Fortune - USA (2021-10 & 2021-11)

THE LIST

1522

150 FORTUNE OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2021

This HR tech com-

pany aims to help

people with crimi-

nal records build

a more equitable

future. Checkr uses

A.I., “story mod-

ules,” and human

analysis to help

employers such

as Lyft and Netflix

determine whether

an applicant’s ar-

rest or conviction

history is relevant

to his or her job

qualifications.

(Often, it isn’t.)

In 2020, Checkr

helped “unblock”

1.5 million applica-

tions; this year, the

goal is 3 million.

As the world’s larg-
est company, with
2.3 million employ-
ees, when Walmart
makes a big move
it often influences
other businesses.
Sure enough, when
the retail giant
announced a debt-
free education
initiative this sum-
mer—offering free
college tuition and
books to 1.5 million
associates (since
2018, it had offered
both for $1 a day)—
Target, and then
Amazon, 1 million
eligible employees
between them,
soon followed suit.

Since Hurricane
Sandy struck in
2012, Airbnb has
helped organize
temporary housing
for refugees, asy-
lum seekers, and
people displaced
by disaster; it has
served 75,000
people so far. In
August, as Af-
ghanistan fell to the
Taliban, Airbnb’s
nonprofit arm said
it would pay for
hosts to house
20,000 Afghans. In
September, Airbnb
said that support
from the host com-
munity had helped
exceed that goal.

In 1979, the Danish manufac-

turer sold and installed its first

turbine. It has since grown

into the world’s largest wind

energy company by installed

capacity, with substantial

sales in the U.S., China, and

Germany. In 2020, revenue

rose for the third consecu-

tive year, climbing 22% to

€14.8 billion ($16.9 billion),

though shipping delays and

supply-chain snarls have

pushed up costs amid the

pandemic. Vestas has kept the

momentum going with new

technical advances, including

announcing the largest-ever

turbine and technology that

allows its mammoth blades to

be recycled.

In East Africa, small farmers

produce an estimated 70% of

poultry and 80% of dairy prod-

ucts. Yet between diseases,

misinformation about fake

products, and misdiagnoses,

livestock farmers there face

hefty challenges. In 2017,

Elanco (then a unit of Eli Lilly)

set up the East Africa Growth

Accelerator with the help of a

grant from the Bill & Melinda

Gates Foundation. Its mission:

to create a steady supply

of affordable veterinarian

products (as well as accurate

information) for farmers across

Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda.

Four years and a spinoff from

Eli Lilly later, Elanco is on track

to help nearly 240,000 farm-

ers treat millions of chickens

and cows through EAGA by

2022. The initiative has been
      both sustainable and profit-
      able, so much so that Elanco
      incorporated EAGA into its
      business operations at the
      start of 2021.

NO. 18

Vestas

A wind power

giant finds new

ways to scale up.

AARHUS, DENMARK

NO. 19

Elanco Animal Health

Helping small farmers

in East Africa keep their

livestock alive.

GREENFIELD, IND.

5

MILLION

NUMBER OF NON-

INCARCERATED

AMERICANS WHO

HAVE SERVED PRISON

TIME

27%

UNEMPLOYMENT

RATE AMONG

THE FORMERLY

INCARCERATED

SOURCE:

PRISON POLICY INITIATIVE

NO. 17

Checkr

Offering a fair

chance to join

the workforce.

SAN FRANCISCO

NO. 15

Walmart
Raising the bar
on lower tuition.
BENTONVILLE,
ARK.

NO. 16

Airbnb
A global host net-
work makes room
for refugees.
SAN FRANCISCO

COOP COOPERATION Sylviah Achieng, an Elanco veterinarian, does a health check at a chicken farm in Uganda. COURTESY OF ELANCO ANIMAL HEALTH