It may seem surprising that Fortune magazine named two chemical companies — Dow Inc. and Eastman Chemical Co. — and digital watermark company Digimarc Corp. to its 2023 Change the World list on Sept. 27.
Fortune acknowledged as much in its news release on the list noting in bold: "How did two plastic producers make the list?"
Both Dow and Eastman were placed at No. 17 on the list for their work in recycling — Dow for its Evowash detergent designed to make it easier to clean packaging for mechanical recycling and Eastman's chemical recycling for products that couldn't previously be recycled, Fortune noted.
Digimarc joined them on the list because its technology can be used to improve sortation at recycling facilities.
But that doesn't mean that the world outside the plastics industry is suddenly shifting to recognize the role materials companies can take in sustainability.
Our sister paper Advertising Age writes that activists are calling for advertising agency Havas New York to be stripped of its B Corp status because it was hired by Shell plc.
"Duncan Meisel, executive director of Clean Creatives, said working with fossil fuel companies is incompatible with B Corp brand values and there is 'a very good chance' that the Havas agencies will lose their B Corp certification over the Shell business," Ad Age writes.
In a statement, Havas executives said their "commitment towards sustainability" is unchanged and they "welcome the opportunity to dialogue with [B Corp organizer] B-Lab" about the complaints.