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

THE LIST

2328

152 FORTUNE OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2021

ADM has been on a

quest to turn plants

into meat substi-

tutes since the

1950s, and claims

the title of inventor

of the soy veggie

patty. Today, as a

$64 billion ingredi-

Indeed is one of the world’s
largest hiring platforms—and
as the Great Resignation
has kicked in, it has focused
on scrubbing bias out of
the job-hunting process. In
March, Indeed launched a
virtual hiring platform that has
helped more than 2.6 million
people schedule interviews. Its
screening tech offers all can-
didates who meet a recruiter’s
criteria the option to remotely
interview—helping sidestep
potential biases based on
name, race, or education. For
job-seekers, Indeed’s Work
Happiness Score grades
companies based on survey
data on issues like flexibility,
compensation, and inclusion.

Carpeting accounts for 60%

of the U.S. flooring market,

and most of it has been

treated with toxic chemicals

or additives and made out

of carbon-intensive, unrecy-

clable plastics. Interface is a

notable exception: Two years

ago the company achieved

carbon-neutral status, and

in 2020 it began selling

carbon-negative tiles that

store carbon, removing it from

the atmosphere. Interface

balances out emissions from

the rest of its carpeting by

investing in carbon-reduction-

related efforts in Africa and

Latin America.

MultiChoice is Africa’s leading
pay-TV provider, with its DStv
and GOtv platforms reaching
20.9 million households across
50 countries. To help it main-
tain that position, MultiChoice
invests heavily in the produc-
tion of African programming,
made locally for local con-
sumption. Its Innovation Fund
has disbursed $17.8 million
to small businesses, while its
Talent Factory academies have
trained over 200 storytellers
(including filmmakers, writers,
and editors) in 14 countries.
In its last financial year, the
company produced 19% more
local content, while tallying
year-on-year organic revenue
growth of 4%, to $3.28 billion.

Pinduoduo, an online-grocery

giant, recorded its first

quarterly profit of $374 mil-

lion (on $3.6 billion in sales)

in the three months ended in

June. In August the company

pledged to invest it all—and

more—into agriculture-related

philanthropy, announcing a

$1.5 billion fund to provide

tech and business training

to farmers, improve logistics

infrastructure, and support

agri-tech research and devel-

opment. Pinduoduo expects

that it will benefit from this

generosity, since the funding

will improve its supply chain

and its relationship with farm-

ers—12 million of whom sell

their produce via the PDD app.

NO. 23

Indeed.com
Leveling the playing field
for a fast-growing generation
of job-seekers.
AUSTIN

NO. 25

Interface

Tackling a climate-

change problem that’s

literally underfoot.

ATLANTA

NO. 24

MultiChoice Group
Nurturing homegrown
television programming
in 14 African countries.
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA

NO. 26

Pinduoduo

Building a stronger

farm-to-customer

food chain in China.

SHANGHAI

35 kg

AVER AGE AMOUNT

OF CO2 EQUIVALENTS

EMITTED TO PRODUCE

100 GRAMS OF

PROTEIN FROM BEEF

0.4 kg

AVER AGE AMOUNT

EMITTED TO PRODUCE

100 GRAMS OF

PROTEIN FROM PEAS

850

MILLION

ANNUAL USERS OF

THE PINDUODUO

GROCERY APP

NO. 27

ADM

Making protein

with a smaller

carbon footprint.

CHICAGO

ent company sup-

plying global food

brands, it may be

the biggest plant-

based protein

producer you’ve

never heard of. Its

10 joint ventures

and investments in

the category range

from growing meat

from animal cells

to creating protein

through fermenta-

tion to building

the world’s largest

insect protein

production facility

(it’s designed to

PLANT-BASED

PLANNERS

Technicians at

a production

facility for Harvest

Gourmet, one of

Nestlé’s plant-based

protein brands.

SOURCES:

OUR WORLD IN DATA;

PINDUODUO