THE LIST
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This TikTok-like
video app caters
primarily to content
creators in rural
China. And while
most use the app
for fun, for some
it’s an economic
lifeline. Kuaishou’s
livestream e-
commerce function
offers farmers a
direct-sales plat-
form to reach over
1 billion active users.
In 2020, the app’s
sellers shipped
$50 billion worth
of goods—most of
it agricultural pro-
duce. Kuaishou’s
commission: less
than 1%.
It may be best known for
Photoshop, but Adobe has also
built a sizable digital analytics
business—one that became
vital to government agencies
during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, for example,
used Adobe software to
understand what citizens were
searching for on its website,
enabling it to disseminate more
timely and relevant vaccine
information. Adobe also helped
the Census Bureau modernize
its antiquated site and launch
the first-ever online census for
2020—enabling millions of peo-
ple to send in surveys at a time
when many shunned public
spaces like the post office.SunColombia is
electrifying the far
reaches of the Am-
azon using renew-
able energy. The
B Corp develops
self-contained so-
lar power systems
suited for homes,
public spaces, and
water purifica-
tion hubs. Its prod-
ucts, distributed
with help from
bigger energy
companies, are
now in more than
3,000 homes and
more than 1,000
schools in rural
areas, brightening
over 100,000 lives
in all.Schneider aims to
be carbon neutral
across its value
chain by 2050,
meaning it wants
suppliers to negate
their emissions
too. Fortunately,
Schneider special-
izes in energy
management—so
it can earn revenue
by meeting its
pledge. Its Climate
Change Advisory
Services package
offers monitoring
tools, consulting,
and clean-energy
gear—and over
900 of its most-
polluting suppliers
are paid clients.
When gymnastics superstar
Simone Biles dropped out
of competition at the Tokyo
Olympics, citing her mental
and physical health, she had
a supporter in her corner:
her sponsor Athleta, the
women’s activewear brand
with $340 million in sales in
its most recent quarter. “We
never hesitated about our
continued support,” Athleta
CEO Mary Beth Laughton tells
Fortune. “It was so clear how
we were going to support her
as a brand.”
That kind of empathy isn’t
typical among sports sponsors.
But it’s something that Athleta
has cultivated since 2019, when
the Gap Inc. brand entered the
sponsorship arena by signing
track star Allyson Felix. Since
then, the label has redefined
the athlete-sponsor relationship,
working with athletes as “holis-
tic people” rather than valuing
only their championships. That
approach has included helping
Biles reach her fan base of
young girls and working with
Felix to provide $200,000 in
childcare grants to Olympic and
Paralympic athlete moms.
Athleta has also opened up
a new kind of opportunity for
female athletes, often given
short shrift compared with the
deals on the table for male
competitors. (Both Biles and
Felix left contracts with Nike
before coming to Gap Inc.)
Indeed, the brand decided to
sponsor its first two athletes
after identifying a gap between
rising viewership of women’s
sports and lagging corporate
support.
The strategy appears to
be paying off. Athleta’s brand
awareness was up six points
this year, and first-quarter sales
were up 56% compared with
those in 2019.NO. 41
SunColombia
Bringing green
power to remote
hinterlands.
BOGOTÁNO. 40
Schneider
Electric
Going net zero
offers net gains.
RUEILMALMAISON,
FRANCE
NO. 43
Athleta
Reimagining sports
sponsorships to
empower women.
SAN FRANCISCO500%
GROWTH IN GROSS
E-COMMERCE SALES
ON KUAISHOU FROM
2019 TO 202053.5%
SHARE OF U.S.
HOUSEHOLDS THAT
RESPONDED TO 2020
CENSUS SURVEYS VIA
THE INTERNETSOURCES: KUAISHOU;
U.S. CENSUS BUREAUNO. 39
Kuaishou
Linking farmers
to markets,
via video.
BEIJING
NO. 42
Adobe
Helping public servants
amplify their digital reach.
SAN JOSECOUNTING CARBON Emissions-testing facilities, like this one in Grenoble, France,
help Schneider Electric and its clients shrink their carbon footprints. JEFF PACHOUD—AFP/GETTY IMAGES