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

THE LIST

2938

156 FORTUNE OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2021

In 2017, the Anglo-

American financial

giant launched the

Chicago Appren-

tice Network, one

of the first major

efforts to bring

people without col-

lege degrees into

the corporate train-

ing pipeline. Reten-

tion rates among

the first graduates,

75% of whom iden-

tify as minorities,

have been sky-

high; about 100

employers have

since joined the

program, which

now includes 1,000

apprentices in

seven U.S. cities.

In June 2020, on

the heels of the

United Nations re-

leasing a devastat-

ing warning that

265 million people

worldwide were at

risk of starvation

by the end of the

year, Yara Interna-

tional jumped into

the fray. Under

a plan called

Action Africa, it

quickly shipped

out 40,000 metric

tons of fertilizer

to Africa, which

the company

estimated would

help triple the

region’s maize

production and

end up feeding

1 million people for

one year. In total,

250,000 small-

holder farmers

were supported by

the donation. The

gift was more than

just philanthropy,

however: It was

also an effort to

support a growing

customer base.

Action Africa has

created a new

digital platform

as well to provide

farmers with free

advice through-

out the growing

season. Launched

in July 2020, it al-

ready has 2 million

participating farm-

ers, and it’s help-

ing Yara generate

a growing stream

of revenues from

rural African com-

munities.

At a time when e-commerce

is being heavily scrutinized

for its environmental impact,

Shopify is helping its merchant

customers reduce their car-

bon footprint. Shopify has de-

signed its Shop Pay checkout

service, which operates both

on its own platform and for

merchants who sell via Google

and Facebook, to automati-

cally make contributions to

programs that offset the car-

bon generated by each order.

Many of those payments are

going to a program to plant

4.6 million mangrove trees by

2022 in Senegal—enough to

offset the shipping emissions

of all orders paid for on Shop

Pay in 2021 and 2022.

Just as the gender pay gap

has proved incredibly stub-

born, so too has the wealth

gap. Among people over

65 in OECD countries, men

have accumulated 26% more

pension or retirement savings

than women. In Sweden, the

gap is nearly 30%. Svenska

Handelsbanken, Sweden’s

biggest bank, has retrained

500 financial advisers to help

women match men in amass-

ing wealth. It’s drawing atten-

tion to the long-term financial

impact of different career

choices, teaching employees

to better promote savings for

clients who have worked part-

time, taken parental leave, or

worked as freelancers.

NO. 30

Shopify

Offsetting the climate

impact of e-commerce.

OTTAWA

NO. 31

Svenska

Handelsbanken

Tackling the gen-

der wealth gap.

STOCKHOLM

NO. 29

Ya r a

International

Fertilizer and

advice where they

are needed most.

OSLO

NO. 32

Aon

A new pipeline for

the underserved.

DUBLIN

137

MILLION

E-COMMERCE

ORDERS HANDLED BY

SHOPIFY’S SHOP PAY

PLATFORM IN 2020

630,000

BAGS OF FERTILIZER

SHIPPED TO SMALL

FARMERS AS PART

OF YARA’S ACTION

AFRICA PROGRAM

LIFESAVING SACKS
Farmers in Kenya
obtain fertilizer as
part of Yara’s Action
Africa initiative. ALLAN GICHIGI/COURTESY OF YARA