Chief Green Officer – A Myth or a Reality

Traditionally the ‘X’ in CXO has been occupied by ‘Executive’, ‘Financial’ or ‘Operations’ (broadly speaking). However The Chief Green Officer is fast becoming the most influential position in an organization. Apart from responsibilities covering various aspects of organizational functionalities, the final ‘go-ahead’ decision would be coming from CGO.

There has been a plethora of cases where organizations simply had to pull out since they did not comply with the local green policies and norms. Take the example of a major aluminium company which had to bite the dust after spending nearly ₹ 50,000 cr. in Orissa. In 2005, a national Iron Ore company had to face the ire of Supreme Court because it had went ahead with its expansion plan in the forest areas despite the fact that its lease period of 25 years was about to expire. And the list goes on.

Role of the Green Officer

The role of the Green Officer becomes very vital under these circumstances. The Chief Green Officer should have the ability to foresee the possible impact on the organization due to the various green issues. His primary responsibility would be to oversee the company’s green initiatives and programmes and ensure compliance with the environmental regulations. It goes without saying that the CGO should be well-versed with the Operational practices in his organization and the industry ‘best practices’. It should be his continuous endeavour to minimise the gap existing between his organization and the industry best practices.

The overall responsibility of a Green Officer can be broadly categorized as follows:

• Reduction of Carbon Footprints in the organization
• Build a Green Supply Chain connecting the suppliers, manufacturing facility, distributors and the end consumers
• Find new revenue opportunity through environmental sustainability programs

What it takes to be a Green Officer

The CGO must have the ability to perform a Cost-Benefit analysis on the new projects that are to be undertaken by his organization from environmental point of view and the possible impact on the various stakeholders of the project. The CGO must be an expert in Green Supply Chain Management, a field of Operation Management which aims to adopt industry practice that helps in promoting environmental sustainability.
All the above may create a Good CGO however an effective CGO would be the one who would have the ability to create a culture of environmental sustainability, not only among his employees but also among the suppliers and distributors.

With all of the diverse knowledge and skill sets required to perform well as the Chief Green Officer, it’s easy to see why the executives in this position are rapidly gaining power and prestige within their companies. Because the position of Chief Green Officer is such an important and influential one, companies seek to hire the most qualified applicants and carefully evaluate a candidate’s training and credentials.

Industry view on the concept of ‘Green Officers’

Still today many companies feel that Environmental Sustainability adds burden to its financials. However the facts are quite opposite. Wal-Mart’s green supply chain initiatives – which include saving 667,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide and 66.7 million gallons of diesel fuel – are anticipated to help it reach $14.3 billion in profits this year. Green supply chain practices can lead not only to improved environmental conditions, but to a much stronger bottom line.

There are companies which are increasingly becoming aware of the need of the Green Officers and professionals with Green Supply Chain training are much sought after.

Conclusion

Companies today can no longer afford to overlook the environmental impact of their operations. In order to have a sustainable base, it is highly recommended that organization creates a point of responsibility within the organization to understand the above impacts. However it is essential that the organizations do not limit itself to create a position, but build a culture of environmental sustainability within the organization, where each employee will do his bit in creating an effective green supply chain.

About the Author

Subhasis Maji is a PGDM student of the 2012-2014 batch. He loves to explore new places and blogs about the same. He can be reached at subhasism2014@email.iimcal.ac.in

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