Corporate Working Group
May 20-21, 2026  |  San Francisco, CA

Logistics

Where: The Hotel Kabuki 1625 Post St, San Francisco, CA 94115. Book with our special room rate here.

When: May 20-21, 2026

We begin with a casual dinner on the 19th for out-of-town corporate participants arriving the night before. The formal meeting begins with breakfast on the 20th and concludes on the 21st by 1pm.

Registration: Register here. The price will increase on May 6th. Complimentary for Future 500 CAN members. 

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

What: Future 500 has been conducting this intimate working group for over 10 years. Our discussions are confidential, facilitated under the Chatham House Rule, and designed to foster constructive engagement and mutual understanding between companies and advocates. We cultivate mutual understanding by illuminating important issue trends and best practices, and reducing barriers to potential collaboration between companies and their stakeholders.

We seek to empower our delegates to actively engage by speaking up, teaching others, respectfully disagreeing, and asking tough questions. We welcome your ideas and challenges, so come prepared to participate.

Dress code: Business casual–emphasis on the casual!

AGENDA

Tuesday, May 19th

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

Wednesday, May 20th

8:00 am Networking breakfast

9:00 am Welcome, Ground Rules, and Goals

9:30 am Introductions & Networking Activity

10:30 am Corporate Session: Peer Discussion on Human Rights, AI, and the Shifting Business Landscape

As political polarization, supply‑chain disruption, AI deployment, and shifting regulatory expectations reshape the global business landscape, corporate approaches to human rights are in flux. Expectations remain high even as companies navigate uncertainty about what credible action looks like in practice. How are companies thinking about their responsibilities today—and what questions are they still working through?
Jarod Davis, Senior Government Affairs Director at Dow, will facilitate a dialogue focused on the evolving corporate perspective on human rights. Drawing on Dow’s ongoing journey and Future 500’s Force for Good Forecast, this session will create space for peer exchange on emerging risks, tensions, and tradeoffs—from geopolitics and value‑chain accountability to the role of AI and stakeholder engagement—surfacing shared challenges, open questions and potential solutions.

12:00 pm Lunch

1:00 pm Kate Gordon on Industrial Policy, Carbon Management, and the Energy Transition

Kate Gordon was the Senior Advisor to former US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, former Director of the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research, Senior Climate Policy Advisor to Governor Gavin Newsom, and founding director of the Risky Business Project. Now, as the CEO of California Forward (CA FWD), she is pioneering initiatives to reinvigorate industrial and manufacturing policy, carbon management, the energy transition, and regional economic resilience. Kate will lead a dialogue exploring emerging opportunities and risks related to these topics, and seek input from our participants to help shape her organizational priorities to achieve the greatest positive impact for business and society.

2:30 pm Break

2:45 pm Session TBA

4:00 pm Debrief & reflections

4:15 pm Adjourn

6:00 pm Multi-Stakeholder Dinner

The Progress, 1525 Fillmore St, San Francisco, CA 94115

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

Thursday, May 21st

8:00 am Networking Breakfast

9:00 am Reflections on Dinner and Day 1

9:15 am Framing the Nature Positive Agenda for Business

Dr. Jennifer McGowan last joined our Corporate Affinity Network meeting in 2022, where she unpacked emerging developments in how companies invest in stewarding nature. Highly regarded by participants, she will be joining us again to update us on the movement, including the latest guidance on framing the Nature Positive agenda for business. She’ll also share insights on guiding internal leaders to move beyond disclosure and get nature on the balance sheet and into the boardroom. Jennifer bridges the gap between industry and conservation as a Research Professor at ASU Center for Biodiversity Outcomes and the Director of Landscape Planning and Science at the Nature Positive Landscapes Initiative, and her work with Nature Matters is transforming how companies integrate nature into their core strategies. Previously at the Nature Conservancy, she has spent 15 years helping countries and NGOs worldwide integrate decision-support tools into their biodiversity and conservation strategies.

10:30 am Break

10:45 amThe Intersection of Climate and Labor: What Companies Need to Know

As climate change, the growth of AI, and geopolitical shifts create increasing turmoil for companies, labor issues like human rights, AI job panic, and mass layoffs are rising in importance. Jason Walsh, the Executive Director of the BlueGreen Alliance, works between the issues of climate change and labor to protect the health of people and the environment and advance a clean, prosperous, and equitable economy. Jason will bring this unique lens to Future 500's working group, sharing how labor and the environment intersect in unique and significant ways, how companies can anticipate and address these issues as they emerge, and what best practices look like around the energy transition, engaging with unions, and enabling the workforce to meet the needs of our evolving economy.

12:30 pm Debrief, reflections & concluding comments

1:00 pm Adjourn