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All you need to know about the CSO Awards – full list of nominees
The CSO Awards, curated by the Futur/io Institute, is an esteemed recognition for Chief Sustainability Officers and equivalent roles, honoring their work in driving corporate sustainability. Following the European CSO Awards in Davos earlier this year, Futur/io is launching the North American CSO Awards, to kick off during Climate Week NYC. We Don’t Have Time sat down with Harald Neidhardt, CEO and curator of the Futur/io Institute, to talk about the awards and the recent nominations of the top 20 CSOs in North America.
The CSO Awards is an annual celebration of the CSOs that have made the most difference in improving their companies’ sustainability scores over the past year. The grand jury of the Awards decides on the winners based on criteria that measure the impact on greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity, water management, and more, and are measured through in-depth analyses, research, and surveys/self-assessments.
The next CSO Awards ceremony will be held on September 23rd, during Climate Week NYC. If you’re a CSO or another sustainability leader for a North American company, you can request an invite here.
From the 2024 European CSO Awards in Davos.
While preparing for the event, We Don’t Have Time got hold of Futur/io CEO and curator Harald Neidhardt to talk about the awards and the upcoming event in New York.
Why is the CSO Awards important?
“In a time when ESG and sustainability initiatives are at a crossroads worldwide and especially in the USA, we want to shine a light on the role of the Chief Sustainability Officer and show the importance of this role to a wider audience.
The work that CSOs do within their companies is crucial. They orchestrate the needed transition to a more sustainable business model – one that takes into account the triple bottom line: people, planet and profit. By celebrating the most relevant and leading CSOs, we are also building a powerful community, where CSOs can be inspired by each other.”
What are the trends of this year's nominations?
“We have seen that every year the role of the CSO becomes more relevant to the core business strategy of the companies. What started years ago as mostly a regulatory and position in PR, now informs directly business decisions. This evolution is measured in a unique way by the Impact Maturity Index, developed by our scientific partner, the Leonardo Centre on Business for Society at Imperial College Business School.
We also see an increase in the environmental and human dimensions of sustainability efforts, meaning that efforts contemplate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) as well as Greenhouse Gas emissions, Biodiversity measures, and Water usage – helped to bring to light by our knowledge partners Rainforest Partnership and Denominator.
One highlight is continuing from our Awards in Europe earlier in the year: we experience the role of female leadership in these leading CSO positions in large enterprises. It is refreshing to acknowledge that almost two-thirds of the Top 100 CSOs in North America are women.”
20 sustainability leaders have been nominated for the 2024 North American CSO Awards. Read the full list at the end of this article.
What are your expectations for the North American CSO Awards?
“It's all about the human factor – in finding and honoring the CSO leadership roles, including the voices of our esteemed Grand Jury, and most of all by celebrating with a selective group of participants and partners for this premier event experience in Manhattan.
We continue to create this community of leaders for sustainable futures – and we can already say, that we plan to be back next year!
We are close to selling out tickets, and many of the nominees and sustainability professionals from some of the most important organizations in North America and the world have already confirmed their presence. So, we can expect an inspiring and unforgettable night, paving the road for the European CSO Awards next year in Davos. We are also planning a new edition of the North American Awards in 2025. Watch this space!
We are happy about confirmations from CSOs and executives of the following companies: Netflix, Dell, Starbucks, Colgate-Palmolive, Microsoft, Cisco, Hilton, Adecco Group, and Bristol Myers Squibb, among others. What a great lineup for the inaugural awards in New York – we are very grateful!”
Request an invite to the CSO Awards, and register for The Climate Hub where we will publish interviews with the winners.
The 20 CSO Awards Nominees are, in alphabetical order:
Alan B Horowitz - Aramark
Alanna Boyd - Sun Life
Alison Taylor - Archer Daniels Midland Company
Ann Tracy - Colgate-Palmolive
Cassandra Garber - Dell
Ellen Jackowski - Mastercard
Emilio Tenuta - Ecolab
Emma Stewart - Netflix
Jeannie Renne-Malone - VF Corporation
Katharina Beumelburg - SLB Schlumberger Limited
Mary de Wysocki - Cisco
Meigan Terry - Scotiabank
Melanie Nakagawa - Microsoft
Michael Kobori - Starbucks
Renee Morin - Ebay
Robert Coviello - Bunge
Sarah Chapman - Manulife
Sophie Beckham - International Paper
Suzanne Dibianca - Salesforce
Victoria Emerick - Bristol Myers Squibb
About the CSO Awards
The North American CSO Awards are curated by Futur/io in partnership with premium partner Integrity Next and location partner Celonis.
The criteria for the awards were developed in partnership with the Awards’ knowledge partners, including the Leonardo Center of the Imperial College Business School, Denominator, and Rainforest Partnership.
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16 w
Great initiative. Continue empowering the world community. And am glad to note you consider the important and relevant things, planet,profit and of course people. That's very key and encouraging.
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15 w
@patrick_kiash Thanks for your kind words! It's inspiring to see the focus on the connection between people, planet and profit. https://slicemastergame.io
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17 w
Exciting news! These Awards are a great way to recognize the vital contributions of Chief Sustainability Officers in promoting corporate sustainability. Looking forward to seeing the nominations & celebrating their impactful work during Climate Week NYC!