Chief sustainability officer
Chief sustainability officers (CSO) facilitate the development of organization or community-wide sustainability goals, and oversee the execution of plans, policies, programs, and practices aimed at achieving them.
Quick facts: Chief sustainability officer | |
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2019 Median Pay | $184,460 annual; $88.68 hourly |
Typical Entry-Level Education | Master's degree |
Number of Jobs, 2019 | N/A |
Job Outlook, 2019-29 | N/A |
Employment Change, 2019-29 | N/A |
CSOs work across departments and teams to break down silos; they communicate and coordinate with management, stakeholders, customers, employees, and other constituents to advance the sustainability goals. They often engage in performance management and evaluate organizational activities in service of sustainability metrics.
The breadth and depth of sustainability efforts is expanding rapidly, but the work is rooted in the triple bottom line: equity, economy, and environment. The CSO uses systems-thinking to consider the impacts of its products or practices across the three pillars. A CSO might evaluate trends in building or community energy or water performance, improve working conditions in their supply chain, create better safety procedures for employees, or contribute to product development that addresses environmental or social problems. The CSO articulates complex issues and results in a clear and effective manner that must resonate with its broad stakeholder group.
Depending on a company or a community's level of involvement with sustainability, the CSO’s role will differ. Some are focused on complying with ESG reporting or regulations; others focus on finding inefficiencies and working to resolve or correct them. Some work at the policy level embedding sustainability throughout the organization so that it becomes a part of the business model and culture, while others are deeply engaged in innovation and market transformation.
Role on a LEED project
LEED is the most widely used green building rating system in the world. Available for virtually all building and community types, LEED provides a framework for healthy, highly efficient, and cost-saving green buildings and communities. LEED certification is a globally recognized symbol of sustainability achievement and leadership.
The LEED credits this role influences most:
How to become a chief sustainability officer
C-suite positions such as chief sustainability officer are part of the executive team within companies, and thus, it is a job that most people assume after years of work in sustainability consulting, leadership development, and/or sustainability management. For this reason, it’s hard to draw a line between a particular postsecondary degree and the position of CSO; but courses in business management, public administration, sustainability leadership, sustainability science, supply chains, environmental or social policy and law, and environmental economics would provide the knowledge useful for meeting the job description of a CSO. Important skills include critical thinking, speaking, active listening, leadership, decision-making, and problem-solving.
Exploration tools
- Education courses
- Change Management Around Sustainability
- From process to profit: prove the business case for sustainable manufacturing
- How to Create and Manage Green Teams
- Strategy for Sustainability
- Beyond Commitments: Accelerating Progress on Climate Action
- Disrupting Urban Mobility: The New COVID Landscape in Cities
- Professional certifications and credentials
- Knowledge-based badges
- Activities
- Attend upcoming events related to chief sustainability officers
- Connect with companies that work in this field