Good morning.
I mark my tenure at Fortune with the annual publication of the Change the World list, year nine of which comes out this morning. This is our strongest statement that the success of business cannot be measured by financial metrics alone. Business exists, as Oxford’s Colin Meyer has written, to “profitably solve the problems of people and planet.” Change the World celebrates those that do that best.
How do we choose them? The powerhouse team of Matt Heimer and Erika Fry first look for companies that have made a sizable, measurable and durable impact on a specific societal problem. Then they and our editorial staff evaluate the business results—knowing such solutions are only sustainable if they can be profitable. And finally, they consider the degree of innovation, and whether others have followed the example. Social change, after all, is driven by imitation, not exclusion.
Top of the list this year are the “American electrifiers”—the companies devoted to ending emissions from transportation. That’s Tesla, of course (more on that in a bit), as well as General Motors, ChargePoint, and South Korea’s SK On, which has helped jump-start battery manufacturing in the U.S. Together they are remaking Auto Nation.
Also in this year’s top ten: Walmart, Johnson Controls, Gilead, and Abbott. That last one may raise eyebrows given its role in the 2022 baby formula shortage. But the health company’s “Freedom 2 Save” program, which matches student loan payments with 401(k) contributions, caught our editors’ attention. And re: baby formula, the team also cited Bobbie, an organic baby formula startup that managed to provide reliable supply when the four biggest manufacturers, including Abbott, ran short. Social progress does not travel a straight line.
Which brings me back to Tesla. Peter Vanham, who frequently writes this newsletter, has a fascinating essay accompanying the Change the World list entitled: “How Green is Elon Musk, Really?” In it, he notes Musk irks many environmentalists for a variety of reasons—his personal consumption of private jet fuel; his tweets such as “population control due to low birth rates is a much bigger risk to civilization than global warming;” and perhaps most of all, his climate ‘Plan B’—populating outer space. But despite his personal quirks and flaws, Elon Musk has done more for the energy transformation than any other human being, living or dead. As I said, social progress does not travel a straight line.
You can find the full list here, Peter’s story here, and more news below.
Alan Murray
@alansmurray
alan.murray@fortune.com
