Beyond the Leader: How Facility Characteristics Shape the Effectiveness of CSO Appointments

Companies are appointing Chief Sustainability Officers (CSOs) at a rapid pace, yet it is hotly debated whether these executives change anything—after all, they rarely hold direct authority over the production lines where pollution is created. Prior work has searched for answers by studying the leaders themselves, with mixed results. We shift the focus to the receiving end of leadership: the dispersed manufacturing facilities that must translate a CSO’s signals into operational change.

Analyzing 4,464 U.S. manufacturing facilities from 2000 to 2020 with a matched difference-in-differences design, we find that toxic releases fall by about 19% after a parent firm appoints a CSO, driven by genuine source reduction and improved waste management. Crucially, the effect concentrates where local conditions sharpen managerial attention—facilities close to headquarters, in politically conservative communities, and in communities with a high share of Black residents. CSO appointments are therefore far from symbolic, but their effectiveness hinges on facility-level context.

Previously circulated under the title “Are Chief Sustainability Officers Guardians of Environmental Justice? An Empirical Evaluation.”