What do we talk about in Episode 1: The Future of the CSO?

With the role of the Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) ever-evolving, Acre has the duty of uncovering the skills, knowledge and insights from our network of current leaders in the industry to share with the next generation of change-makers. Over the last 3 months, Acre has teamed up with Mike Barry, previous CSO of Marks and Spencer, to interview the brightest and the best in the industry. ‘The Future of the CSO’ series will bring you an insight into how the role has changed, how it will continue to evolve, the skillset required and the challenges that will be faced. It is important that we keep learning, sharing and developing.

Who is Deeksha Vats?

To kick start the 'Future of the CSO' series, we were joined by Deeksha Vats, Chief Sustainability Officer for Aditya Birla Group. With over 25 years of experience in both consulting and corporates at group and company levels, Deeksha has worked across diverse industry sectors such as heavy and general manufacturing, utilities, retail, telecom, financial institutions, and also Government bodies and multilateral funding agencies. The focus areas for these engagements have been climate change; energy mix transition; water risk mitigation; waste and contaminated site management; resource conservation; biodiversity; and forestry. As a regular speaker and panellist at sustainability events, she has been at the forefront of the sustainability agenda in India through participation in working groups, industry bodies and expert networks. With her dedication, knowledge and experience across the industry, Deeskha opened up the series with an in-depth and informative conversation.​​

Who is Tanith Allen?

Our host for the first episode of the 'Future of the CSO' series is Acre's Tanith Allen, Director - Sustainable Infrastructure & Manufacturing, Sustainable Business Team, UK. Tanith leads Acre’s permanent and contract recruitment across Infrastructure, Packaging and Professional Services. Since joining the business, Tanith has developed Acre’s executive consultant platform, the Acre Bench, providing flexible support to clients facing some of the most challenging materiality, strategy and responsible value chain issues in sustainability. She has successfully placed senior CR&S professionals with clients such as LyondellBasell, Ball Corporation, and EasyJet, as well as with leading industry bodies.

Who is Mike Barry?​​

The second host to join the conversation is Mike Barry, Director of mikebarryeco and a long-standing leader in sustainable change. As the former Chief Sustainability Officer for Marks and Spencers, he is best known for his time at the organisation achieving zero-waste-to-landfill status, moving to 100% renewable electricity and achieving carbon neutrality across the global estate of stores, offices and warehouses. Alongside this long-standing legacy, Mike brings an array of broad experience working at an international level of business, charities, think tanks and startups.​​​​

Please watch the full interview series on the Acre Vimeo Channel to learn more.​

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​About Acre

At Acre, we work with the most aspirational businesses with potential to make real change; from those who are just starting out to those who are well on the journey to crafting a legacy.

Our 18 years' experience in sustainability recruitment, combined with our extensive global network, enables us to provide talent solutions that are designed to deliver this change.

Through our unique behavioural assessment technology, we understand the types of people, skills and behaviours required to create impact. We can develop these qualities within your existing teams too.

We find talented people and develop their skills to ensure they make a true impact in ambitious, progressive organisations.

Acre. Making companies ready for tomorrow.

 

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