With COP27 and COP15 raising the bar, and now 2023 is upon us, there’s no better time to think beyond compliance towards transformation.
More companies are appointing Chief Sustainability Officers (CSOs). The role is becoming more important as more firms realise climate and nature are at the heart of their ambitions to run responsible business operations. But how can organisations make the most of having a CSO, and protect themselves against allegations of greenwashing?
- Don’t treat it as tokenism – the CSO needs to be a C-suite appointment
A PwC study has shown that companies appointed as many CSOs in 2020/21 as in the previous eight years combined. But it also found less than a third of all CSOs hold C-suite positions. Another report by the Weinreb Group, the executive search company, found that only 21% of CSOs in the US reported being one step away from the CEO, a decline over the past decade.
This risks companies being accused of creating token appointments and can trigger allegations of greenwashing. But it also limits the board’s ability to strategicall
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