Will AI replace Chief Sustainability Officers?
AI can do 75% of the work Chief Sustainability Officers do at least twice as fast. Real use has not caught up: none of their tasks show up in real AI use yet, but AI could speed up 13 of them. 5 still need a person.
AI is already doing this0 · 0% of time
People already use AI for these tasks in real work, based on Anthropic's analysis of how Claude is used.
- Real AI use has not reached any of this job's tasks yet.
AI could do this next13 · 75% of time
AI can speed these up by at least half, but real use has not caught up yet. These are next in line.
- Develop sustainability reports, presentations, or proposals for supplier, employee, academia, media, government, public interest, or other groups.12% of time
- Develop or execute strategies to address issues such as energy use, resource conservation, recycling, pollution reduction, waste elimination, transportation, education, and building design.12% of time
- Monitor and evaluate effectiveness of sustainability programs.8% of time
- Research environmental sustainability issues, concerns, or stakeholder interests.6% of time
- Create and maintain sustainability program documents, such as schedules and budgets.5% of time
- Write and distribute financial or environmental impact reports.5% of time
- Review sustainability program objectives, progress, or status to ensure compliance with policies, standards, regulations, or laws.5% of time
- Evaluate and approve proposals for sustainability projects, considering factors such as cost effectiveness, technical feasibility, and integration with other initiatives.5% of time
- Identify and evaluate pilot projects or programs to enhance the sustainability research agenda.4% of time
- Formulate or implement sustainability campaign or marketing strategies.3% of time
- Develop, or oversee the development of, marketing or outreach media for sustainability projects or events.3% of time
- Develop methodologies to assess the viability or success of sustainability initiatives.3% of time
- Write project proposals, grant applications, or other documents to pursue funding for environmental initiatives.2% of time
Still needs a person5 · 25% of time
No real AI use, no proven AI speedup and no robot that can do it yet. This is the part of the job to build on.
- Supervise employees or volunteers working on sustainability projects.8% of time
- Direct sustainability program operations to ensure compliance with environmental or governmental regulations.6% of time
- Develop, or oversee the development of, sustainability evaluation or monitoring systems.5% of time
- Conduct risk assessments related to sustainability and the environment.3% of time
- Identify educational, training, or other development opportunities for sustainability employees or volunteers.2% of time
Your week is not the average
Describe what you actually do and get a personal report: your own tasks, what AI can already do, what stays yours and a 90 day plan.
What this means
AI can already do almost all of this work at least twice as fast. Real use is still behind at 0 out of 100, so the change here is only getting started. Expect the role to shift toward deciding what to do, checking AI's work and owning the result.
What to do next
- Get ahead on the 13 tasks AI could do next. These move as tools improve, so learning them early pays off.
- Build on the 5 tasks that stay human. This is where your judgment, skill and relationships matter most.
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