Europe's Top 20 Chief Sustainability Officers (CSOs) by Futur/io

Following our first publication of Europe’s TOP 100 Chief Sustainability Officers (curated by Futur/io), illuminem is proud to exclusively present the list of the Top 20 nominees for the final CSO Awards /24.

The prestigious European sustainability prize will be awarded to the final three winners in Davos during the Annual Economic Forum, on January 15, 2024.

Event invitation: illuminem readers at Davos are invited to attend the prestigious CSO Awards Gala Night at Davos on Monday, January 15, 2024, 7pm. After confirming, please don't forget to notify our team for a special welcome.

The Top 20 CSOs in Europe

• Alexandra Palt, Chief Corporate Responsibility Officer and CEO of the Fondation L’Oréal, Member L'Oréal Executive Committee, L'Oréal
• Andreas Wade, Director Group Sustainability, Viessmann
• Arthur Schneider, Head of Sustainability Management, Bechtle Group
• Catharina Belfrage Sahlstrand, Group Head of Sustainability, Handelsbanken
• Christelle Capdupuy, Chief Sustainability Officer, Louis Vuitton
• Constance Chalchat, Chief Sustainability Officer, Global Markets, BNP Paribas CI
• Daniella Vega, Global Senior Vice President Health & Sustainability, Ahold Delhaize
• Gianluca Ansalone, Head of Public Affairs & Sustainability, Novartis
• Henri Bruxelles, Chief Sustainability and Strategic Business Development Officer, Danone
• Inês Oom de Sousa, Head of ESG Europe, Santander Group
• Jean-François Pascal, Vice President Sustainability, Beiersdorf
• Karen Pflug, Chief Sustainability Officer, Ingka Group (IKEA)
• Linda Freiner, Group Head of Sustainability, Zurich Insurance
• Lisa Malmquist Ekstrand, Vice President Sustainability, Vestas
• Marie-Claire Daveu, Chief Sustainability and Institutional Affairs Officer, Kering
• Petra Wicklandt, Head of Corporate Sustainability, Merck
• Rebecca Marmot, Chief Sustainability Officer, Unilever
• Silke Jolowicz, Head of Sustainability, Munich Re
• Ulrike Sapiro, Chief Sustainability Officer, Henkel
• Vanessa Butani, VP Group Sustainability, Electrolux

About the methodology applied

The Futur/io Institute is the independent curator of this list. It is a leading European think-tank and organization dedicated to shaping a future where sustainability, technology, and innovation are at the core of global progress. Futur/io works with organisations like illuminem, the UNFCCC and corporates in leadership training and organises Executive Programmes to inspire future leaders in sustainable innovation. 

The 20 leaders have been selected by a dedicated Nomination Committee from among the TOP 100 European Chief Sustainability Officers. The Committee is led by chairman Marc Buckley, and composed of Alan Moore (Beautiful Business), Dijana Galijasevic (Impact Hero), Heather Deeth (Hollyhock), Ida Faldbakken (KatapultX), Ingmar Rentzhog (We Don’t Have Time), Michael Winter (Pool Sparring mit der Zukunft GmbH), Nadine Michalske (Klima.Metrix), Nanda Bergstein (Camm solutions GmbH), Raphael Gielgen (Vitra), Vaitea Cowan (Enapter) and Zoë Red (Creatives for Climate).

The criteria to select those nominees highlights their leadership role in being influential voices to communicate their companies’ progress towards a net zero target date. The following considerations were incorporated when selecting the final nominees:

• Demonstrate impact thinking and knowledge sharing to amplify efforts and influence at scale, via media or social media collaborations, authentic content creation and other;

• Acting beyond regulation on SDG & ESG progress and a progressive timeline to Net-Zero and beyond, demonstrating a courageous and bold mindset of transformation;

• First mover in their industry (i.e. action projects) experimenting, pioneering and innovating to set the stage for new actions & ambitions; this includes membership in international bodies or awards / public rankings & acknowledgements;

• Leadership and educational training initiative​, engaging all team players and stakeholders by implementing educational training that impacts all sectors of the company and embeds sustainability thinking in its culture;

• Sustainability branding and media content, demonstrating a commitment to sustainability through reporting efforts and communications that demonstrate transparency and impact.

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