Top 100 Chief Sustainability Officers in North America to Be Honored in New York on September 22

Key Takeaways

• The CSO Awards recognize the 100 most influential Chief Sustainability Officers across the U.S. and Canada in 2025.
• Selection is based on strict eligibility and a rigorous scoring methodology across science, ESG, and impact dimensions.
• This year’s list highlights executives steering some of the world’s largest companies toward NetZero and regenerative futures.

About the Awards

The CSO Awards North America 2025, organized by Futur/io Institute, celebrate the top 100 Chief Sustainability Officers shaping corporate sustainability in the U.S. and Canada. These leaders drive strategies that align business operations with climate goals, social responsibility, and planetary boundaries.

The recognition underscores how sustainability has moved from the margins to the boardroom, with CSOs now central to corporate strategy and investor confidence.

Selection Criteria

The ranking methodology combines scientific data, ESG analysis, and executive input. Each CSO is evaluated across four key dimensions:

1. Science & Behaviour Maturity (via the Leonardo Centre at Imperial College)
2. NetZero & ESG Qualitative Ratings
3. Planet & People Impact (GHG, biodiversity, water, DEI, and more — via Rainforest Partnership, Denominator, ClimateGPT, and AI analytics)
4. Survey & Self-Assessment submitted by the CSOs themselves

Scores are weighted (weightings remain confidential) to produce the final Top 100 list.

Eligibility

To qualify, companies and their CSOs had to meet strict criteria:

• Annual revenue of at least US$1 billion
• Workforce of more than 5,000 employees
• NetZero target set for 2040 or earlier
• Sustainability report published by August 8, 2025, covering at least Q1 2024
• CSO tenure of at least one year by September 22, 2025

Only one CSO per corporate group was eligible.

The Top 100 CSOs of North America 2025

Below is the full list of leaders recognized this year, representing the companies shaping the sustainable economy of tomorrow:

Why This Matters

This list signals which corporations are embedding sustainability into core business strategy — a trend accelerated by investor expectations, regulatory pressures, and consumer demand.

Chief Sustainability Officers today are not just compliance leaders; they are strategists, innovators, and dealmakers shaping trillion-dollar industries. Their work is setting the pace for climate action, equity, and resilience across North America.

Sustainability Leadership in New York

At the same time as these executives are being recognized, another major milestone for global sustainability leadership will unfold in New York. On September 25 at UN Headquarters, the SDG High-Level Luncheon will mark the official launch of SDG News on the 10th anniversary of the Sustainable Development Goals. This invitation-only gathering will convene 80 leaders from government, philanthropy, and business to elevate solutions and the visionaries behind them. Learn more here.

Conclusion

The Top 100 CSOs of North America 2025 reflect the rise of sustainability as a driver of corporate performance and societal impact. These executives represent the front line of corporate transformation, steering industries toward a NetZero future.

For the complete list and more information, visit the CSO Awards official landing page.