Cambridge Business Association
Chief Sustainability Officers at Work
Book

Chief Sustainability Officers at Work

How CSOs Build Successful Sustainability and ESG Strategies

Chrissa Pagitsas
Apress, 2022
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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Applicable
  • Concrete Examples
  • Engaging

Recommendation

The people who lead sustainability and ESG within their organizations know why their work is crucial – for their employers, society, and the planet. However, many questions remain about how best to accomplish corporate sustainability and environmental, social, and governance goals. ESG and green finance expert Chrissa Pagitsas offers meaty interviews with sustainability heads at Coca-Cola, Amazon, BlackRock, and other Fortune 500 companies. Their insights into strategy, leadership, and change management will be useful to any CSO or ESG leader and those who partner with and support them.

Summary

CSOs guide their organization’s sustainability and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) agendas.

The people who lead an organization’s sustainability and ESG strategy have various titles, including head of ESG, head of sustainability, and, most commonly, chief sustainability officer (CSO). Their responsibilities and backgrounds also vary widely. But all guide their organizations to meet the challenges of climate change, social justice, evolving regulatory frameworks, and shifting investor expectations. And all CSOs play a crucial role in their organization’s long-term growth.

The CSO role emerged over the past two decades as companies – and civil society – began to recognize a need to address environmental and social justice issues. Initially, businesses focused primarily on “green” initiatives, such as energy efficiencies. Over time, the more encompassing ESG approach became the go-to way for assessing a company’s environmental and social impacts and governance. Today, those who lead their organizations in sustainability and ESG understand the reasons behind their work, but questions about how to pursue often-complex...

About the Author

Chrissa Pagitsas is a strategic adviser to senior executives on the intersection of environmental, social, governance and global business. She is founder and principal at Pagitsas Advisory Services and a senior adviser for McKinsey & Co. Prior to her current role, Pagitsas served as chief sustainability officer at Fannie Mae, where she launched the first green commercial mortgage-backed security in the United States.

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