Sustainability is entering the C-suite

Organizations have been vocal about their commitment to more environmentally friendly practices, but the positions that make up their executive leadership don't necessarily reflect that mission.

Seventy-six percent of executives say sustainability is central to their business strategy, according to a recent study conducted by technology company IBM, but only 10% say that their organizations have made any significant progress in further developing their corporate efforts around these goals. However, a new hiring trend within the C-suite could begin affecting change.   

"Companies need a common language when it comes to their sustainability goals," says Alyssa Rade, chief sustainability officer at supply-chain decarbonization platform Sustain.Life. "Climate impact is one of the strongest and most robust ways that a company can talk about its broad environmental impacts, but figuring out how is the greatest challenge society and the global economy is facing." 

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To begin that conversation, some employers are hiring environmental consultants and carbon accountants to measure their environmental efforts through data. Carbon accountants look at an organization's electricity consumption, business travel and product sustainability, among other factors, to measure their business's carbon footprint. This data-focused role gives leaders a straight-forward metric for reaching or adjusting their sustainability goals. 

"Their job is to translate all of an organization's different business activities into one metric," Rade says. "They deliver that data in terms of their carbon dioxide equivalent so that there's just one unit to measure  how companies can talk about their impact on the environment." 

Seeing as the position is relatively new, most companies have previously relied on consultants. The estimated cost of hiring a carbon accountant is $20,000 to $200,000 annually, depending on the  size and scope of the data, according to Sustain.Life. While that may seem high, the investment is worth it, especially when it comes to retention and recruiting efforts, according to Rade. 

Sixty-eight percent of consumers surveyed by IBM said sustainability is important to them, and another 65% said the same about social responsibility. As for prospective employees, research from Deloitte revealed that at least one in four job seekers investigates what potential employers are doing — or not doing — to address environmental impacts, and may be willing to make decisions accordingly.

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"Having a value-based, purpose-driven accountability component in a corporation is really important to the workforce," Rade says. "Especially younger generations, they feel that if they're going to spend all of their time working, they want it to be for something that they care about." 

While it may not be a realistic choice for certain companies to incorporate this role into their current C-suite, Rade urges companies to add it into long-term plans for the future. The issue will only become more prominent. 

"This is a systemic challenge and also an opportunity," Rade says. "The amount of professionals focusing on the climate problem and what to do about it and how to accelerate solutions to address it is incredible. Companies that lag on this are just proving they're not focused on building top talent or top offerings."