Despite sustainability becoming a crucial aspect of corporate policies, less than a third of companies have fully integrated programs into their organizations.
A new report by The Conference Board reveals that less than a third of companies have fully integrated sustainability programs throughout their organizations.
The report offers CSOs and C-suite leaders insights on navigating transformations-related organizational challenges.
The findings come from a survey of more than 100 sustainability leaders at predominantly large US companies.
According to the survey, the largest challenge facing CSOs is “organizing to execute the strategy,” which can only be completed with the full support of the CEO and other members of the C-suite.
The most successful teams have CSOs who have been there longer and answer directly to the CEO or other C-suite executives. As per the survey, CSOs collaborating with sustainability-steering committees also frequently have greater success in their positions.
During interviews, the sustainability executives reported that:
• Their organizations have fully implemented sustainability programs (48%)
• 21% are in the early stage of their sustainability journey
• Organizing and implementing strategy is number-one challenge for 60% sustainability executives (SEs) at large US companies
• Other challenges include embedding it into the corporate culture and communicating their story to multiple constituencies.
The report offers insights into the evolving roles of the SEs, their organization’s programs, and the effectiveness of their teams and steering committees.
It also highlights the growing workload of the SEs.
• 87% of SEs expect their responsibilities to increase in the next 3-5 years.
• Most companies have recently appointed a CSO or equivalent for less than five years.
• 64% of respondents foresee an increase in the number of full-time employees working on sustainability across their organization in the next 3-5 years.
It is anticipated that in the next three to five years, the range of CSO responsibilities will expand due to the growing number of regulations pertaining to sustainability as well as the pressure from stakeholders, customers, and investors to address issues like climate change, water scarcity, and human rights.
“Without a doubt, as more businesses realize the long-term benefits of concentrating on the benefits of sustainability for the business and society, the role of the CSO is becoming more and more important,” said Nathalie Risse, Senior Researcher, ESG Centre, The Conference Board.