New C-Suite Job Pays as Much as $1.5 Million in Hot Market

Chief sustainability officer is emerging as the hot new spot in the C-suite, but there’s little consensus over the job description, qualifications or even the goals as companies rush to staff up.

Investors, employees, consumers and regulators all are demanding firms be more forthcoming about their plans for tackling environmental, social and governance issues from global warming and pollution to discrimination and forced labor. Most recently, the war in Ukraine has entered the discussion around what the ESG label means.

Lucas Joppa, chief environmental officer for Microsoft Corp.

Photographer: David Ryder/Bloomberg

The risks for companies perceived as moving too slowly are high. Just last month, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission proposed ...