Green titles: Corporate Color of the Year

An interesting article in the Chicago Tribune, "Eco-friendly executives: Push for sustainability drives demand for managers focused on green initiatives" describes the current focus by businesses on being green.
"...As companies grapple with climate change, try to attract eco-conscious customers and develop alternative energy agendas while complying with regulations, a new kind of administrator is moving into the executive suite to help out.

Sustainability officers and green supervisors, some say, are successors to the diversity managers and innovation specialists of the 1990s -- with their focus equal parts corporate responsibility, public relations and profit.

"Our clients expect this," Pogue said. "A company of our size doesn't have the luxury any longer of not participating."

Positions such as Pogue's are often placed in the upper echelons of companies, where they are highly visible and directly overseen by the chief executive. At Coca-Cola Co.and Mitsubishi Motors North America Inc., Chief Executives Muhtar Kent and Ryoichi Ueda, respectively, have adopted the sustainability officer title as well.

Other companies bundle in extra duties, such as dealing with the supply chain. At Levi Strauss & Co., Michael Kobori works on labor standards and general green issues as vice president for social and environmental sustainability.

"Ten years ago, the position I have didn't exist," Kobori said. "Now, we are seeing a new generation of business leaders who have grown up with sustainability. There is actually a career path in this field for someone at a corporation."

Last year, fewer than 200 positions dedicated to sustainability were spread among more than 1,200 companies, according to consulting firm Hudson Gain Corp. With a "very limited talent pool of experienced sustainability executives," many companies plucked internal candidates who were well-regarded in other fields for the role, the report said.

Some companies, eager to cash in on the eco-enthusiasm, have been accused of hiring sustainability officers who are little more than figureheads. Instead of greening the business plan and inspiring the staff, critics contend, these executives end up isolated, ineffective or overburdened.

"There's a danger in creating a chief sustainability officer, because it places all the responsibility of that issue onto one person," Kobori said. "We're successful when sustainability gets embedded in all the roles in the company."..."

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Sustainability and sustainable practices, like ethical behavior, has to be displayed by the CEO and the senior management who then have to insist on high standards from everyone in the firm.