At a reunion of graduates from a school of business at the local university, two former roommates engaged in a discussion about environment and sustainability. One is a senior executive with a global manufacturer, and the other owns a sandwich shop in the university town.

Global executive: “We include sustainability in our corporate mission and have a chief sustainability officer on the senior management team. The CSO is really good and makes sure that we don’t do anything that could cause a lack of public confidence in our commitment to sustainability.”

Sandwich shop owner: “That’s all well and good, but what are you doing on the positive side in terms of environmental care? It sounds like you do just enough to avoid public scrutiny. Shouldn’t the CSO be a real advocate for the environment rather than just a protector of the corporate reputation? We, for example, use only natural foods and ingredients, recycle everything that is recyclable, and compost all possible waste.”

Question: If you were establishing a new position called corporate sustainability officer, what would you include in the job description as a way of both clarifying the responsibilities of the person hired and establishing clear accountability for what sustainability means to your organization?