PwC’s “Empowered Chief Sustainability Officers” benchmarks the Chief Sustainability Officer position based on the firm’s research and analysis of CSOs at 1,600 of the world’s largest companies (by market cap), providing noteworthy data on a role that is increasingly prevalent and demanding.
Key findings include:
- More companies appointed a CSO in 2021 than during the 5-year period 2016 – 2020.
- Nearly half of North American companies have “active” (full-scope) CSOs, while another 39% have CSOs with a limited mandate (“light CSO”) based on the structure of their role or overall positioning on the org chart. Among the six geographic regions, North America has the most active CSOs by a wide margin.
- Larger companies are much more likely than smaller companies to have an active CSO.
- By industry, consumer products, chemicals, and oil & gas companies (in descending order) have the highest percentages of active CSOs; engineering and e-commerce have the lowest.
- CSOs most commonly have a corporate sustainability background or come from an outside sustainability-related organization. A majority are hired or promoted from within rather than externally.
The report discusses evolving trends in the role and responsibilities of the CSO based on qualitative interviews, and suggests that the role be elevated within organizations to afford greater visibility, authority, accountability, and board access.
See “Chief Sustainability Officers Gaining in Influence, Still Lack Board Access” (ESG Today) and our recent report: “Chief Sustainability Officers Trending Up.”
This post first appeared in the weekly Society Alert!