The reinvention of the chief sustainability officer

SOPHIA Mendelsohn recalls her days as an intern, when she had to photocopy electricity bills and highlight them in yellow, and then key in the costs onto a spreadsheet.

Now, the chief sustainability officer (CSO) and commercial officer at German multinational software group SAP, she is again tracking and documenting energy use and environmental information – although with rather more sophisticated artificial intelligence (AI) systems.

Mendelsohn is one of the few executives in her position to remain vocal about the benefits of corporate sustainability, almost a year after US President Donald Trump came into office, describing climate change as a “hoax” and started reversing green policies.