Walgreens Boots Alliance — Ethics Grade D+

Walgreens Boots Alliance receives an overall ethics grade of D+ (34/100) on CancelCo's corporate accountability database. Sector: Retail. Market cap: Large Cap.

Category scores

• labor: 40
• privacy: 45
• consumer: 20
• environment: 60
• humanRights: 65

Documented incidents (3)

• Opioid Crisis Settlement (high, 2022) — Walgreens agreed to pay a $5.7 billion settlement over allegations that it failed to appropriately oversee its dispensing of opioid medications, contributing to the national addiction crisis.
• Theranos Fraud Involvement (high, 2018) — The company faced lawsuits for its partnership with fraud-ridden Theranos, where it offered unreliable blood tests to consumers without proper validation of the technology.
• Wage and Hour Violations (medium, 2020) — Settled multiple class-action lawsuits regarding the failure to pay pharmacists for off-the-clock work and missed rest breaks, indicating systemic labor issues.

Documented good deeds

• Mental Health Services Expansion — Expanded mental health training for pharmacists and partnered with non-profits to provide free screenings to the public.

Ethical alternatives

• Capsule — Digital-first pharmacy with better pricing transparency and lower corporate legal baggage.