Top 20 Chief Sustainability Officers of USA and Canada Announced

The names of the Top 20 Chief Sustainability Officers of North America have been revealed today, together with the names of the Grand Jury that will select the three winners of the Futur/io CSO Awards North America. 

The winners will be announced during the CSO Awards gala ceremony in New York City on September 23, during the UN General Assembly and New York Climate Week. 

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

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Worth Magazine, CSO Awards North America media partner, broke the news this morning, in the article “The New Power Brokers of Business: How Chief Sustainability Officers Are Driving the Future”. 

The Grand Jury, who will choose the three winners among the 20 nominees, includes stellar names such as John Elkington, known as “the Godfather of Sustainability”, Sandrine Dixson-Declève, co-president of the Club of Rome, Vandinika Shukla, deputy director of Global Programs at the Obama Foundation, Livio Scalvini, co-founder and executive director of the Leonardo Centre on Business for Society at Imperial College London, and Niyanta Spelman, founder and CEO of Rainforest Partnership, among others. 

The CSO Awards North America is an initiative of the Futur/io Institute, a pioneering organization dedicated to nurturing and inspiring leadership in sustainable innovation and building the most impactful network of CSOs globally. The European version of the CSO Awards takes place every year during the World Economic Forum week in Davos. 

“The CSO Awards celebrates the people who are championing change within the corporate world,” says Harald Neidhardt, CEO & Curator of the Futur/io Institute. “I’m honored to announce the names of the 20 nominees to the CSO Awards, and also of the members of the Grand Jury, who will choose the winners. They are some of the most inspirational voices in sustainability, and the combination of such incredible and diverse experiences, backgrounds and points of view will certainly bring powerful insights, shining a light on the next wave of sustainability leaders within the corporate world.” 

“The purpose of having a Jury in our CSO Awards is to integrate the human factor into the evaluation criteria for our CSO Awards can help to identify and promote CSOs who are not only effective sustainability leaders, but also empathetic, innovative, and capable of fostering positive change within their organisations and beyond.” added Harald Neidhardt.

In July, Futur/io published a list of the Top 100 CSOs of North America, which included sustainability leaders from a diverse range of industries, including retail, consumer brands, services and technology. 

From an extensive database including all the major companies of the USA and Canada, the most relevant names were selected using a four-quadrant model criteria, developed by Futur/io and scientific partner the Leonardo Centre on Business for Society at Imperial College Business School, and supported by knowledge partners Denominator, specialized in human-centric data, and Rainforest Partnership, focused on biodiversity.

The four quadrant model takes into consideration the maturity of corporate behaviours, regulatory performance on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) criteria, environmental and human impact and also a self assessment survey. 

Now, the members of the Grand Jury will add the human factor to the selection process, using their expertise to choose the three final  winners, to be announced at a gala ceremony in New York City on September 23, during the UN General Assembly and Climate Week. The CSO Awards North America are supported by premium partners IntegrityNext and Celonis.

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CSO Awards North America Grand Jury

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John Elkington

‍Founder of Volans and chief pollinator. A true pioneer and foundational figure in the global sustainability movement, John brings over 50 years of experience as a strategic advisor to businesses across the world. 

‍Known as the creator of the "Triple Bottom Line" concept—People, Planet, and Profit—John’s visionary approach has become a fundamental part of business strategy worldwide. He has been at the forefront of movements such as the Global Reporting Initiative, Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes, and B Lab UK, and continues to guide sustainability conversations globally. 

John has addressed over 1,000 conferences around the world and was a faculty member of the World Economic Forum from 2002-2008. He is the author or co-author of 21 books including the best-selling Green Consumer Guide and the recently published “Tickling Sharks”.

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Katja Iversen

‍CEO of the Museum for the United Nations - UN Live. Defined as an "agile extension of the United Nations", the UN Live Museum is an unconventional, independent, borderless museum which, in collaboration with hundreds of partners across five continents, makes global problems tangible through cultural experiences and programmes.  

Katja’s extensive experience spans leadership roles in civil society and the United Nations, as well as training Fortune 500 executives in cross-cultural leadership. She has advised global leaders, including serving on Prime Minister Trudeau’s and President Macron’s G7 Gender Equality Councils and advising the World Economic Forum and MIT Solve Challenge. Katja has also worked closely with artists to advance the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Holding a Master’s in Communications and a Leadership Degree from Columbia University, Katja was named Dane of the Year in 2018 and received a Woman of the Decade award in 2022. In 2022, she also earned an honorary doctorate for her significant contributions to cross-cultural connections.

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Larry Adams

‍Founder of BLKFAM.tv, a TV platform dedicated to Black American family friendly content, with Hollywood Star Whoopi Goldberg as backer and investor. He also founded XStereotype, an award-winning inclusion OS aimed at analyzing and eliminating stereotypes and bias in marketing.

Larry’s impressive career includes key roles as SVP of digital strategy at AT&T and WarnerMedia, where he helped launch HBO Max and DIRECTV NOW. He also led marketing at Vimeo and served as a Senior Advisor for the Bloomberg 2020 presidential campaign. 

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Livio Scalvini 

‍Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Leonardo Centre on Business for Society at Imperial College London and leads the Sustainable Development Strategy of Imperial College Business School. 

With over 30 years of international experience in entrepreneurship, innovation, social impact, and venture capital, Livio's expertise spans across diverse sectors including finance, sustainability, and education. His extensive background includes serving in C-level roles at financial institutions, advising start-ups, and co-founding the GOLDEN for Impact Foundation.

He has published books and articles on entrepreneurship, sustainability, business strategy, strategic planning, and risk management. He served as an advisor and investor in a wide range of start-ups and NGOs across Europe and Africa. Livio holds a Degree in Economics & Business Administration, MSc in Macroeconomics, and Executive Education in Exponential Technologies at Singularity University.

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Niyanta Spelman

‍Founder and CEO of Rainforest Partnership, an international NGO that works to protect rainforests by empowering Indigenous and local communities on the front lines of deforestation. 

Under her leadership, the organization has safeguarded over 1 million acres of rainforest, making a significant impact on biodiversity and climate. With a background in environmental policy, Niyanta is a thought leader in global conservation efforts.

Niyanta has received numerous honors and awards, including The Women Of Change® Award at the Family Office Impact Summit, hosted by 5th Element Group PBC in the Delegates Dining Room at the United Nations in 2019, and the Profiles in Power award from the Austin Business Journal in 2020. She also spearheads the Rainforest Collective, convening leaders to drive action for forest protection.

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Raj Joshi

‍Professor of Columbia University, founder of Bridging Ventures, and President & Executive Director of Project Regeneration. He served as the inaugural Associate Dean for Climate Action at Columbia Climate School, leading initiatives such as the Global Policy Impact Lab. 

Rajiv S. Joshi is an economist, community organizer, and entrepreneurial leader working at the intersection of environmental, social, and economic justice. Of Kenyan-Indian origin and born in Scotland, he has played a key role in global climate action, co-authoring the Decisive Decade Inquiry and supporting efforts to phase out fossil fuels, transform food systems, and advance climate finance. 

Rajiv has advised world leaders, grassroots NGOs, and leading brands on systemic change. Rajiv co-founded Bridging Ventures, driving cross-sector collaborations to address global challenges. As the former Managing Director of The B Team, he worked with CEOs and activists to drive corporate accountability and climate action. Rajiv holds degrees from Strathclyde Business School and Columbia University.

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Sandrine Dixson-Declève 

‍Co-President of the Club of Rome and Earth4All initiator. She chairs the European Commission’s Expert Group on Economic and Societal Impact of Research & Innovation (ESIR), and is involved in climate missions and advisory boards for organizations like BMW, UCB Climate KIC, and Imperial College London.

A TED global speaker and author, Sandrine’s recent publications like Earth4Alll aim to guide humanity towards a sustainable future. She was recognised most recently by Reuters as one of 25 global female trailblazers and by GreenBiz as one of the 30 most influential women across the globe driving change in the low carbon economy and promoting green business.

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Vandinika Shukla

‍Deputy Director of Global Programs at the Obama Foundation.

With over a decade of experience at the crossroads of human rights, tech policy, and democracy, her journey includes shaping AI tools at MIT Media Lab, incubating the Practicing Democracy Project at Harvard Kennedy School, and crafting gender policies at the United Nations. 

Vandinika’s commitment to social change is reflected in her work, her teaching, and her writing, which has been featured in major publications like The Boston Globe and Slate Magazine.

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Chair of the Grand Jury: Harald Neidhardt

‍CEO and Curator of the Futur/io Institute, where he has grown an influential faculty and think tank of innovators, futurists and thought leaders – home to the co-creators of desirable, regenerative futures. He is the initiator of the Futur/io CSO Awards for sustainable leadership, and the host of the CSO Impact Podcast.

Harald is an advisor to the UNFCCC Resilient Frontiers initiative and an expert member of the World Economic Forum workgroup on digital platforms & ecosystems projects. He is a Singularity University alumnus and is a keynote speaker on sustainable innovation at many international conferences, including COP26, TEDx (Hongkong, Hamburg, Marrakesh), SXSW, SingularityU Summit (NL/USA/DE), Wired, Next, MWC/4YFN and is a speaker at corporate executive events. 

He’s published five books, most recently “Leadership for Sustainable Futures”, “Moonshots for Europe”, and “Before this Decade is Out”.

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Selection Criteria: the Four Quadrant Model 

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1 - Science & Behaviour Based Maturity Index - Imperial College (External Research Based): 

The Leonardo Centre at Imperial College has created a comprehensive global dataset that analyses corporate sustainability behaviours, enabling a thorough assessment of the maturity levels of the top 100 companies. Utilising this dataset, the Impact Maturity Index ranks companies within various sectors and geographies, providing valuable insights into their sustainability performance.

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2 - ESG Qualitative Rating (External Research Based): 

Using publicly available ESG Ratings, it was assessed which companies are exceeding regulatory requirements in their advancements on Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria.

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3 - Planet (Internal & External Research Based) & People (External Research Based):

Futur/io trained an AI tool to analyse 100 sustainability reports from the companies of the Top 100 shortlisted CSOs for the CSO Awards, extracting pertinent information on Greenhouse Gas emissions, Biodiversity measures, and Water usage. Additionally, research partner Rainforest Partnership carried out an in-depth analysis on biodiversity aspects of each company. 

Finally, research partner Denominator created a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) matrix score and research partner Rainforest Partnership created a matrix score for rainforest impact to assess relevant data in these areas. After that, scores were assigned for these five impact areas (GHG, Biodiversity, Water, DEI and Rainforest Impact).

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4 - Survey & Self-Assessment (Internal Research Based):

The Top 100 CSOs were invited to contribute to a Survey & Self-Assessment, based on external ESG Ratings and the Imperial College Maturity Index.