The Weinreb
Group
— a boutique executive-search firm specializing in the recruitment of Chief
Sustainability Officers (CSOs), as well as other Corporate Social Responsibility
(CSR) and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) leaders — today released a
report on the skyrocketing growth of the CSO position in the US. It also digs
into the work of the country’s 95 most influential CSOs — who are helping shape
the largest US corporations’ work to address everything from climate change and
resource scarcity to, increasingly, economic inequality and systemic racism.
Drawing from insights from Fortune 500 companies, The Chief Sustainability
Officer 10 Years Later: The Rise of ESG in the
C-Suite
revealed a dramatic increase in hiring in 2020 — with more CSOs recruited last
year than the previous three years combined. The number of CSOs in the US has
soared from just 29 in 2011 to 95 today; and they’re shaping how their
corporations not only address their environmental impacts, but also engage with
and support issues of social justice.
“The past year was among the most disruptive in generations — not only
COVID-19, but upheaval
that brought new attention to social justice, climate change and an
ever-widening political divide,” said Ellen Weinreb, founder and CEO of the
Weinreb Group. “Our report looks at how these trends are shaping business,
society and the C-Suite. CSOs are the most powerful people in business when it
comes to determining how companies grapple with these issues.”
The report, leveraging input from leaders with the title “Chief Sustainability
Officer” who work at publicly traded US companies, is a 10-year follow-up to The
Weinreb Group’s first CSO report in 2011. The new report revealed the following
trends:
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DEI and sustainability: The ROI of inclusive corporate cultures
Join us as leaders from the Accomplis Collective, Bard, Beneficial State Foundation, ReEngineering HR and REI share best practices for cultivating a culture of belonging and insights into how inclusive leadership can lead to more effective and equitable sustainability outcomes — Wednesday, Oct. 16, at SB'24 San Diego.
More companies hired their first CSO in 2020 than the previous three years
combined: Last year, 31 companies hired their first CSO. The field has
grown by more than 228 percent in 10 years.
-
CSO teams are growing — but responsibility is decentralized:
Sustainability teams are expanding, with the average team size increasing
from five professionals in 2011 to 15 today. Yet, in the corporate
leadership hierarchy, CSOs are not quite as close as they once were to the
CEO.
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CSO succession is not a guarantee: Some firms have started eliminating
the CSO position entirely, which is a potential counterpoint to other data.
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More women; little racial diversity: The percentage of women in CSO
roles has almost doubled, with women now accounting for 54 percent of CSO
positions. However, despite the movement toward gender balance and the
expanded focus on social justice, the CSO role remains overwhelmingly white.
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The CSO role is expanding — and shifting: The data find that many
companies are now paying more attention to the ‘S’ in the ESG equation,
rather than just the ‘E,’ and the broadening of CSOs’ role reflects that.
Still, while gender parity in the traditional sense is starting to be
addressed, there is growing recognition that truly inclusive workplaces —
and a truly inclusive, sustainable society — must foster both racial
equity
and the acceptance of gender as a
spectrum.
This data — combined with a recent WeSpire
survey
that found a significant drop in corporate DEI programs in 2020, despite a
groundswell in both corporate commitments and employee interest around
related issues — confirms that the business world still has work to do to
make good on their DEI commitments.
Read the full Weinreb Group report here.
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Sustainable Brands Staff
Published May 18, 2021 8am EDT / 5am PDT / 1pm BST / 2pm CEST