Lowe`s Takes Top Environmental Honors … Times Three

This week`s WaterSense and SmartWay awards follow ENERGY STAR honor in March
MOORESVILLE, N.C.--(Business Wire)--
Lowe`s has earned three top honors available to retailers in its partnerships
with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy.
This week the EPA awarded Lowe`s the 2009 WaterSense® Retail Partner of the Year
Award and the 2009 SmartWaySM Transport Partnership Environmental Excellence
Award. Together with the 2009 ENERGY STAR® Retail Partner of the Year Award
Lowe`s received in March, the awards honor the company for its industry-leading
strategies to reduce its environmental impact and for educating consumers about
how to reduce their own.

"To be the first retailer to simultaneously hold these three awards honors our
leadership role in empowering consumers to make choices that are good for their
homes, their wallets and the environment," said Nick Canter, Lowe`s Executive
Vice President of Merchandising. "We are proud to advance a model for
conservation that benefits future generations."

Making smart choices helps preserve natural resources, and Lowe`s work to share
that message with consumers earned it the 2009 WaterSense Retail Partner of the
Year Award. WaterSense, a program launched in 2006 by the EPA, honored Lowe`s
for making great strides in increasing water efficiency and awareness of the
WaterSense label. The award was presented Wednesday at the WaterSmart
Innovations and Conference Expo in Las Vegas.

Lowe`s is helping to protect the future of our nation's water supply by
educating consumers about water-efficient products and practices. Explaining the
benefits of water conservation in stores and online through the "Build Your
Savings" program, Lowe`s has helped families reduce utility bills at a time when
every dollar counts.

The number of WaterSense-labeled toilets and bathroom faucets Lowe's sold in
2008 can save enough water in a year to fill more than 180 Olympic-sized
swimming pools and save customers more than $750,000 each year on water bills.
The EPA estimates that a family of four can save more than $90 per year and more
than $2,000 in reduced water utility bills over the toilet`s lifetime when
replacing older toilets with WaterSense-labeled options.

Beyond saving money for its customers, Lowe`s conservation leadership is saving
the nation`s most precious resources. In 2008, Lowe`s and more than 1,000 other
WaterSense partners helped contribute to more than 9.3 billion gallons of water
savings.

The ENERGY STAR label offers similar savings. Lowe`s success educating consumers
about those benefits led to its fourth ENERGY STAR Retail Partner of the Year
Award in March. The award winners were selected from more than 12,000
organizations, and Lowe`s was recognized for its exceptional contributions to
reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Lowe`s, an ENERGY STAR award winner for seven consecutive years, also was
honored for continued leadership in marketing its comprehensive line of
appliances, lighting and home improvement products that have earned the ENERGY
STAR, as well as educating consumers about the cost-saving and environmental
benefits of energy efficiency. ENERGY STAR-qualified products can save the
typical household up to 30 percent on energy bills, or about $700 a year.

"Our many years of dedication to environmental stewardship are reflected in the
awards we received this year," said Michael Chenard, Director of Environmental
Affairs. "We look forward to extending our commitment far into the future."

Lowe`s conservation strategies and continued contributions to the transportation
industry were honored Tuesday as the company won its third consecutive SmartWay
Environmental Excellence Award. The company was recognized for its leadership in
conserving energy and lowering greenhouse gas emissions. Lowe`s was one of 37
companies and organizations, from among more than 2,100 partners, to receive
this distinction. The awards were announced at the American Trucking
Association`s Management Conference and Exhibit in Las Vegas.

To earn the award, Lowe`s implemented initiatives that resulted in reduced
carbon dioxide emissions and less overall highway congestion. These included
increasing shipping by rail, increasing efficiency of truckload shipments,
allowing more products to be shipped on fewer trailers, and continuing to use a
higher percentage of SmartWay carriers.

Since becoming a SmartWay partner in 2005, shortly after the EPA created the
program, Lowe`s has doubled the percentage of intermodal (truck and rail) loads
it ships. In 2006, when about 75 percent of Lowe`s truck shipments were moved by
SmartWay carriers, Lowe`s announced its goal to increase that number to 90
percent by 2010. Lowe`s achieved that goal in 2008, and SmartWay participating
carriers are now moving 98 percent of Lowe`s products shipped domestically.

The impact has been significant. Since 2005, the SmartWay program has reduced
Lowe`s carriers` highway travel by 324 million miles and resulted in diesel fuel
savings of more than 61 million gallons and carbon savings of more than 682,000
tons.

"I commend Lowe`s for its leadership in promoting sustainable transportation
practices through the SmartWay Transport Partnership," said Margo T. Oge,
Director of the Office of Transportation and Air Quality, EPA. "These actions
demonstrate a commitment to a cleaner environment and more secure energy
supply."

About Lowe`s

With fiscal year 2008 sales of $48.2 billion, Lowe`s Companies, Inc. is a
FORTUNE 50 company that serves approximately 14 million customers a week at more
than 1,675 home improvement stores in the United States and Canada. Founded in
1946 and based in Mooresville, N.C., Lowe`s is the second-largest home
improvement retailer in the world. For more information, visit Lowes.com.

Lowe`s Companies, Inc.
Abby Buford, 704-758-3497
Abby.b.buford@lowes.com
or
Lowe`s Companies, Inc.
Karen Cobb, 704-758-3504
karen.s.cobb@lowes.com

Copyright Business Wire 2009