Albertsons vs Costco
On overall TruNorth grade, Costco scores higher (Albertsons: C, Costco: B). Both graded from public records across nine values categories.
Political donations
FEC: $16K PAC donations; 29% to Republican, 71% to Democratic committees.
FEC: $336K in executive political donations; partisan lean split across 16 executive donors.
Environment
hazardous waste violation: $13.2M in federal penalties (Violation Tracker).
EPA SmartWay partner — commits to measure + reduce freight transportation emissions. JUST Capital JUST 100 — ranked #97 of Russell 1000 (2025) for treatment of workers, customers, communities, environment. CDP A-List (2024) — top tier for climate disclosure and emissions-reduction action. Held by 4 ESG/SRI fund(s) (calvert, parnassus, trillium, vanguard-esg) — investor-screen positive signal.
Labor
308 federal penalties totaling $1.0B since 2000 (Violation Tracker).
104 federal penalties totaling $98.3M since 2000 (Violation Tracker).
DEI
No public record found.
HRC Corporate Equality Index: 85/100 (2025) — strong LGBTQ+ workplace policies with minor deductions. JUST Capital JUST 100 — ranked #97 of Russell 1000 (2025) for treatment of workers, customers, communities, environment. HRC Corporate Equality Index 85/100 (2025) — top-tier LGBTQ+ workplace equality rating.
Charity
$280M reported corporate giving in 2024 (~0.36% of revenue) via Albertsons Companies Foundation.
$80M reported corporate giving in 2024 (~0.03% of revenue). JUST Capital JUST 100 — ranked #97 of Russell 1000 (2025) for treatment of workers, customers, communities, environment. Drucker Institute Management Top 250 — ranked #26 (2024) on customer satisfaction, employee engagement, innovation, social responsibility, and financial strength. Fortune World's Most Admired Companies — ranked #8 (2024). Newsweek Most Trustworthy Companies in America — ranked #7 (2024).
Animal testing
Albertsons responsible-seafood sourcing developed with FishWise. [FishWise partner]
BBFAW 2024 Tier 5 — limited disclosure of farm-animal welfare programmes. Open Wing Alliance: At risk — Kirkland Signature US shell-egg cage-free transition behind schedule. [BBFAW Tier 5 · Cage-free at risk · MSC certified · ASC certified]
Firearms
No federal firearms license on record for this company in the ATF FFL registry — no licensed firearms dealing or manufacturing.
No federal firearms license on record for this company in the ATF FFL registry — no licensed firearms dealing or manufacturing.
Privacy
No public record found.
Costco publishes a detailed privacy policy offering consumers opt-out rights, data deletion, and a Consumer Health Data Privacy Notice stating it does not sell consumer health data; however, two federal class action lawsuits filed in October 2023 (Castillo et al. v. Costco Wholesale Corp., No. 2:23-cv-01548, and R.S. v. Costco Wholesale Corp., W.D. Wash.) allege Costco secretly used Meta Pixel on its pharmacy webpages to transmit patients' sensitive health information—including prescriptions, HIV status, and insurance details—to Meta, Google, and other third parties without consent, in alleged violation of HIPAA and federal/state wiretapping laws; a federal court largely allowed the case to proceed in November 2024.
Executive pay
CEO-to-median-worker pay ratio 475:1 (median employee pay $32,057) — SEC proxy statement (DEF 14A, 2025).
CEO-to-median-worker pay ratio 283:1 (median employee pay $49,186) — SEC proxy statement (DEF 14A, 2025).
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