What is a CSO Anyway?
The following post, “What is a CSO Anyway?” was originally published on LinkedIn. You can find it here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-cso-anyway-stephen-ashkin/
Twenty years ago, there was no such thing as a chief sustainability officer, or CSO. But today, virtually every major company around the globe has a CSO, as do many small and midsized companies.
Early on, the position was considered only somewhat important.
According to Harvard Business School researchers, initially the duty of a CSO was to comply with new environmental regulations impacting their organization or industry. Those selected to be a company’s chief sustainability officer were often pulled from a company’s marketing, communications, or human resources departments. They were given an extra hat to wear.
However, that soon changed. As organizations began to realize that sustainability could increase efficiencies, reduce waste, lower operating costs, and boost the bottom line, the position of the CSO grew in importance.
Today, the role and its importance are best described by Michael Kobori, CSO for Starbucks Coffee and former vice president of sustainability for Levi Strauss & Co. He says the role of the CSO is to:
Demonstrate that a company can be sustainable and financially successful. You don’t need to trade one for the other.
Thomas Milburn, a sustainability consultant with Corporate Citizenship, goes even further:
CSOs can’t afford to sit in a corner, write a sustainability report, issue a green bond, win some awards, [and] then tell the market the company is a sustainability pioneer. If you’re not changing the core business, then you are not doing your job.
So, how does a CSO do their job? The following are among the ways:
Clearly and continuously communicate to all stakeholders — company leaders, staff, investors, and vendors — the importance of sustainability in the organization.
Ensure that sustainability is integrated into the organization’s core operations, including its goals, products, investments, how it treats its workers, and so on.
Keep measuring sustainability progress. Measuring sustainability means reporting stumbles and challenges, but it also means reporting success. The stumbles and challenges make the successes all the more appreciated and powerful.
Demand a seat at the table. The role of the CSO must be elevated to board-level representation, and if it doesn’t have this, it will not have the necessary impact to make sustainability happen.
Ensure corporate leaders are more than company leaders when it comes to sustainability. They must also be doers. In other words, they walk their talk.
Know the company and its operations inside out. In some cases, the CSO may have to “get their hands dirty,” learning precisely how products are manufactured and assembled and services are performed. This knowledge is crucial for the CSO to implement sustainability-focused practices and procedures, measure performance, and find opportunities.
An example of this last point was demonstrated by a CSO of a sizeable hotel chain. Working with the hotel’s housekeepers, this CSO realized that used soap bars were just being tossed into the trash, only to end up in landfills.
Now the used soap is delivered to organizations such as Clean the World®.
This and similar organizations collect used soap from major hotel chains around the world, melt it down, and re-distribute it to impoverished, hygiene-starved countries around the world. The process saves lives, protects the environment, and keeps millions of pounds of used soap from ending up in landfills.
Takeaway:
It's my belief the role of the CSO is still in its infancy.
The position will become essential for all types of businesses starting in 2023 including jansan-related companies, as the world’s sustainability journey advances faster than ever before.
Remember: Choose to be optimistic. While we can’t make it perfect, we can make it better!
Steve Ashkin
