EXECUTIVE INSIGHT
They take the good work that a company ’ s doing and their understanding of it , their appreciation of it and communicate that externally . They become an outward ambassador of both the good and their opportunities to improve . Engagement is a core part of their job .
The third thing is that CSOs are a catalyst for success and create partnerships externally . A CSO can connect dots and form relationships with a diverse number of stakeholders – whether public sector , private sector , NGOs , think tanks – to accelerate action .
Q . HOW PIVOTAL ARE CSOs AND THOSE IN SIMILAR ROLES TO DRIVING NET-ZERO STRATEGIES ?
» One of the ways to think about where a CSO comes in is , if you take a company like GE Vernova , we ’ re going to run our company in a way that ’ s good for our business , our shareholders , our customers and our investors . That includes deploying more power , more renewable energy , electrifying the grid . That ’ s all good for climate change and net zero , but the question then becomes , ‘ how do you really align that to a net zero goal ?; how are we tracking making progress toward goals ?; how are we tracking toward milestones ?; how are we making sure that we ’ re fully maximising our impact ?’. These are the kinds of metrics we need to set .
That ’ s where the CSOs come in . We want our business to succeed , first and foremost – I want to be unapologetic about that . My role is to translate their success towards net-zero goals , sustainability goals and say , ‘ here ’ s how we ’ re mapping out our progress towards net zero and here ’ s where we may need to bring in some experts to help accelerate action ’.
CSOs bring a spirit of continuous improvement . It ’ s highly complimentary , but it brings in a different lens , a different set of filters into how we ’ re running as a business .
Q . WHY IS ENERGY STRATEGY CRITICAL FOR ACHIEVING WIDER SUSTAINABILITY AND CLIMATE GOALS ?
» Energy is core to everything . But as all sectors look to decarbonise ,
20 October 2024