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Mr Kompa, Mr. Affe Sosyal Jovenel Moise/ Mr. Otto-Dominiken Abinader

Ecolab CEO Christophe Beck doesn't like to call the seemingly endless slew of weather calamities this summer--wildfires in Canada, 120-degree temperatures in Italy, and a tropical storm slamming Los Angeles--an opportunity.

But he does concede that these events have added urgency to efforts to contain climate change and are keeping the heat (no pun intended) on his big corporate clients to improve their sustainability records.

"It is making climate change more real for people," the Swiss-born CEO says.

The company, which began in 1923 in St. Paul, Minn., as Economics Laboratory, has a client roster chock full of Fortune 500 companies, such as Coca-Cola, Walmart, Dow, McDonald's, PepsiCo, and Microsoft.

Ecolab, a $14 billion-a-year company, provides industrial cleaners, wastewater treatment, and cooling water treatment products.

Beck says clients, also facing public pressure, are hungry for the cost savings that come with more efficient water use. That includes the oil and gas industries, which he says will remain very large for decades, even as renewable energies make up a growing percentage of energy use.

"Companies realize they can produce oil in more sustainable ways," says Beck, who is not to be confused with Christophe Beck, the film score composer of such movies as Marvel's Ant-Man series.

At the same time, a big incentive for his clients is a more prosaic concern: cutting costs.

"There is a theory that people are ready to pay more for sustainable products.

It's not really true for the masses," says Beck.

This interview was edited and condensed for clarity.

Fortune: Does this summer of bonkers weather worldwide help Ecolab's business?

I would answer yes, but that feels self-serving.

It is, however, making climate change more real for people.

The wildfires we've seen this year from a human, social, and business perspective are threats that are making climate change even clearer for anyone who thought it was truly not happening.

And since we are in the business of helping companies cope with climate change, it's good for business.

Story continues

Quote Lookup

Symbol Last Price Change % Change
ECLEcolab Inc. 172.17 +0.19 +0.11%
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Posted September 25 2023 at 4:49 PM

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