Good morning. Summer in the city is a great time to talk trash. The sanitation strikes that cut deep this time of year and the smells emanating from open-air trash cans remind us that the U.S. is one of the world’s largest producers of waste, with Americans generating about 951 kilograms (2,100 pounds) of municipal solid waste per person each year.
The company that handles about a third of that trash is WM, the $24 billion-a-year giant otherwise known as Waste Management. It’s the dominant player operating transfer stations, landfill sites, recycling plants and landfill gas projects. In this week’s episode of Fortune’s Leadership Next podcast, CEO Jim Fish talks about aligning the brand around sustainability. “It’s profitable for us,” he says, noting that decomposing trash produces the natural gas that powers WM’s garbage trucks, among other things.
He also talks about the transformative role of technology in creating safer trucks, and ergo, fewer people are needed in roles that can have 50% turnover rates. “I was back there one time when it was below zero on the back of a truck, climbing over snowdrifts. Your hands are cold; it’s a hard job,” he says. “The most dangerous place around those trucks is when you’re outside them.”
While Fish says his philosophy is to put employees first—“If they feel good, they will make the customer feel good. And if the customer is happy, then ultimately your shareholders are happy”—he feels a particular responsibility to the environment. “I get plenty of calls from customers saying, ‘Hey, what happened to my recycling pickup last week?’ The environment doesn’t call me.”
On that front, he points to progress. Coming to New York as a kid, he says, “I looked at the East River and thought, ‘my gosh look how horrible that is.’” (WM doesn’t handle garbage collection here.) Now? “New York has done a lot. It’s not Tokyo but it’s done a nice job of improving … Are we there? No, but are we better than we were?” You can listen to our full conversation on Spotify or Apple.
Contact CEO Daily via Diane Brady at [email protected]
Top news
Trump threatens more tariffs for Russian oil buyers
“We settled on 25% but I think I’m going to raise that very substantially over the next 24 hours, because they’re buying Russian oil,” Trump said of countries that do business with Moscow. “They’re fueling the war machine. And if they’re going to do that, then I’m not going to be happy.”
He also wants a 250% tariff on pharmaceuticals
Trump previously threatened a 200% tariff on drugs, but no tariffs emerged in his deal with the E.U., a major pharma producer.
Berkshire Hathaway shares fall after Buffet’s exit
The company’s Class A shares are down 14% since Buffet retired in favor of new chief Greg Abel. In the same period, the S&P is up 11%, the FT reports.
RFK Jr pulls vaccine funding
The health secretary said, “We’re shifting that funding toward safer, broader vaccine platforms that remain effective even as viruses mutate.” Moderna’s research on H5N1 bird flu will be among the research projects affected.
Anthropic will offer its AI to the government for $1
Federal agencies can now access Claude through the General Services Administration (GSA) schedule, the company announced. Prices for access will vary but will start as low as $1, the company told Axios.
BP beats earnings estimates
BP announced second-quarter earnings on Tuesday, beating Wall Street’s expectations as it pivots away from renewable energy and back to fossil fuels. The oil giant posted net profits of $1.65 billion.
UBS warns of “stall speed” in the economy
UBS Global Research warned in a weekly note that the U.S. economy has hit “stall speed” as demand and job growth weaken, threatened by new tariffs and higher inflation.
Fortune’s 100 Most Powerful People in Business
This list measures power and influence—and though net worth is a factor, we’re more concerned with a leader’s ability to shape the thoughts and actions of those around them. Billionaires no longer active in business, business unit leaders, politicians and regulators, as well as loud voices who don’t run substantive businesses, do not qualify. Here are the 100 people who are running the business world today—and shaping what it looks like tomorrow.
DOGE staffer attacked by mob in DC
The 19-year-old former DOGE staffer nicknamed “Big Balls” was beaten and injured by a group of 10 youths as he foiled an attempted carjacking, the NY Post reports. Edward Coristine is now recovering from a broken nose, concussion, and a black eye. Police made two arrests.
The markets
S&P 500 futures were up 0.36% this morning, premarket, after the index closed down 0.49% yesterday. STOXX Europe 600 was up 0.21% in early trading. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 was up 0.18% in early trading. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 0.6%. China’s CSI 300 was up 0.24%. The South Korea KOSPI was flat. India’s Nifty 50 was down 0.23%. Bitcoin sank to $113.9K.
Around the watercooler
Former Trump advisor criticizes Trump’s timing on ousting America’s data czar: ‘Like firing the referee’ by Eva Roytburg
Did DOGE contribute to the BLS jobs report that Trump hated? Economist Mark Zandi thinks so by Sheryl Estrada
OpenAI launches its first open model in years so it can stop being on the ‘wrong side of history’—while still keeping its most valuable IP under wraps by Sharon Goldman
Figma’s CEO is now worth $5 billion after IPO—like Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Ellison, and Bill Gates, he’s another college-dropout billionaire by Preston Fore
CEO Daily is compiled and edited by Joey Abrams and Jim Edwards.
