How Organizational and Contextual Factors Influence the Effectiveness of Sustainability Executives in Canada

The role of Chief Sustainability Officers (CSOs) and senior sustainability executives has gained prominence as organizations integrate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations into corporate strategy. While prior research highlights these appointments as signals of commitment to sustainability, limited studies examine the organizational and contextual factors that shape their effectiveness. This study explores how internal corporate structures, external ESG pressures, and strategic leadership approaches influence the success of senior sustainability executives in achieving ESG objectives within Canadian companies. Using a qualitative research design, semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten sustainability executives from recognized Canadian companies. The findings indicate that executive buy-in, integration of sustainability into core business functions, regulatory alignment, and accountability structures are critical enablers of sustainability leadership. However, challenges such as resource constraints, regulatory complexity, and difficulties in measuring ESG impact persist. These insights contribute to the evolving discourse on sustainability leadership by identifying key organizational conditions necessary for sustainability effectiveness and offering practical implications for corporate governance.