Number of US sustainability heads reporting to legal department doubles  

Regulation has driven the number of US-based Chief Sustainability Officers (CSOs) reporting to their legal teams to double, according to a poll.  

In its seventh survey of CSOs, recruitment firm Weinreb Group found that 20% of the 68 respondents now report into legal teams – twice as many as in 2023. 

Previously, reporting to legal departments was the fourth most common structure, but this year it came second, behind reporting to the CEO (35%). 

The report noted that it was part of a broader trend, driven by regulatory concerns at publicly-listed companies in the US. 

“CSOs have shared that, regardless of which department they report to, they collaborate more with legal and finance teams than in the past,” it observed.  

Nearly 90% of respondents said they spend more time on regulation and compliance than they used to, with 60% identifying it as their biggest challenge.  

Among the laws adding to the pressure are the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, which will eventually apply to US firms with a significant footprint in Europe, and California’s incoming climate disclosure rules.  

Despite the focus on compliance, the number of sustainability heads with law degrees has “remained relatively steady” since Weinreb Group started tracking CSOs in 2011, although there has been a slight uptick in those who held a legal role before becoming CSO.  

While a quarter of those surveyed said their firms had become more circumspect in external communications in light of political pushback against sustainability in the States, most (60%) said it had resulted in no change.  

Only 31% of CSOs identified politicisation as one of the biggest changes they have faced in the past two years.