Change the World: How CEOs use ‘business for good’ to attract talent and build customer loyalty

Generally, the companies that make this list fall into two categories—big, established corporations that use their size as a force for good; and startups that have built their whole business models around tackling an urgent issue.

The giants, as you might expect, can get big results fast. This year’s CTW includes Carrier Global, the $22 billion HVAC and refrigeration giant. Carrier committed itself five years ago to making its product line far more energy-efficient: Since then, they estimate they’ve reduced their customers’ CO2 emissions by enough to power 65 million homes for a year.

The startups, meanwhile, are nimble enough to develop and deploy products quickly, then scale up to meet big needs. The rare earth minerals that many energy, tech, and defense companies depend on are, well, rare, as recent U.S.-China trade tensions have taught us; Cyclic Materials, of Toronto, is setting up factories to recycle them. Chronic teacher shortages bedevil many communities; San Francisco-based startup Amira Learning has developed an AI-driven platform that helps instructors develop reading-instruction lesson plans for more kids, more efficiently, and it’s already being used in more than 4,000 school districts.

What Change the World companies of all sizes have in common is leadership that’s committed, from the CEO on down, to nurturing and implementing world-changing ideas. The concept of “business for good” goes in and out of fashion, but enlightened leaders prove again and again that staying true to their ideals helps them attract a deeper talent pool and build customer loyalty.

By the way, top leaders from around the globe will be gathering for the Fortune Global Forum in Riyadh on Oct. 26-27. We’d love to see you there; learn more about that here.—Matt Heimer

Contact CEO Daily via Diane Brady at diane.brady@fortune.com

Top news

HSBC deploys quantum chip

The bank claims that its use of IBM’s Heron quantum processor achieved a 34% improvement in predicting bond prices. Quantum computing chips solve problems in parallel, as opposed to sequentially in analog chips, and thus have much faster processing power. “If one bank is able to start using quantum computing to develop a program, then the others will be developing it the next day and people will not sleep until they have it,” Miklos Dietz, senior partner and managing partner of McKinsey’s Vancouver office, told Bloomberg.

Trump demands investigation into U.N. mishaps

President Trump demanded “an immediate investigation” into “three very sinister events” at his speech to the U.N. two days ago. He claims the escalator malfunction, a non-working teleprompter, and that his microphone was switched off while he was talking, are acts of “sabotage.” 

New tariffs could be coming for robotics and medical equipment

The U.S. Department of Commerce said it had opened a “Section 232” investigation into whether certain imports of syringes, prescription drugs, and other medical equipment, and certain types of robotic equipment, are threats to national security. If they are designated as such, they will face extra tariffs.

Cracks appear in U.S. corporate debt market

The collapse of two companies—auto lender Tricolor Holdings and auto parts supplier First Brands Group—whose credit Wall Street had previously rated as safe, has investors in corporate debt worried. JPMorgan Chase and Fifth Third underwrote their debt and are now exposed to hundreds of millions of dollars in potential losses on auto loans that may not be repaid.

Energy activity continues to fall

Oil and gas activity fell once again in the third quarter of the year, per new data from the Dallas Fed Energy Survey, and executives in the industry took to the survey’s anonymous comment section to decry tariffs and policy uncertainty for their negative effects. “Those who can are running for the exits,” one executive wrote.

Is the McKinsey-CEO pipeline in trouble?

McKinsey has produced more Fortune 500 CEOs than any other organization, but the onset of generative AI could threaten this legacy by reducing the need for early-career consultants. How can the consulting firm transform its leadership training for a post-AI world?

Elsewhere: Four airports in Denmark were shut down after the presence of unauthorised drones was detected. NATO countries are on high alert due to Russia’s hostile incursions into Europe’s airspace … Russell Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, is drawing up a plan for the mass firing of federal workers not aligned with Trump’s mission if there is a federal government shutdown.

The markets

S&P 500 futures were flat this morning. The index closed down 0.28% in its last session. STOXX Europe 600 was down 0.3% in early trading. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 down 0.18% in early trading. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 0.27%. China’s CSI 300 was up 0.6%. The South Korea KOSPI was flat. India’s Nifty 50 was down 0.4% before the end of the session. Bitcoin declined to $111.8K.

Around the watercooler

‘I would beg the president’: Jamie Dimon, one of Wall Street’s top H-1B visa users, predicts ‘pushback’ because big employers need top expertise by Sasha Rogelberg

Sam Altman’s AI empire will devour as much power as New York City and San Diego combined. Experts say it’s ‘scary’ by Eva Roytburg

Microsoft boss says its new AI-infused web browsing experience is like ‘a little angel on your shoulder doing the boring hard work’ by Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez

Nearly one in 5 Gen Zers is ‘very concerned’ that AI will take their job in the next 2 years, Deutsche Bank says. Boomers and Gen X aren’t bothered by Nick Lichtenberg

Bill Gates calls on Congress to ‘show its values’ on foreign aid, or this year will see children’s deaths go up instead of down by Eleanor Pringle

CEO Daily is compiled and edited by Joey Abrams and Jim Edwards.