Future 500 Summit

A hand-picked group of top change-makers—corporate executives, environmental activists, investors and philanthropists from right-to-left— convene at EarthX for the Future 500 Summit to explore how best to find common ground, build trust, resolve conflict, and mobilize markets and philanthropy to tackle humanity’s greatest challenges.

EarthX and Future 500 curate the guest list to craft an eclectic and effective mix of the practical and the visionary, the right and the left, the activist and the executive. You might find your “sworn enemy” seated across from you at dinner, get to know them as a person, and leave with a new perspective.

“Our country is arguably more divided than at any point in its history since the Civil War,” said Bill Shireman, Future 500 executive director and lifelong Republican. “But when you get people together in a trusted environment, common themes and shared values quickly emerge.”

“Until the Future 500 Summit at EarthX, I’d never been to an event that makes such a concerted effort to put together both sides of the issues,” said Kirk Glaze of The Coca-Cola Company. “I was able to connect with an NGO representative not just on material issues, but on a personal basis as well. That wasn’t just true for me—it was true for all the attendees. That’s when I knew I would be back next year.”

How Business and Civil Society are Uniting to Address Global Ocean, Forest, and Climate Challenges, is the resulting report which outlines a blueprint for market action to address the toughest challenges facing global ecosystems.

“We can’t fix this without the private sector,” said Shireman. “When it comes to fixing our ecosystems, there’s no more powerful force than the market.”