28 minutes ago

    SPORTS AGENDA: Trent Alexander-Arnold hits back in £50,000 padel court row at his Cheshire home, Qatar fire shots at Germany... while police are left stretched in Gelsenkirchen

    28 minutes ago

    Gary Neville blasts England's 'woeful' Euro 2024 displays and claims Gareth Southgate and his side were 'very lucky' to advance to the quarter-finals after their dramatic win over Slovakia

    29 minutes ago

    Taylor Swift Gets Stuck on Platform After Stage Malfunction During Dublin Concert

    29 minutes ago

    'I Love Life, I Love Golf, It Can't Get Any Better At The Moment' - Marcel Siem Claims Thrilling Italian Open In Playoff

    29 minutes ago

    Shaq says he would love to play for Warriors in today's NBA: "I would do what these bums are doing now, and I'd be making a lot of money"

    29 minutes ago

    I’m on right side of history over trans athletes, says Martina Navratilova

    29 minutes ago

    Ferocious Hurricane Beryl nearing landfall in the Caribbean

    29 minutes ago

    Warriors waive Chris Paul; Klay Thompson likely leaving

    29 minutes ago

    SZA review, Glastonbury 2024: One of the sparsest sets in recent memory frequently leaves you breathless

    29 minutes ago

    Georgia to look back with joy when dust settles after defeat

    29 minutes ago

    Spain deserved win says coach who now has Germany in his sights

    29 minutes ago

    Ipswich sign Hutchinson from Chelsea on five-year deal

    29 minutes ago

    Anthony Albanese doubles down on decision to suspend WA Senator Fatima Payman

    29 minutes ago

    Potential Celtics free agent targets

    29 minutes ago

    Supreme Court makes prosecution of Trump on obstruction charge more difficult, with ruling to narrowly define law used against him and Jan. 6 rioters

    29 minutes ago

    2024 U.S. Senior Open postponed till Monday due to a 'dangerous weather situation'

    29 minutes ago

    Denver Nuggets pursued Paul George and a future Hall of Fame All-Star, but now may be scrambling in NBA free agency

    29 minutes ago

    Orlando Pirates to announce new specialist

    29 minutes ago

    Coco Gauff next match at Wimbledon 2024: TV schedule, scores, results for tennis grand slam

    29 minutes ago

    Cam Davis wins 2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic

    29 minutes ago

    Warriors waive Chris Paul

    29 minutes ago

    North Korea launches a ballistic missile toward sea, after end of new US-South Korea-Japan drill

    32 minutes ago

    Protests turn violent in Jerusalem as Ultra-Orthodox resist order to enlist in Israeli military

    34 minutes ago

    Turkish airport officials reject Israeli plane emergency refuel, departs to Greece

    35 minutes ago

    Reform candidate defects after becoming 'disillusioned' with the party

    35 minutes ago

    How to watch USMNT vs. Uruguay in decisive Copa America game

    35 minutes ago

    Aerovironment CEO Wahid Nawabi sits down with Jim Cramer

    35 minutes ago

    WNBA Fans Moved By Caitlin Clark and Diana Taurasi's Pregame Interaction

    35 minutes ago

    Kyle Busch Unravels the "Exact Story" That Led to His New Hampshire Disaster

    35 minutes ago

    Officials rejoice after iconic US lake system reaches peak water levels for first time in over a decade: 'Keep conserving, it's actually working'

    35 minutes ago

    Bystander captures nerve-wracking photo of tourist getting too close to adult bear for photo opportunity: 'It could attack him'

    35 minutes ago

    Simone Biles Stunned by Husband Jonathan Owens' Luxury Gifts at Olympic Trials

    35 minutes ago

    Decision to name Prince Harry the recipient of Pat Tillman award scorched by mom: 'Controversial and divisive'