Walgreens — Ethics Grade C

Walgreens receives an overall ethics grade of C (55/100) on CancelCo's corporate accountability database. Sector: Retail. Market cap: Large Cap.

Category scores

• labor: 50
• privacy: 50
• consumer: 40
• environment: 60
• humanRights: 65

Documented incidents (3)

• Opioid Crisis Settlement (high, 2022) — Walgreens agreed to pay $5.7 billion to settle claims that it failed to properly monitor suspicious prescriptions, contributing to the US opioid epidemic.
• Pharmacist Walkouts (medium, 2023) — Pharmacists organized mass walkouts protesting unsafe working conditions, understaffing, and excessive performance quotas that threatened patient safety.
• Prescription Data Vulnerability (medium, 2020) — A security flaw in the Walgreens mobile app exposed personal health information and prescription details of thousands of customers to other users.

Documented good deeds

• Vaccine Equity Initiative — Deployed mobile clinics to underserved communities to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccinations.

Ethical alternatives

• Costco Pharmacy — Consistently rated higher for labor practices and transparent drug pricing.