Why are so many big brands integrating their sustainability roles into other business operations – and what does that mean for packaging initiatives going forward?
We take a closer look at SKU World’s research into this trend and consider its implications in light of ongoing sustainability targets, business realities, and more.
Writing for SKU World, Christine Taylor reports that companies are increasingly eliminating CSO roles and integrating sustainability initiatives into other departments.
“This could be good news,” commented Taylor in a LinkedIn post. “It can mean sustainability is moving closer to finance, sourcing, packaging, compliance, product, and ops. But it’s clear integration may also mean the dedicated teams, budgets, or authorities have been reduced, while the public goals remain in place.”
For example, Starbucks recently laid off its chief sustainability officer, Marika McCauley Sine, and Chris McFarlane, global responsibility advisor for Waste and Circularity. A Starbucks spokesperson told Trellis that sustainability and social impact initiatives would both be led by chief social impact officer Kelly Goodejohn because “the work goes hand in hand.”
In SKU World’s view, the integration may lead to reduced authority – especially in the areas of packaging and reuse.
According to its latest report, only 27% of Starbucks’ customer-facing packaging was compostable, recyclable or reusable in 2024, despite the company aspiring for 100% by 2030. The report also noted a 3% decline in customer-facing packaging made from recycled materials or biobased plastics compared to 2023, and a similar decline in customer-facing packaging materials made with virgin fossil fuels.
However, Starbucks records a 0.6% increase in beverages sold in reusable cups between 2023 and 2024 – and Packaging Europe has reported on Starbucks’ recent refill initiatives, including its involvement in the NextGen Consortium’s Petaluma Reusable Cup Project and the extension of its refill services to all sit-in customers.
Procter & Gamble’s chief sustainability officer, Virginie Helias, announced her retirement from the company last week. Michele Baeten, vice president of Global Sustainability, will take her place.
SKU World highlights Baeten’s background in marketing – for example, her previous work as brand director at Tampax – and suggests that Procter & Gamble is integrating sustainability into its commercial operations.
As of last year, P&G reported that it had designed 80% of its packaging for recycling or reuse and exceeded its target for FSC-certified virgin paper. It also aspires to eliminate 50% of virgin petroleum plastic per unit of production by 2030 (compared to a 2017 baseline), with last year’s figure reported at 21%.
As You Sow previously suggested that approximately 19% of P&G’s packaging is made of flexible plastic and questioned the feasibility of its recycling goals for 2030. However, P&G’s work alongside The Recycling Partnership’s Film & Flexibles and Polypropylene Recycling Coalitions, the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, and other sustainability initiatives continued into 2025.
Earlier this year, The Coca-Cola Company’s major global restructure led Eco-Business to predict that the global vice president of sustainability and digital transformation would transition to another role within the company.
Joe Maguire announced on LinkedIn last month that his job position had switched from senior director of Global Sustainability and Procurement to vice president of Environmental Sustainability.
Beatriz ‘Bea’ Perez has served as executive vice president and global chief of Communications and Sustainability and Strategic Partnerships officer since January 2024. Ashna Zaheer has also been vice president, Assistant Corporate Secretary and Senior Legal Counsel and head of Securities, Capital Markets and Sustainability Reporting since April 2024.
Eco-Business cites sources from Coca-Cola and reports that company-wide overhauls usually take place every three to five years to keep operations up to date. However, the latest restructure takes place after The Coca-Cola Company lowered the ambition of its voluntary environmental goals in 2024, including a five-year delay and 10-15% reduction in its recycled material target.
Unilever CSO Rebecca Marmot also stepped down in November 2025 and was replaced by chief corporate affairs and communications officer Michael Stewart. Despite extending its deadline to reduce virgin plastic, now aiming to eliminate one-third by 2026, the company reports that it achieved multiple targets by 2025, including 25% post-consumer recycled plastic and collecting and processing more plastic than it sells.
Taylor highlights that the removal of a CSO title does not mean that their work is not continuing elsewhere, but underlines the importance of transparency from those working inside the company.
In her view, integration “can be a sign of maturity, but it can also be a polite way to bury accountability. A sustainability function moved into finance may gain some power, but a sustainability function moved into ‘everyone’s job’ may become no one’s job at all.”
She adds that sustainability initiatives are being ‘stress-tested’ in the current business climate – for example, crackdowns on social accountability and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the USA – and considers this an important process.
“The market is not walking away from sustainability evenly,” she writes. “It is sorting the work by perceived business value. This means the next era belongs less to slogan-makers and more to translators.
“The people who matter now will be the ones who can connect climate goals to sourcing decisions, packaging systems, labour risk, regulatory exposure, capital allocation, and brand trust/strategy.”
Last year, we took a closer look at the pattern of big brands missing their sustainability targets for 2025 – highlighting the frequently cited reasons such as overambition, access to recyclate, underdeveloped infrastructure and regulation, and consumer behaviour.
Neil Osment, Managing Director of packaging market research company NOA, also shared his thoughts; he argued that the development of new manufacturing equipment and capital approval are among the other factors slowing brands down.
Additionally, Packaging Europe previously explored the role of shareholders in influencing a company’s sustainable packaging progress. We considered their ability to put pressure on companies and influence sustainability commitments, but questioned the effectiveness of this approach in less eco-conscious boardrooms.
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