Leading the Transition to a Sustainable Organisation

HOW TO BE A CHIEF SUSTAINABILITY OFFICER

The Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) has become a crucial member of leadership teams, deeply involved in shaping company strategy and enhancing operations across all areas. Yet, effective corporate sustainability strategies remain elusive and organisations struggle to transition in a meaningful and practical way.

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Authors

Anna Krotova

Anna Krotova is a Sustainability Director and a pioneer in sustainability. She has been working in the field since 2010, advocating for transparent and responsible business practices that are rooted in respect for planetary boundaries and human rights. In her roles at the International Finance Corporation, Metabolic, Global Reporting Initiative, and private sector companies, Anna has helped organisations improve their sustainability practices, usher in impactive changes in company operations and culture, and encourage meaningful reflection around sustainability issues. She holds an MA in Environmental Policy from Moscow State University as well as an MSc in Industrial Ecology from Delft University of Technology, and she serves in various capacities across the sustainability community. She lives in Amsterdam with her husband and son.

Jennifer Geary

Jennifer Geary is a senior executive with over 25 years of experience in finance, technology, risk and legal, across diverse industries from finance to not-for-profit. Jennifer is also an author, speaker and mentor to emerging businesses. Now a native of London, she has worked in mainstream banking (Barclays plc) and in fintech (Alkanza, Asto by Santander, nCino). Having long held an interest in corporate social responsibility and sustainability, she served as Chief Operating Officer of Save the Children UK between 2015-2017, a £400m NGO which serves in 68 countries and helps 22 million children every year. She has attained qualification as a chartered accountant, PRINCE 2 practitioner, CISA and CISSP and most recently completed a course in Sustainable Finance and ESG Investing at NYU Stern.

Inside The Book

What You'll Find

01

Anthropological Insight — Delve into the human aspects of the CSO role and the organizational dynamics that surround it.

02

Comprehensive Resource — Access a thorough overview of the latest standards, policies, tools, and approaches for developing and executing a sustainability strategy.

03

Equips you with the questions you need to ask to gain early insight, diagnose the issues and move into execution.

04

Practical Tools — Utilize chapter-specific checklists that synthesize key takeaways and provide easy-to-follow cheat sheets for immediate application.

The role of the CSO
Sustainability vocabulary
Fostering a sustainability culture
Developing a strategy

Materiality Assessment
Measuring Impacts
Sustainability Policies
Sustainability Risk Management
Investor Relations
Reporting
Communications and Marketing

Setting up for execution
Getting a team together
Investing in technology
What’s next

A Practical Guide to CSO

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THE WORLD NEEDS EXCELLENT CHIEF SUSTAINABILITY OFFICERS.

The Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) has become a crucial member of leadership teams, deeply involved in shaping company strategy and enhancing operations across all areas. However, despite the abundance of sustainability frameworks, practical insights on implementing effective corporate sustainability strategies remain elusive and organisations struggle to transition in a meaningful and practical way.

This book is an essential guide for new or prospective CSOs, providing foundational insights how to anchor sustainability within the core strategy of an organisation. It helps to focus on impactful changes and avoid distraction and “greenwash”. Using a proven framework, this book de-constructs the CSO role. It links sustainability to the core areas of culture and strategy. It guides the reader through seven technical areas that make up the full sustainability role. It covers execution, building your team and leveraging technology. Finally, it looks to the future of this rapidly evolving area.

This book distils over two decades of sustainability theory and 30 years of combined management experience into a hands-on, comprehensive guide for CSOs. It also serves as an important reference for Boards, Committees, and leaders who are ready to embrace the sustainability transition and position their organisations for long-term, ethically-driven success.

What People are Saying

Praise for CSO

There has never been a better time to be a Chief Sustainability Officer, but at the same time, pressures and expectations of the role are increasing exponentially, and there has historically been a lack of definition and professional consistency in the way the role and remit of the function is envisaged in corporations. In this indispensable book, the authors gather the latest thinking and cut through the confusion to provide a deeply practical, constructive and realistic guide to navigating through these pressures and becoming more effective and empowered in the process.

– Alison Taylor, Executive Director at Ethical Systems and author of “Higher Ground: How Business Can Do the Right Thing in a Turbulent World”

From your first day in the role to making the role a long-term success, the authors provide a much-needed dose of reality about being a CSO, setting out the day-to-day challenges as well as the broader ever more challenging environment this vital role sits in. Whether you work in a highly ambitious company or one that is just getting started on sustainability, with the world’s eyes on your company, this book is for you.

– Nadine Smith, Director of Government and Enterprise at Social Finance UK

Anna and Jennifer have done the difficult job of bringing complex sustainability and ESG concepts together in a very accessible way. The book synthesizes years of development into a few chapters and brings out the essence. Reading it also feels like a journey of recognition. This is a really useful guide for CSOs and anyone who wants to understand the corporate sustainability profession and industry.

– Hero Boonstra, VP Sustainability/ESG at VTTI

This book is an invaluable resource to all starting out or experienced in the CSO role. As regulation and World events evolve it’s important to take stock and apply the principals outlined in this book again and again. A truly comprehensive guide.

– Sharon McManus, Head of Sustainability at ESB Ireland

An insightful, pragmatic and easy-to-read guide for all professionals joining the sustainability field (or the ones recruiting them), that seek to understand and make the most of the purposeful role of Chief Sustainability Officer.

– Vera Moll, Director Sustainability Reporting and Strategy, KPMG Netherlands

The book gives a great overview of the different aspects of the CSO role and the challenges that come with it. Insightful for both a newly appointed sustainability expert and an experienced CSO!

– Sanne Nusselder, Global ESG Officer, Fagron

A masterclass in sustainability leadership, this book combines expert knowledge with actionable guidance, making it an essential tool for current and aspiring Chief Sustainability Officers aiming to make a profound impact in their fields.

– Markus Pretzl, Director ESG/EHS, TIP Group

This is a really useful, practical (the authors offer a "First 90 days checklist"!), actionable, and easy-to-read framework for CSOs and other professionals who want to excel in the corporate sustainability profession and industry. From the initial day in the position to realizing sustained success, the authors provide essential insights into what it takes to be an ambitious and purposeful CSO.

– Natalya

"The Chief Sustainability Officer" is a practical guide for new or aspiring CSOs, bridging the gap between sustainability theory and the real world. As a professional not directly working in the field of sustainability, this book provides a comprehensive understanding of how sustainability can be integrated into any organization, offering insights into effective leadership and ethical decision-making.

– Anna Solovieva

It is refreshing to come across a book that gives a clear and no-nonsense overview of all the factors that you need to take into account when working in the field. This book should be mandatory reading not only for (budding) CSOs but also for all members of an organization's leadership, so they can better understand the breadth of scope of the CSO, the complexity of their role and the perspective they can bring to the organization's operations.

– Alba Leon

Few corporate roles have experienced the spotlight and turbulence that this one has over recent years - this book provides not just useful roadmaps and tools, but the sense that you have someone in your corner, who shares the vision and passion for what the CSO can achieve. A must-buy for anyone committed to leading into an uncertain future; one which recognises the irreplaceable value of the more-than-human world.

– Paul Boyle

I read this with a particular focus on sustainable finance - comprehensive yet practical and easy to follow. Would recommend to anyone working for any corporate- those already advanced in their sustainability thinking or those just starting to craft strategies.

– Marianne Anderson

What the authors achieved is a true first aid kit for anyone new to the space, and for those well-settled in the role: helping to win adequate help and resources in the organisation for the role to succeed. There is not one paragraph that wouldn't be absolutely critical to successful delivery of the role. It reads fast, it solves problems, it scales understanding. Just what I needed.