The increase in the number of Chief Sustainability Officers shows the growing realisation that committing to a clean energy future is essential to business survival. But what exactly is a CSO?

A former Environmental Protection Agency Deputy Administrator in the George W Bush administration, sceptics questioned just how genuine her green credentials were. But she surprised many by devising and implementing a series of initiatives to change mindsets within DuPont itself and to deliver significant reductions in pollution.

She figured it was easier to tackle the huge environmental crises from within business than through government.

It wasn’t long before a raft of other corporations were appointing their own CSOs, declaring proudly that they had seen the light and were committed to doing their bit for the planet.

However, for some, it was more about appearing to do the right thing and ‘greenwashing’ any inconvenient truths to satisfy regulatory authorities and special interest groups demanding action.

Volkswagen was one such offender, being caught scamming emissions tests in 2015, while BP was criticised for rebranding itself as Beyond Petroleum in 2002 at a time when it was claimed 96 per cent of its annual spend was on oil and gas.

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