The key to CSO success: become a ‘corporate chameleon’

Sustainability professionals, and chief sustainability officers in particular, have long been scrutinized. But this moment is different, with political, financial, regulatory, technological and other pressures giving new urgency — and uncertainty — to companies’ efforts to ensure a sustainable future.

As a result, the past year has seen a profusion of reports, studies, surveys, report cards and other assessments. They tell us that today’s corporate sustainability professionals aren’t going away, but they’re largely focused on complying with climate disclosure regulations, sometimes to the neglect of actually reducing the emissions they’re reporting. And that companies are finding it harder to meet the timebound commitments they’ve made to reduce carbon emissions, plastic packaging waste and other pollution, and are walking them back.

(Trellis Group has published its own biennial report, “The State of the Profession,” since 2010. The most recent edition was released in October.)

Perhaps ironically, as Steve Rochlin and Jeff Senne recently wrote, these findings come at a time that the sustainability profession “has entered its impact era, or a time when stakeholders demand to see tangible results.” (See Steve and Jeff’s new report, “How to Set Sustainability Strategy in 2025,” published on Trellis last week.) 

The latest of this crop of studies, the Weinreb Group’s biennial report on the state of the CSO, was published Feb. 5 and offers some unique insights. 

The report focuses on those whose title is “chief sustainability officer” at publicly traded U.S. companies. That seemingly narrow focus omits hundreds of allied professionals who bear other titles. However, this is the seventh in this series since 2011, making it one of the longest-running longitudinal studies and providing an overview of long-term trend lines focusing on CSOs.

(Source: the Weinreb Group)

The increase slows

In terms of sheer numbers, the number of CSOs continues to grow, although it’s still a drop in the organizational bucket. Between 2023 and 2025, according to Weinreb, the number of individuals with the CSO title grew by about 17 percent, to 215. But that represents a mere fraction of the potential market — the roughly 5,700 companies listed on the NYSE and Nasdaq stock exchanges. Moreover, the report noted, the rate of increase has slowed: The number of CSOs doubled between 2018 and 2021, and again between 2021 and 2023, rates far greater than the recent uptick.

One troubling finding: The percentage of CSOs of color has declined. The proportion of non-white CSOs more than doubled over a decade, until 2023, but it declined by 6 percentage points over the past two years. This, of course, was even before the recent political attacks on corporate diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

On the other hand, the percentage of women CSOs has risen steadily over time, reaching 65 percent of all CSOs in 2025.

“In every search we did, diversity had been one of the main conversations when we talked to our clients,” Ellen Weinreb, who runs the executive recruiting firm, told me. “They said, ‘Do what you do to ensure a diverse slate of talent; it’s really important.’” These days, she said, clients are no longer asking for that.

CSOs always adjusting

It’s little surprise that a key part of CSOs’ remit these days is to comply with legal mandates. “Regulation is the dominant force directing corporate sustainability strategy,” according to the report. The focus on disclosure requirements, driven by the Europe Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive as well as similar regs in California, has pushed many other sustainability initiatives aside.

Nearly 90 percent of CSOs said they are spending more time on regulatory compliance today than they did two years ago, according to Weinreb, with three-quarters listing regulatory requirements “as the most prominent development affecting sustainability at their company.” One telling stat: Since 2023, the proportion of CSOs reporting into their company’s legal department has doubled, from 10 percent to 21 percent.

One refreshing finding was that the politicization of sustainability hasn’t, to date, changed CSOs’ focus, with 90 percent saying they remain committed to their work, “even as some carry it out more quietly to keep a target off their backs.”

Still, the role of the CSO seems to be changing with the times.  The survey named three key attributes of today’s CSO, including the ability to be a “corporate chameleon” and engage cross-functionally; the ability to operate both strategically and tactically; and the ability to understand “how big, interconnected systems work.”

Being a “corporate chameleon” means in part being able to adjust one’s communication style to one’s audience, Weinreb told me. “A chameleon can change their language, their lingo, their style of communication based on who they’re influencing.” For example, she said, “I have heard CSOs say, ‘I wasn’t partnering with the CFO so much, but now they’re my best friend.’ CSOs are always adjusting.”

[Gain insights to move beyond incremental action and accelerate the shift to a circular economy at Circularity, April 29-May 1, Denver, CO.]