Sustainability is no longer the responsibility of a single department. It affects every line of business, and each C-level role engages with sustainability from a different perspective. In particular, responsibility is increasingly shifting toward the CFO and the COO. For the CFO, sustainability is becoming a financial issue. Carbon emissions translate directly into costs, risks, and liabilities that must be measured, managed, and reported.
CFOs are also accountable for regulatory compliance and, more than ever, play a strategic role in guiding the business toward outcomes that balance profitability with sustainability goals. The COO focuses on how sustainability is delivered in day-to-day operations. This includes ensuring that operations and supply chains are not only efficient but also sustainable and resilient. For the COO, sustainability is closely linked to operational risk—with growing expectations not just to manage risk but to anticipate and prevent it.
The Chief Sustainability Officer, where the role exists, may sit as a standalone function or be embedded within finance or operations. The CSO is responsible for defining sustainability targets, aligning functions around those targets, and ensuring collaboration across the organization. This role also plays a key part in managing sustainability risks and helping the business identify new opportunities.
Ultimately, achieving a company’s sustainability goals requires cross-functional collaboration. Success depends on shared access to high-quality data and the use of smarter technologies that allow sustainability to be embedded into everyday business decisions rather than managed in isolation.