Top 10 Chief Sustainability Officers

As ESG goals continue to be prioritised by the top global companies, the leaders in place are developing intelligent environmental strategy, developing new partnerships and technologies to accelerate the journey to net zero and engaging in the global effort to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement.

A recent survey conducted by Deloitte reports that more than 2,000 CxOs across 24 countries find that the majority of CxOs remain optimistic the world will take sufficient steps to avoid the worst impacts of climate change and feel a sense of urgency to take action.

When asked to rank the issues most pressing to their organisations, many CxOs rated climate change as a “top three issue,” ahead of seven others, including innovation, competition for talent, and supply chain challenges. In fact, only economic outlook ranked slightly higher. Many CxOs (61%) said climate change will have a high/very high impact on their organization’s strategy and operations over the next three years.

With 75% of leaders stating that their organisations have increased their sustainability investments over the past year, we can see that the Chief Sustainability Officers at the helm today are dictating not just environmental but also wider company strategy that will be in place for years to come.

Senior Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer, Ecolab

Ecolab is the global leader in water, food safety and public health technologies and services, and Emilio Tenuta has held multiple positions over his nearly four decade tenure. 

He now leads its global sustainability programs and strategies as Chief Sustainability Officer, including the development of unique diagnostic and planning tools for broad industry use, such as the Water Risk Monetizer and Smart Water Navigator.

Tenuta received his bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and Business from the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire and earned his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He serves on the boards of the Council of Great Lakes Industries, the World Environment Center and Corporate Eco Forum, and chairs the sustainability council of The Conference Board.

Chief Sustainability Officer, Bain & Company

Based in San Francisco, US, Sam Israelit leads Bain & Company’s global Environment Practice, where he works with leading environmental organisations around the world on problems related to climate change, responsible production and consumption, and land and ocean conservation. He also leads internal sustainability efforts and manages the Carbon Neutral program.

As a partner at Bain & Company with more than 26 years of management consulting experience, he works with clients in the retail, consumer products, and technology industries to help them transform their operations and achieve their performance goals. 

He joined the firm in 2000 to help Bain expand its capabilities in information technology and was co-founder of its IT practice. He also led Bain’s Supply Chain Practice in the Americas and is active in Bains Retail and Merger Integration Practices.

Senior Partner and Managing Director of North American Systems, Chief Sustainability Officer, Boston Consulting Group 

Alongside his role as Boston Consulting Group’s Global Chief Sustainability Officer, David Webb is the Managing Director of North American Systems and member of BCG’s operating committee. 

David’s work at BCG has focused on large-scale transformations, primarily in collaboration with consumer goods manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and service providers.  He has considerable expertise in the beverage alcohol sector, having worked with several of the leading companies in the industry. 

David is an expert in organisational design, performance improvement, and business model redesign and strategy.  He is also deeply involved in climate efforts, including measurement, reductions, and the emerging removals space.  Prior to joining the firm, David worked at GE Power Systems and GE Lighting, including positions in Hungary, Italy, and several locations in North America.

Chief Sustainability Officer and Global Head of ESG, Cognizant