What is a Fractional Chief Sustainability Officer and Why Do You Need One?
"Fractional" leadership roles - a model where companies hire an executive for a fraction of full-time - are common in finance and other disciplines like marketing.
Now, the model is gaining traction in the impact and sustainability fields (think CIO/CSO roles) where small and high-growth businesses need someone accountable for setting strategy and executing it.
What is a Fractional Chief Impact Officer (CIO) or Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO)?
The role of a Chief Sustainability Office is still evolving - but it’s becoming increasingly clear that having a leader with clear responsibility and authority to set and implement strategy is a necessity. In our work with companies across industries, and with high-growth ones in particular, we find that serving as a fractional CSO enables us to drive action and cross-functional collaboration more cost-effectively than through a more traditional consulting arrangement.
What are the benefits of hiring a fractional CIO/CSO?
Most businesses have some idea that sustainability is important for their future growth as well as an ethical imperative. From the Harvard Business Review article linked above:
“...investors and executives increasingly recognize that sustainability is a significant factor in company financial performance”
And many sustainability consultants can give you solid guidance on which sustainability issues are material to your industry or business (see our free rapid assessment tool if you’re curious to find out more). In our experience, that’s actually the easy part.
The challenging parts come when you try to take action in those areas of impact. For businesses with smaller budgets, few (if any) in-house experts, and too many priorities it can be difficult for an external consultant to drive effective implementation. If you’re serious about harnessing the power of authentic action on sustainability issues to drive value creation (think customer stickiness and loyalty) and risk mitigation (think protecting your brand reputation) you need someone who can connect the dots across the business. That person needs to have the authority to plan and lead cross-functional teams and is accountable for delivering results - that’s a fractional CSO.
How we’ve helped drive action as a Fractional CSO
For example, in serving as a fractional CSO for an affordable housing developer in the Pacific Northwest, we’re responsible for building and integrating a customized ESG framework throughout the business. We’ve done this by working with the executive team to redesign key elements of the enterprise planning process including strategic planning, operational planning and financial planning.
The result is a clear through line from top to bottom - strategy to budget to marketing - where sustainability considerations are embedded at key decision points. Then we build the cross-functional teams necessary to take action on issues related to carbon management, material health, economic opportunity, and renewable energy, among others. Through our work with this company, we’ve increased their ability to create a powerful competitive differentiation - one that is leading to more partnerships, more funding, and more impact in ways that directly help people in need.
If you need in-house expertise that a Chief Sustainability Officer can provide but need flexibility and a cost-efficient alternative to a full-time hire, reach out here for a free consultation.