Will AI replace Chief Sustainability Officers?

Some of your tasks will be automated. People who use AI will have the edge.

Task exposure to today's AI

47/100

Moderate exposure

This is the occupation's typical task mix. Your own score can be up to 30 points higher or lower depending on how you work: routine share, people contact, judgment and how much you already use AI.

Get your personal score

Will AI replace Chief Sustainability Officers?

Not entirely. Today's AI tools can take on about 47% of the typical work in this occupation, mostly: develop sustainability reports, presentations, or proposals for supplier, employee, academia, media, government, public interest, or other groups. The parts that stay human include: Supervise employees or volunteers working on sustainability projects.; Develop or execute strategies to address issues such as energy use, resource conservation, recycling, pollution reduction, waste elimination, transportation, education, and building design.; Develop sustainability reports, presentations, or proposals for supplier, employee, academia, media, government, public interest, or other groups..

People who learn to use AI for the automatable parts keep the edge. The 3-phase plan below shows where to start.

Which tasks AI can take on

The largest tasks in this occupation, their share of the working week, and how much of each today's AI tools can do.

TaskAutomatable

Develop sustainability reports, presentations, or proposals for supplier, employee, academia, media, government, public interest, or other groups. 62%

Research environmental sustainability issues, concerns, or stakeholder interests. 60%

Monitor and evaluate effectiveness of sustainability programs. 53%

Develop or execute strategies to address issues such as energy use, resource conservation, recycling, pollution reduction, waste elimination, transportation, education, and building design. 45%

Direct sustainability program operations to ensure compliance with environmental or governmental regulations. 23%

Supervise employees or volunteers working on sustainability projects. 12%

+ 12 more tasks (45% of the week) in the full test.

Your human edge

Supervise employees or volunteers working on sustainability projects.
Develop or execute strategies to address issues such as energy use, resource conservation, recycling, pollution reduction, waste elimination, transportation, education, and building design.
Develop sustainability reports, presentations, or proposals for supplier, employee, academia, media, government, public interest, or other groups.

AI tools to try

ChatGPT / Claude for drafts and analysisMicrosoft 365 Copilot or Google Gemini for WorkspaceMeeting assistants (e.g. Otter, Fireflies)

Related roles

A 3-phase AI learning plan

Phase 1

AI for the admin load

Meeting notes, summaries and follow-ups with AI.
First drafts of reports, plans and emails.
Spreadsheet analysis with AI (formulas, charts, explanations).

Project

Use AI to draft your next quarterly sustainability report from meeting notes and emissions spreadsheets, and log hours saved versus the last edition.

Phase 2

Decisions with better input

Use AI to research options and summarise sources, then check them.
Scenario and risk analysis with AI as a sparring partner.
Set team rules for what may and may not go into AI tools.

Project

Use AI to research and summarise 15 sources on a pending decarbonisation decision, verify every citation, and build three 2030 scenarios with cost and risk ranges.

Phase 3

Lead the change

Map which team tasks AI can take over or speed up.
Run a small pilot and measure time and quality.
Plan training and new roles for your team.

Project

Map your sustainability team's 10 most time-consuming tasks, pilot AI on the top two for three weeks, and report time saved, quality scores, and a training plan.

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