Bridging divides to maintain corporate progress on material social and environmental initiatives amidst rising social & political risk

September 9-10, 2025  |  Denver, Colorado

Logistics

Where: The Ramble Hotel, 1280 25th St, Denver, CO 80205

When: September 9-10, 2025

We begin with a casual dinner on the 8th for corporate participants arriving the night before. The formal meeting begins with breakfast on the 9th, concluding on the 10th at 1pm at the latest.

Registration: Register here. Registration price will increase on August 27th. Complimentary for Future 500 CAN members. 

Who: Senior corporate and civil society leaders interested in constructive cross-sectoral engagement across a host of environmental and social issues.

What: Future 500 has conducted this intimate working group for over eight 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.

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–emphasis on the casual!

Agenda

Monday, September 8th

6:00 pm Optional, casual dinner for corporate participants who happen to be in town early.

Tuesday, September 9th

8:45 am Networking breakfast

9:00 am Welcome, Ground Rules, and Goals

9:30 am Introductions & Networking Activity

10:30 am Corporate Peer Exchange

Two corporate leaders in our network will share their ongoing strategic challenges and responses, how they are measuring success, and their initial learnings. Laney Brown, Vice President of Sustainability at Avangrid, and Deena Clayton, Managing Director of Sustainable Development at ConocoPhillips, will present case studies and pose strategic questions for peer exploration, feedback, and insight sharing. Topics for peer discussion include:

  • Reconciling external messaging and internal priorities

  • Navigating internal political differences in the face of rising political and litigation risk

  • Balance long-term sustainability and short-term financial goals

  • Reporting clearly and consistently across a multitude of state and national jurisdictions

  • Justifying the business value of sustainability to internal leadership

12:00 pm. Lunch

1:00 pm Bridging Political Divides to Get to Net Zero

Bill Ritter, Former Colorado Governor

Facilitated by Bill Shireman, Future 500 Founder

Energy-rich Colorado has been a proving ground for bridging the partisan spectrum to progress responsible, innovative energy development. In this session, we will hear from former Colorado Governor Bill Ritter, who has worked hard to balance the needs of the once-purple, now blue-leaning state, to enable cleaner, affordable, abundant energy. As states become more left or right-leaning, what is the role of natural gas, carbon capture, and other energy strategies in imagining a net-zero world by 2040 or 2050? Whether you are governing or a corporate leader, people need to be "reaching across the aisle" to enable constructive paths forward.

2:15 pm Break

2:30 pm Frameworks for Responsible Resource Development in Colorado and Beyond

Jennifer Krill, Executive Director at Earthworks

Jennifer will share the critical role that NGOs serve for investors, communities, local regulators, and customers in holding companies accountable for responsible mining and oil & gas development amidst an increasingly deregulated environment. She will draw on examples from Colorado and the US West, highlighting examples where corporate-civil society engagement was constructive, where it wasn't, and how companies can improve.

3:45 pm Debrief & reflections

4:15 pm Adjourn

5:30 pm Docent-Led Tours of the Denver Art Museum

6:00pm Multi-Stakeholder Dinner at the Ponti Restaurant, Denver Art Museum

Our working group participants and speakers are invited to gather with local changemakers for an evening of cross-sectoral networking and dialogue. 

Wednesday, September 10th

8:45 am Networking Breakfast

9:00 am Reflections on Dinner and Day 1

9:15 am Demand Growth, Decarbonization, and Affordability: Accelerating the Shift to More & Cleaner Power

Mark Dyson, Managing Director of RMI's Electricity Program

Meeting growing power demand while keeping energy costs affordable and driving for decarbonization is a challenge facing utilities and both their industrial and individual consumers. In this session, Mark Dyson, Managing Director of RMI's Electricity Program, will outline a vision for engaging across sectors to deliver a more reliable, cleaner, affordable, and resilient electric grid and host a discussion exploring opportunities for near-term progress

10:30 am Break

10:40 am Working session: Names and innovations for the Corporate Working Group

11:00 am A Philanthropic Perspective on The Evolving Landscape of Equity and Justice Priorities

Dr. Cecilia Martinez, Chief of Environmental and Climate Justice at the Bezos Earth Fund

Cecilia will share her insights on the state of environmental policy and how companies can approach the issue of equity in today's context. In light of recent federal actions, she will explore our evolving national priorities and the opportunities for enabling communities and local industrial companies to engage and collaborate. We will also discuss how companies can address community concerns regarding the burdens and benefits associated with their facilities.  She will also share where she sees opportunities to help advance solutions.

12:15 pm Debrief, reflections & concluding comments

12:45 pm Adjourn