Weinreb Group Sustainability and ESG Recruiting - The Chief Sustainability Officer 10 Years Later - The Rise of ESG in the C-suite - 2021 Report

Sep 14, 2026

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Report examining how chief sustainability officers (CSOs) have evolved over a decade, especially as ESG expanded from early executive visibility into board-level and investor-driven mandates. Frames 2020–2021 as a pivotal moment shaped by COVID-19, systemic racism, climate change, and widening social and economic divides, then analyzes CSO responsibilities, authority, team structures, diversity trends, and leadership influence. Includes survey-based evidence and discusses what the next decade may require.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResumes

FormatPDF

Pages22

Reading Time8 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction: CSOs Meet the Moment

Complex, Interconnected, Volatile: The Evolving, Expanding Role of the CSO

Investors—and Demands for Social Justice—Drive the Sustainability Agenda

CSO List

CSO Trends: More Women, Few People of Color—and a 2020 Surge

What’s in a Title?

CSO Leadership and Influence

The Sustainability Team: A Vehicle for Building Internal Consensus

CSO Career Path—and What Comes Next

What Will the Next 10 Years Hold?

Methodology and Appendix

Sustainability Recruiting ESG Recruiting The Chief Sustainability Officer 10 Years Later The rise of ESG in the C-suite 2021 [www.weinrebgroup.com](www.weinrebgroup.com) Sustainability Recruiting ESG Recruiting TABLE OF Contents 01 Introduction: CSOs Meet the Moment 02 Complex, Interconnected, Volatile: The Evolving, Expanding Role of the CSO 03 Investors—and Demands for Social Justice—Drive the Sustainability Agenda 04 CSO List 06 CSO Trends: More Women, Few People of Color—and a 2020 Surge 10 What’s in a Title? 11 CSO Leadership and Influence 12 The Sustainability Team: A Vehicle for Building Internal Consensus 13 CSO Career Path—and What Comes Next 15 What Will the Next 10 Years Hold? 16 Methodology and Appendix Sustainability Recruiting ESG Recruiting Introduction: CSOs Meet the Moment 2020 marked the most disruptive year in generations. Not only did the COVID-19 pandemic kill more than a half million people in the United States, it laid bare and heightened existing crises, including systemic racism and police violence, climate change, and an ever-widening political and economic divide. As we enter 2021, the country has begun a period of reckoning, repair, and rebuilding that requires leadership from every arena—government, civil society, and, of course, business. Within business, the primary person responsible for understanding and defining how a company will respond to these pressing social and environmental issues is the chief sustainability officer (CSO) . Who are these CSOs, what are they responsible for, and which issues do they think will take hold as we look to the future of sustainable business? Most critically, do they have the required skills and authority to solve our most wicked problems? This report—an update to the Weinreb Group’s seminal CSO Back Story published 10 years ago—answers these questions, providing an in-depth look at CSOs1 today and their powerful role in business. Since our pioneering paper was published a decade ago, the world of sustainability has changed significantly. Today there are: • More CSOs who have more influence, with investors driving environmental, social, and governance (ESG) integration: The field has grown by more than 228%, from just 29 CSOs in 2011 to 95 CSOs in 2021. Perhaps because of the ever-growing and changing social and environmental risks, opportunities, and stakeholder demands, approximately one third of these CSOs assumed their position as their company’s first CSO in 2020. But even before 2020, the rising investor interest in sustainability issues was driving the expansion of the field, as well as the integration of ESG priorities into business. • More women, but little racial diversity: Who occupies the CSO job has also changed. Our research reveals that the percentage of women in this post almost doubled. Women now hold 54% of CSO positions, up from 28% in 2011. Despite the movement toward gender balance, there remains very little racial diversity. The CSO position, as well asthe sustainability profession as a whole, remains predominantly white. • Larger, more dispersed teams and embedded functions: In the past 10 years, the CSO leadership role and team composition have also changed. In the corporate leadership hierarchy, CSOs are not quite as close as they once were to the CEO. Still, nearly 70% of CSOs told us they meet with their CEO fairly regularly, once a month or once a week. Moreover, sustainability teams are expanding, with the average team size increasing from 5 in 2011 to 15 today. We also found embedded sustainability practitioners in other functions outside of sustainability. The primary data in this report came from a survey Weinreb Group sent to the CSOs on our list; 33 people responded. In addition to the quantitative data, we received qualitative responses from many CSOs about what has changed over the past decade, and what we can expect in the next 10 years. As a sustainability recr

FAQs

What is the core purpose of the report for sustainability recruiting and CSO roles?

The report explains who CSOs are, what they do, and what drives success, helping sustainability managers map career paths and supporting companies that appoint CSOs to position the role and select candidates.

How has the influence of CSOs and the adoption of ESG changed over the last decade?

The CSO field expanded substantially as investors pushed for ESG integration, and about one third of CSOs assumed the first-CSO position in 2020 due to intensifying social and environmental risks and stakeholder demands.

What trends does the report highlight about who holds CSO roles?

Women hold 54% of CSO positions, up from 28% in 2011, while racial diversity remains limited, with the CSO role and sustainability profession still predominantly white.

Sep 14, 2026

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