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Chief Sustainability Officers

Communicate and coordinate with management, shareholders, customers, and employees to address sustainability issues. Enact or oversee a corporate sustainability strategy.

What you’d do

  • Monitor and evaluate effectiveness of sustainability programs.
  • Develop or execute strategies to address issues such as energy use, resource conservation, recycling, pollution reduction, waste elimination, transportation, education, and building design.
  • Develop, or oversee the development of, sustainability evaluation or monitoring systems.
  • Supervise employees or volunteers working on sustainability projects.
  • Develop sustainability reports, presentations, or proposals for supplier, employee, academia, media, government, public interest, or other groups.
  • Develop, or oversee the development of, marketing or outreach media for sustainability projects or events.
  • Identify and evaluate pilot projects or programs to enhance the sustainability research agenda.
  • Create and maintain sustainability program documents, such as schedules and budgets.

Skills that matter

  • Critical Thinking
  • Writing
  • Active Listening
  • Complex Problem Solving
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Speaking

How to get there

Extensive preparation: most need graduate school, such as a master's degree or higher

Also called

  • Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO)
  • Sustainability Director
  • Sustainability Manager
  • Sustainable Design Director
  • Corporate Sustainability Process Manager
  • CSR and Sustainability VP (Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability Vice President)

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