We wrapped up our gathering of the Fortune Impact Initiative yesterday, while Floridians were streaming into Georgia to escape the impact of Hurricane Milton. Atlanta wasn’t at risk, but mayor Andre Dickens told attendees that he’d encouraged city residents to work remotely to keep the roads clear. Such is the ripple effect of a storm that’s likely to batter its way across an area with more than $1 trillion in commercial properties.
As veteran meteorologist John Morales explained days before his emotional weather update on Milton’s progression, there’s no question that warming oceans are fueling stronger tropical cyclones. Insurers understand the devastating probable outcomes of climate change, as do investors like Tom Steyer and leaders of businesses big or small. It’s a scientific reality and shared challenge for humanity, resulting in natural disasters that should bring us together instead of being weaponized and distorted to tear people apart.
During a panel discussion about the U.S. election yesterday, I asked the three speakers to rank climate change as a priority issue, from 1 (‘it’s not important’) to 10 (‘it’s the most important issue’). Georgia State Senator Sonia Halpern, a Democrat, gave a score of 7-8 while Trump senior campaign surrogate Bruce LeVell gave a score of 2. It was Dennis Lockhart, former CEO of the Atlanta Fed, who ranked it highest at 9-10, saying “I think climate is the defining challenge of our age.”
That does not mean ignoring other pressing issues or promising opportunities. In Atlanta, corporate leaders discussed how to achieve diversity goals amid a public backlash, with Microsoft chief diversity officer Lindsay Ray-McIntyre taking inspiration from smaller companies. My colleague Kristin Stoller talked about stopping gun violence with the families of rap artist Quavo and his late nephew Takeoff. We debated the new KPIs for success with leaders from Goldman Sachs, Akoya, EY, Colgate-Palmolive, L’Oréal, Gap, Dell, IBM, and others.
What’s inspiring is the positive social impact we’re seeing from startups, innovation and new education models, which is what drives the initiative’s founding partner EVERFI by Blackbaud. Slutty Vegan founder and CEO Pinky Cole came with her husband Derrick Hayes, who founded Big Dave’s Cheesesteaks, both of whom are giving back while building into new markets.
Said author, activist and former Georgia state representative Stacey Abrams in our closing conversation: “We should be talking about protecting each other. How do our stories unite us? What’s the American dream?” More news below.
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Diane Brady
diane.brady@fortune.com
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