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Between 2011 and 2019, 414 global companies appointed chief sustainability officers (CSOs), per PwC data. Now a second wave of CSO appointments is making headlines.
Since the start of 2023, Lego, Caterpillar, PepsiCo, Autodesk and Delta have all enlisted CSOs to steer them through increasingly tight greenwashing regulations in a world where people expect brands to be both environmentally responsible and honest.
CSOs are fast becoming the Swiss army knife of the C-suite as their remit expands beyond compliance, legal and marketing. The brands that Thomas Husson, vp and principal analyst at Forrester Research, advises are now baking sustainability into their corporate structure, from research and development to supply chain and communication.”
Historically, the CSO role has been dismissed by its critics as a vanity position or a greenwashing exercise. However, Husson argues the position is becoming more meaningful in the corporate sphere.
“Over the past two to three years, there’s been a shift in the strategic importance of sustainability,” he observed.
A C-suite convener
Emilio Tenuta took on the position of senior vp for corporate sustainability at water and hygiene provider Ecolab in 2011. By 2020, he was elevated to CSO.
In the four years since that promotion, Tenuta agrees the role has become more prominent and strategic, no longer confined to marketing, risk management, procurement or corporate social responsibility.
“Over the past three years, what’s changed for CSOs is that we’re moving from strategy development—which has been a key function—to implementation,” he told ADWEEK.
One of the most important aspects of Tenuta’s job is to act as a convener, bringing all the key elements and functions together to execute Ecolab’s sustainability strategy.
This extends beyond the boardroom, through peer-to-peer initiatives including the Water Resilience Coalition, of which the business is a founding member. The coalition’s main goal is to give water stress and scarcity top billing on corporate agendas and preserve the world’s freshwater resources through collective action.
“One thing that’s certain is to be an effective CSO today, you must become an effective collaborator, both internally and externally, to advance your company’s agenda for sustainable growth,” Tenuta said.
Threading sustainability throughout
Kathleen Talbot has the dual job of CSO and vp of operations at millennial fashion brand Reformation, where she’s spent the last 10 years spearheading its efforts to build a cleaner infrastructure to minimize waste, water and energy footprints.
“In my case, [the CSO role] means leading strategy and engagement across three verticals that intersect with sustainability: product, direct operations and marketing,” Talbot said.
Successes in 2023 included boosting the fashion brand’s circular economy credentials by ensuring 21% of its clothing was made from non-virgin (i.e. predominantly recycled) materials and cutting its CO2 footprint by 38%.
Talbot puts these wins down to a cross-functional model that sees her lead several teams like factory operations, facilities and retail development alongside her core remit.
“We are integrated into the fabric of the company and able to help steer and influence key decisions on a day-to-day basis,” she explained, adding that more companies will weave practitioners like herself into the nuts and bolts of their business.
One brand already doing so is Coca-Cola-owned Innocent Drinks, which in 2021 appointed Karina O’Gorman as head of force for good to oversee sustainability. Reporting to CMO Kirsty Hunter, O’Gorman has been the brand’s voice for its many nutritional and sustainability initiatives, including its commitment to reaching net zero emissions by 2040.
Upon joining, she helped the brand navigate greenwashing claims and has since been instrumental in sharpening its brand purpose. For Hunter, having her on board has been invaluable.
“She makes sure our sustainability credentials guide us at the start of every brief,” Hunter said.
The business case for a CSO
There’s not just a green case for the CSO, there’s a business one too, as Unilever revealed in 2018.
At the time, Unilever said that 28 of its 400-plus brands are classed as sustainable living brands (SLBs) that are “taking action to support positive change for people and the planet.” Though the consumer packaged goods (CPG) giant’s own green claims are currently being put under the microscope by regulators, it says these SLBs grow 69% faster than the rest of its business, and deliver 75% of the company’s overall growth.
Today’s CSOs help deliver on growth objectives through involvement from product development to promotion.
As Unilever shows, embracing sustainability can deliver profit. It can also include saving costs through resource efficiency, innovation in clean technologies, and access to new markets that value sustainable products.
Critically, by demonstrating measurable impact beyond traditional metrics such as carbon footprint reduction or waste diversion, CSOs can attract a wider pool of investors.
“CSOs will need to establish frameworks that quantify the social and environmental impact of the company’s products, services and operations,” said Tenuta.
