What is a Chief Sustainability Officer?
A chief sustainability officer (or CSO) is a senior executive in charge of a company’s environmental effect. A CSO is responsible for customising a firm’s business operations to be as sustainable as possible as part of an organisation’s “C-suite,” which refers to numerous corporate leadership positions in a corporation, including the chief executive officer (CEO) and the chief financial officer (CFO).
The CSO may have various job titles with identical responsibilities depending on the company—for example, director of sustainability, vice president of corporate social responsibility (CSR), or corporate sustainability process manager. With sustainability initiatives more widespread than ever, chief sustainability officers are in high demand as a result.
What Does a Chief Sustainability Officer Do?
A chief sustainability officer is in charge of the following tasks:
- Collaborating with C-Suite Members and Stakeholders: A CSO works closely with other C-level roles such as the CEO, CPO, COO, and CFO, as well as other significant stakeholders such as board members, as part of a company’s executive team.
- Designing and Executing Sustainability Initiatives: The major role of a CSO is to develop and implement a corporate sustainability plan that ensures a company’s profitability. This plan should direct a company’s efforts and resources toward reducing pollution and waste, conserving resources, lowering energy use, recycling, and lowering emissions. These plans encompass all aspects of the company’s operations, including day-to-day office operations, the manufacturing line, the supply chain, and employee commutes. A CSO may also implement outreach activities and sustainability programmes to educate employees and the wider public about the value of environmental preservation in the workplace.
- Leading the Sustainability Team: The CSO may be the lone member of the sustainability department in small businesses or startups. In bigger firms, however, a CSO may oversee an entire staff to support them in putting plans into action and tracking results.
- Managing the Sustainability Budget: This executive administers a company’s sustainability budget as the head of environmental sustainability, reviewing yearly spending connected to environmental activities and reporting at the end of each fiscal year.
- Staying Updated on Local and National Legislation: Environmental legislation at the local and national levels is continually evolving. To guarantee that their firm always performs within the legal confines of sustainable practice, a company’s CSO must keep abreast of this new law.
- Tracking Environmental Impact: CSOs put in place procedures to monitor the environmental effect of their company’s production and office operations, for example. This is critical for creating plans to improve a company’s sustainability efforts and measure their performance, which is often demonstrated in regular sustainability reports.
Three Qualifications for a Chief Sustainability Officer
The majority of chief sustainability officers have a few core qualifications or competencies, which include:
- Communication and Leadership Skills: Foremost, a successful CSO must have strong communication and leadership skills. Additionally, interpersonal skills are important in order to effectively supervise their staff and interact with other C-suite executives.
- Education: Most CSO roles require at least a bachelor’s degree in business administration, environmental science, or a related discipline. Candidates with further education, such as an MBA or additional sustainability certification, will be sought after for more competitive roles (like a Sustainability Excellence Associate or Sustainability Excellence Professional certification).
- Experience: Because the CSO function entails a lot of responsibility, most job descriptions for chief sustainability officers need at least 10 years of experience in sustainability or business positions, with at least five years in a leadership position. Additionally, prospective employers are particularly interested in seeing evidence of the candidate’s sustainability initiatives.
Amit Khanna, 7startup Founder
Amit has 18 years of experience in the industry and an MBA. He supports entrepreneurs with every aspect of their business including concept and product development, investor presentations, and fundraising. Amit & 7startup assist startups in the pre due-diligence process and help connect them to our vast network of investors. Reach out to us today and see if we’re a fit!
