Future 500 Corporate Working Group
February 25-26, 2025 | Washington, D.C.
Advancing Corporate Responsibility in a Politicized World
——— In Person ———
Logistics
Where: The Office of Paul Hastings, 2050 M. St. NW, Washington, DC 20036. 12th floor, Washington conference room (#12007)
Lodging: St Gregory Hotel (2033 M St NW Washington D.C. 20036.)
When: February 25-26, 2025.
Start: Breakfast on Tuesday the 25th. We will host an optional casual dinner(Please RSVP by calendar invite) on the 24th for those arriving in time.
End: We conclude at noon on Wednesday the 26th.
Registration: Register here. Complimentary for Future 500 members.
Who: Executives from Future 500 Corporate Affinity Network (CAN) and other select corporate sustainability leaders and advocates.
What: Future 500 has conducted this intimate working group for over ten years. Our discussions are confidential, facilitated under the Chatham House Rule, and designed to foster constructive engagement between companies and advocates to illuminate important issue trends and best practices that inform business strategy and competitiveness on sustainability.
Our working group seeks to empower our delegates to speak up, teach others, respectfully disagree, and ask tough questions. Please bring your ideas and challenges, and come prepared to participate actively.
Dress code: Business casual with an emphasis on the casual.
AGENDA
We’ll spend two dynamic days exploring rapidly evolving corporate responsibility and civil society advocacy priorities for the incoming Trump Administration. From Rising litigation to corporate greenhushing and evolving climate reporting expectations, corporate leaders face new risks and opportunities for advancing and protecting their corporate reputation and profitability in meeting society’s needs.
Following several discussions with civil society leaders since the November election, The Future 500 team will share insights into how donor and NGO priorities in the US and abroad are shifting in response to the US Federal election and global geopolitical realignment and the implications for business. We will then hear directly from select NGO and corporate leaders at the forefront of advocacy and sustainable business to share their insights, advice, and recommendations for how companies and civil society can navigate issues to advance positive change for business and society.
Monday, February 24
6:00 pm Casual dinner at the St. Gregory Hotel for all participants in town. (please RSVP)
Tuesday, February 25
8:15 am Networking breakfast
9:00 am Welcome, Ground Rules, and Goals
9:15 am Introductions & Networking Activity
10:15 am Future 500 Force For Good Forecast Trends
From growing geopolitical tensions, associated supply chain disruptions, rising litigation against companies, government, and civil society, escalating environmental activism funding, and uncertainty in the future of climate disclosure laws, business leaders are navigating a suite of ever-complex challenges in pursuit of a stable market for business and society.
In this session, the Future 500 team will share our 2025 Force For Good Forecast, highlighting how civil society and their funders may seek to mobilize corporate action on various issues, joined by two experts sharing deeper insights into and recommendations for navigating some of the topics highlighted in our Forecast Report.
Navigating Rising Litigation Challenging Companies on ESG Issues:
Brian Israel, Co-Chair of the Environmental Practice Group at Paul Hastings, will discuss the trend in rising litigation challenging companies, from DEI to Greenwashing, offering recommendations for mitigating legal risk while protecting brand reputation.
How Associations Can Help Lead on Sustainability during Trump 2.0:
Mark Nechodom, Senior Director for Science and Technology at Western States Petroleum Association, will discuss how Associations may be uniquely positioned to engage civil society to advance social and environmental progress during the Trump administration and how companies can support their associations in doing this.
12:00 pm Lunch
1:00 pm Preview of NGO Marketplace Campaigns during Trump 2.0 with Mighty Earth Founder and CEO Glenn Hurowitz
Glenn will share how his group’s “theory of change” is built to withstand political shifts, noting that many of their marketplace successes are independent of U.S. government action or who is president. He’ll outline plans to spur private sector action to protect nature, promote industrial decarbonization, and counter what he sees as growing threats to civil society globally. He’ll also offer insight into how the US Supreme Court’s Loper Bright decision influences Mighty Earth’s strategy.
2:30 pm Break
2:50 pm Human Health as the Frame for Environmental Activism with Emmie Mediate, Chief Program Officer from Health Care Without Harm
Emmie will explore how the interconnection of human and ecological health has emerged as the unifying frame for social and environmental activism. The session will help unpack how human health is becoming the foundation of global ecological stewardship and justice movements, from climate change and microplastics to chemicals and deforestation.
4:20 pm Discussion & Debrief
4:45 pm Adjourn
6:00 pm Cocktails followed by networking dinner -- Ristorante I Ricchi, 1220 19th Street NW Washington, DC 20036
Our working group participants and speakers are invited to gather with Future 500 staff and other notable local stakeholders in our network for a casually fun evening of multi-sector, interactive networking, and dialogue. Time to unwind, have fun, mingle, and engage. As with our past working group meeting, seeds for common ground solutions invariably emerge from our meals.
Wednesday, February 26, 2025
8:00 am Networking Breakfast
8:45 am 2025 Public Policy Advocacy Priorities—and What That Means for Business. Sandra Purohit, Director of Federal Advocacy, Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2)
Sandra will outline E2's data-driven, market-based approach to tackling climate change while unleashing economic prosperity and how they engage across the political spectrum to make issues like climate less ideological.
She will discuss why the 119th Congress could be a critical positive turning point for climate and the economy. She will share her perspectives on the opportunities, risks, and importance
of business engagement with lawmakers in the next Congress. She will also share the approach and draft messaging they are considering to defend the IRA and influence the broader debate on accelerating the energy transition no matter who is President or controlling Congress.
Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2) is a highly effective non-profit, nonpartisan group of business leaders, investors, and others who advocate for smart policies that benefit the economy and the environment. Comprised of 10,000 members and supporters who work and do business in every state in the country, E2ers come from diverse business backgrounds ranging from clean energy and clean tech to real estate and finance and beyond. The group is housed within and collaborates closely with NRDC, working with other social and environmental advocacy groups on federal and state policy priorities.
10:10 am Break
10:30 am Giving Voice to Nature and the People Depending On it in the Face of Geopolitical Realignment. Rhett Butler, Founder & CEO of Mongabay
Rhett will outline his views on the critical role of independent media in highlighting the value and fragility of nature in sustaining human and non-human life. As companies shift supply chains in response to geopolitical realignment, Rhett will provide examples of hope from companies, governments, communities, and other stakeholders taking collective action to collaborate with nature to flourish and sustain us. He will also include recommendations for corporate action based on this experience.
Mongabay is a non-profit conservation and environmental science news platform, with over 100 staff across five bureaus and a network of around 1,000 correspondents in 80 countries who pursue stories ranging from conventional news articles to deeply-reported investigative projects.
12:00 pm Debrief, reflections & concluding comments
12:15 pm Adjourn