3 hours ago
1
- In today’s CEO Daily: Diane Brady talks to WM CEO Jim Fish.
- The big story: Trump wants tariffs on buyers of Russian oil.
- The markets: Broadly up this morning.
- Plus: All the news and watercooler chat from Fortune.
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 are a reminder 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 diane.brady@fortune.com
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
English (US) ·