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Role hub · Chief Sustainability Officers

Chief Sustainability Officer: what the job is, what it pays, and how to get hired.

The work, the skills that matter, the tools in demand and the pay range, from U.S. government data, plus every TryHired page for the role.

BLS does not publish pay for chief sustainability officers separately. Every pay figure on this page is for the BLS occupation “Chief Executives” (SOC 11-1011), which includes chief sustainability officers and other jobs; it is not a figure for chief sustainability officers alone.

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Updated Nov 2, 2026 · Data: BLS OEWS May 2025 · O*NET 31.0
Pay ladder · select a percentile
Median percentile pay

Half of workers in the BLS occupation “Chief Executives” earn more than this and half earn less.

Annual
$213,990
Hourly
$102.88
Source
BLS May 2025
Quick answer

Chief Sustainability Officers communicate and coordinate with management, shareholders, customers, and employees to address sustainability issues. The median pay is $213,990 a year ($102.88 an hour) (BLS, May 2025). The most commonly reported education requirement is a master's degree (74% of workers surveyed by O*NET).

Median pay
$213,990
BLS May 2025
Employed in the U.S.
204,350
BLS May 2025
Preparation
Job Zone 5 of 5
extensive preparation
Most common education
Master's Degree
74% of workers
Key facts

Chief Sustainability Officers at a glance

  • Workers in the BLS occupation “Chief Executives” (which includes chief sustainability officers) in the United States earned a median annual wage of $213,990 in May 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

  • In its 2025–35 employment projections, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lists a bachelor's degree as the typical entry-level education for chief sustainability officers in the United States.

    Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35

  • BLS projects employment of chief sustainability officers in the United States to grow 3.2% from 2025 to 2035, with about 19,100 openings a year on average, including replacement openings.

    Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35

  • BLS estimated that 204,350 people were employed as chief sustainability officers in the United States in May 2025, not counting the self-employed.

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

Explore the role

Every page for Chief Sustainability Officers

SalaryChief Executives salary

BLS pay data for this occupation, by state and percentile.

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The work

What chief sustainability officers do day to day

Data Core tasks rated most important by workers in the role (O*NET).

  1. Monitor and evaluate effectiveness of sustainability programs.
  2. Develop or execute strategies to address issues such as energy use, resource conservation, recycling, pollution reduction, waste elimination, transportation, education, and building design.
  3. Develop, or oversee the development of, sustainability evaluation or monitoring systems.
  4. Supervise employees or volunteers working on sustainability projects.
  5. Develop sustainability reports, presentations, or proposals for supplier, employee, academia, media, government, public interest, or other groups.
  6. Develop, or oversee the development of, marketing or outreach media for sustainability projects or events.
  7. Identify and evaluate pilot projects or programs to enhance the sustainability research agenda.
  8. Create and maintain sustainability program documents, such as schedules and budgets.
Where this career works

Industries that employ it

Data Share of all chief sustainability officer jobs in each industry, 2025 (BLS Employment Matrix). Figures cover all chief executives (SOC 11-1011), the broader occupation.

  1. Professional, scientific, and technical services13.7% of all jobs in this occupation · +12.0% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $263,000
  2. Government, excluding state and local education and hospitals7.9% of all jobs in this occupation · +3.2% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $157,200
  3. Educational services; state, local, and private6.3% of all jobs in this occupation · +1.0% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $232,710
  4. Management of companies and enterprises4.9% of all jobs in this occupation · +4.6% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $413,600
  5. Religious, grantmaking, civic, professional, and similar organizations3.4% of all jobs in this occupation · +5.8% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $239,980
  6. Administrative and support services3.1% of all jobs in this occupation · +3.7% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $255,730

Sources: BLS 2025–35 National Employment Matrix (share of the occupation's jobs, projected change) and BLS OEWS May 2025 industry estimates (mean wage). Different industry estimates are not a pay forecast for any person.

Skills that matter

Ranked by importance to the job

Data O*NET importance ratings. The first three are core.

WritingcoreCritical ThinkingcoreComplex Problem SolvingcoreReading ComprehensionActive ListeningSpeakingSocial PerceptivenessPersuasionJudgment and Decision Making

Knowledge areas: English Language, Administration and Management, Law and Government, Communications and Media, Building and Construction, Customer and Personal Service.

Tools and technology

Software chief sustainability officers use

Data Examples reported for the role; employer demand flags from O*NET.

  • Adobe PhotoshopGraphics or photo imaging softwareHot technology
  • FacebookWeb page creation and editing softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft ExcelSpreadsheet softwareIn demand
  • Microsoft Office softwareOffice suite softwareIn demand
  • Microsoft OutlookElectronic mail softwareIn demand
  • Microsoft PowerPointPresentation softwareIn demand
  • Adobe AcrobatDocument management softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft AccessData base user interface and query softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft ProjectProject management softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft SharePointDocument management softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft WordWord processing softwareHot technology
  • SAP softwareEnterprise resource planning ERP softwareHot technology

Also called: Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO), Corporate Sustainability Process Manager, CSR and Sustainability VP (Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability Vice President), Sustainability Chancellor, Sustainability Chief, Sustainability Director.

Method

How this page is built

Tasks, skills, tools, education and related roles come from O*NET 31.0. Pay and employment come from the BLS OEWS May 2025 national estimates. The skill-match score is our calculation: Skill match is the cosine similarity of the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level and subtract the average across all occupations, then compare the direction of the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 means unrelated or opposite (negative values are shown as 0). Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared.

What this page can't tell you
  • How a specific employer defines the job.
  • Pay for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
  • Your own chances: data describes the occupation, not you.
Sources
  1. O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
  2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).

How TryHired builds this data: sources, methods and downloads. Spotted an error? Report a correction.