The REP Wrap: Interface becomes latest to axe CSO role

Your weekly summary of corporate sustainability news. 

US flooring firm Interface has axed its chief innovation and sustainability officer role and put its head of global sustainability strategy on its executive leadership team. Following in the footsteps of Pentair, the company submitted a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission, telling them that Nigel Stansfield would be leaving his role and would not be replaced. Meanwhile, Liz Minné has been promoted to the executive leadership team and Interface’s sustainability team will now report to general counsel.  

Telecom firm Vodafone claims to have achieved net-zero emissions in its operations in Germany by reducing its emissions by 93% and buying certified carbon removals for the remaining 7%.   

Nearly a quarter of CEOs at FTSE 350 companies are being paid more than 100 times more than their average employees, according to the latest analysis from the High Pay Centre. The findings show little change in the pay gap over the past five years, with some firms having a ratio of more than 200:1. 

Amazon has agreed to buy 2.5m gallons of greener aviation fuel for its air cargo operations this year. The agreement with Neste is part of a partnership the duo began in 2021, with a focus on French airports. The latest deal focuses on North America. Neste’s sustainable aviation fuel will be blended with conventional jet fuel and supplied to Amazon.

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has launched a machine-readable version of its impact-focused reporting standards, using XBRL reporting language. The taxonomy “will strengthen interoperability with other standards, further enabling the use of GRI as the base for sustainability reporting,” the body said in a statement.  

The number of European start-ups regularly discussing sustainability at the board level has dropped by close to a third, falling from 30% in 2023 to 21% last year. This was one of the findings from an analysis of more than 700 European companies by the non-profit VentureESG this month.