C-Suite Job Built Around ESG Struggles to Find Its Footing

As more companies add chief sustainability officers to their senior ranks, what these executives actually do and who they report to is far from consistent.

The Conference Board, a US-based think tank that examines global corporate trends, has published a report mapping out the issues that CSOs face when they try to implement a company’s sustainability agenda. The findings offer a glimpse into the workings of a C-suite role that largely didn’t exist until five years ago.

After surveying more than 100 sustainability executives at US companies, the Conference Board found that only one-third of CSOs report directly to ...