Millions of Amer-
icans don’t take
the medications
they’re prescribed,
often because
they can’t find
them at affordable
prices. GoodRx’s
free, ad-sup-
ported website
helps consumers
comparison-shop
and find discounts
at some 70,000
pharmacies.
GoodRx says that
since its found-
ing in 2011, it has
helped 100 million
people save more
than $10 billion.
Dow, a major plas-
tics producer,
is mixing recy-
cled plastic into
asphalt, creat-
ing road surfaces
that are cheaper,
more eco-friendly,
and more dura-
ble than conven-
tional highways.
Dow has built only
about 60 miles of
hybrid road so far,
but that alone di-
verted 200 tons of
plastic from land-
fill. New projects
await in Vietnam,
Mexico, Brazil, and
the Philippines.
In South Africa’s
huge public health
system, local
shortages of key
drugs are sadly
frequent. Vod-
acom, the nation’s
top mobile carrier,
worked with the
system to build an
app that makes
the supply chain
more transparent,
enabling phar-
macists to warn
about low stocks
and shift inven-
tory as needed.
Vodacom sells the
tech to the private
sector too.
In 2018, Intel
hit one of tech’s
boldest diversity
goals: 14.6% of its
skilled workforce
is now made up of
underrepresented
minorities (Afri-
can-Americans,
Hispanics, and Na-
tive Americans).
It’s now diversi-
fying its supply
chain: Starting in
2020, it will spend
at least $1 billion a
year via suppliers
owned by women,
minorities, veter-
ans, LGBTQ, and
disabled people.
Think of it as a
Fitbit for water
systems: Xylem’s
Decision Intelli-
gence uses pres-
sure sensors to
track flow and
quickly pinpoint
leaks in pipes.
Xylem’s data anal-
ysis also helps cit-
ies redesign their
infrastructure: In
South Bend, Ind.,
Xylem helped re-
duce sewer over-
flow by 70% and
keep about 1 bil-
lion gallons of pol-
luted H 2 0 out of
local waterways.
Some 600 million
people a year are
sickened by food-
borne illnesses.
To reduce that
toll, IBM has built
blockchain-based
software to trace
the flow of food
so contamina-
tion outbreaks can
be more quickly
contained. Its
produce-track-
ing Food Trust in-
cludes more than
100 growers, pro-
ducers, and sellers
(including grocery
giants Walmart
and Albertsons).
Health care pro-
fessionals can be
hard to find in
rural Africa. One
solution? Train
local “community
health workers”
to provide basic
diagnostic test-
ing and to educate
their neighbors on
where to find more
complex care. Ac-
centure teamed up
with Amref Health
Africa to train
more than 35,000
such workers in
Ken ya, who now in
turn reach 3.5 mil-
lion households.
The Swedish con-
struction giant
holds itself to the
strict standards
for environmen-
tal sustainability
spelled out in the
Paris Agreement
climate accord—
no small feat in a
resource-inten-
sive business. That
means its huge in-
frastructure proj-
ects, like the new
Terminal B at New
York’s LaGuardia
Airport, are built to
the highest possi-
ble sustainability
certifications.
The fast-pizza trend
has paid off for
MOD: Since opening
its doors during the
2008 recession, it
has expanded to
nearly 450 stores
in the U.S. and the U.K., with revenue of
$398 million last year.
The people serving the food at MOD
make as big a statement as the food
they’re serving. More than 38% of its
roughly 8,000 workers are “opportunity
employment” hires, people who are
often shut out of the job market. MOD
partners with local organizations to hire
lowincome youth; people with intel
lectual, physical, or developmental dis
abilities; and people who were formerly
incarcerated. It remains a rarity in that
last category—and a vital difference
maker, since the single most important
predictor of recidivism is joblessness.
NO. 27
GoodRx
Navigating
the medication
maze.
SANTA MONICA
NO. 26
Dow Chemical
Turning plastic
waste into
open road.
MIDLAND, MICH.
NO. 25
Vodacom
Keeping drugs
on shelves.
MIDRAND,
SOUTH AFRICA
NO. 24
Intel
Raising the bar
on diversity.
SANTA CLARA,
CALIF.
NO. 23
Xylem
Keeping water
in its rightful
place.
RYE BROOK, N.Y.
NO. 22
IBM
A high-tech fix
for food con-
tamination.
ARMONK, N.Y.
NO. 21
Accenture
Health care
where doctors
are few.
DUBLIN
NO. 20
Skanska
Going beyond
green in
construction.
STOCKHOLM
A restaurant chain
hires thousands of
the hard-to-employ.
BELLEVUE, WASH.
Pizza to Go,
With Extra
Opportunity
MOD Pizza
28
NO.
About 38% of MOD Pizza’s workers belong to
groups whose job opportunities are limited.
L AURIE PEREZ/COURTESY OF M
OD PIZZ A
