Strategic Focus: Implications Of AI For The CSO
Access this research
Access all Corporate Sustainability Leaders content with a strategic subscription or buy this single report
Need help or have a question about this report? Contact us for assistance
Executive Summary
Rapidly evolving advances in AI are impacting many aspects of how firms operate, particularly decisions made by the sustainability team. Because sustainability touches many departments within an organization, chief sustainability officers (CSOs) should understand how AI is used throughout their firm, and how the broader use of AI influences their overall mission and goals. CSOs should use this report to understand how AI directly and indirectly affects their vision and targets, and how they can prepare to manage the continued use of AI and its risks.CSOs need to understand the applications and ramifications of AI
Three pieces of advice for CSOs when (and before) using AI
Figure 1. CSOs must consider many facets of AI
Figure 2. AI use cases in ESG management
Figure 3. Key questions for the CSO
About the Authors
Jessica Pransky
Principal Analyst
Jessica is a Principal Analyst at Verdantix, specializing in providing insights to sustainability leaders and analysing ESG and sustainability reporting software. She advises ...
View Profile
Kim Knickle
Research Director
Kim Knickle is a Research Director at Verdantix, bringing more than two decades of analyst experience to the evolving world of sustainability. Her current research spans ESG a...
View ProfileOther related content
Digital decarbonization is evolving rapidly, and many of the tools used for carbon reporting today are not designed to support the operational decisions organizations need to make ...
Upcoming / 28 May, 2026
Energy volatility is no longer a future risk. It is a present-day operational challenge. Industrial firms are under growing pressure from fluctuating prices, shifting dependencies ...
Upcoming / 27 May, 2026
Much of the recent sustainability discourse has focused on policy rollbacks and regulatory uncertainty in the EU and US. This emphasis, while justified, risks obscuring a parallel ...
16 April, 2026
Industrial firms are being hit by operational shocks with growing frequency and complexity. Supply chain disruptions, energy price volatility, labour shortages and rapid shifts in ...
16 April, 2026
Industrial firms are becoming accustomed to operating in environments that change faster than their traditional planning processes were designed to handle. Supply chains shift unex...
15 April, 2026
On March 12, 2026, only one day after taking office, Chilean President José Antonio Kast withdrew 43 environmental decrees introduced under former President Gabriel Boric. The Mi...
08 April, 2026