CSO Futures

At cable provider Nexans, transformation is defined systemically: systems for measurement, systems for materials recovery, and systems for power delivery. That philosophy is embodied by VP of Sustainability and Corporate Transformation David Grall, whose dual role reflects the company’s belief that sustainability must be embedded directly into business transformation. A finance executive by background, Grall brings an unusually quantitative lens to the sustainability brief, and tells us about his approach - and its results - in this exclusive CSO Futures interview. https://lnkd.in/eTQh8b9k #EnergyTransition #Electrification #ChiefSustainabilityOfficer #SustainabilityLeaders

Our CSO Futures Sustainability Leaders Community members are incredibly interested in understanding the impact of #AI on their work - and on their #NetZero targets. So for our next meeting on April 16, we have invited Fernanda Torre, CEO of Next Agents and author of AI Leadership for Corporate Boards, to give us a workshop on setting up the right #AIGovernance to ensure the technology brings in positive results, without collateral damage. Fernanda will also answer all our members' burning questions on #SustainableAI. This event is only open to our community of senior enterprise sustainability leaders. Apply to join the community now to attend: https://lnkd.in/e8vzTRAu or email us at melodie@csofutures.com. #ChiefSustainabilityOfficer

Less than a third of companies are reskilling workers to prepare for the impacts of #AI, and the wide majority do not have safeguards in place to protect employees from negative impacts, according to a new study. A Thomson Reuters Foundation analysis of publicly available information from almost 3,000 global companies across 11 sectors found a significant gap between businesses’ ambition to harness the potential of AI, and the mechanisms they put in place to manage its risks. https://lnkd.in/e73fqbPn #EthicalAI #HR #AISafeguards #ChiefSustainabilityOfficer

A group of 250 scientists have signed a declaration laying out a 10-point plan to tackle #MethaneEmissions – “one of the best opportunities to slow global warming”. Methane is responsible for 30% of global warming and is its second contributor after carbon dioxide. As such, reducing methane emissions is a highly effective way to mitigate the temperature rise, the scientists argue in the #AngeraDeclaration.   The plan starts with rapidly accelerating the deployment of proven methane mitigation measures for the energy, waste and agriculture sectors, and strengthening measurement, monitoring, reporting and verification of methane emissions. https://lnkd.in/emMyJrFg #Methane #ChiefSustainabilityOfficer #GlobalWarming

What happens to the role when a #ChiefSustainabilityOfficer leaves without an immediate replacement? Of the 25 departures tracked by CSO Futures last year, only 28% were replaced. In 20% of cases, the role was eliminated, and in another 20%, the sustainability mandate was transferred to another leadership role. Explore this and other insights in our exclusive CSO recruitment report: https://lnkd.in/ejE9v5nh #SustainabilityGovernance #SustainabilityLeaders

"For companies watching [the US regulatory retreat] unfold through a compliance lens, the conclusion seems simple: less regulation, less to do. That reading misses what is actually happening. Risk is not being reduced. It is being redistributed." In this guest article for CSO Futures, Melanie Larkins, Founder and Principal of Holiscentia, a strategic risk and intelligence consulting firm, and publisher of Ground Truth Intelligence (GTI), warns that the federal backtrack on #ClimateRegulation may create more - not fewer - compliance risks for companies. She discusses state and European regulations still affecting US companies, and why they should continue to treat sustainability as a strategic priority. https://lnkd.in/emVRaUmQ #GuestArticle #ChiefSustainabilityOfficer #ClimatePolicy #TrumpAdministration #CSRD

National Grid has named Claire Lund as its new #ChiefSustainabilityOfficer following Rhian Kelly’s departure last June. Lund was previously Head of Global Sustainability at pharmaceutical giant GSK since 2018, after joining the firm in 2013 as Utilities Director. https://lnkd.in/eq-PfuTc #PeopleMoves #SustainabilityLeaders

Speaking at last week's CSO Futures webinar on #ClimateResilience, Theodore Bachrach, Head of Business Engagement, Programmes and Strategic Partnerships at Resilience First, encouraged the audience to think about the social aspects of their resilience strategies, with evidence that companies that engage local communities have better outcomes. Watch the full webinar replay here: https://lnkd.in/es2G4xSe #ClimateAdaptation #ChiefSustainabilityOfficer

The #ChiefSustainabilityOfficer role is increasingly specialised: Of the 88 new CSOs appointed in 2025, more than 70% came from another sustainability leadership role, and 14 were already at CSO level in their previous company. Explore this and other insights in CSO Futures' flagship senior sustainability recruitment report: https://lnkd.in/ejE9v5nh #SustainabilityLeaders #PeopleMoves

Watch Linda Freiner, #ChiefSustainabilityOfficer at Zurich Insurance, share the progress made by the insurance industry in assessing and quantifying #ClimateRisk and the ROI of resilience measures down to asset level. This is a clip from CSO Futures' recent #ClimateResilience webinar. Read the full summary here: https://lnkd.in/erXK3TXm