THE SUSTAINABILITY INTERVIEW
“ IF WE CAN’ T MAKE SUSTAINABILITY SUSTAINABLE IN THE COMPANY, IT’ S NEVER GOING TO BE A CRITICAL AND FUNDAMENTAL CORE PART OF BUSINESS STRATEGY”
Sophie Beckham Chief Sustainability Officer International Paper
“ In most cases now the CSO is expected to have enterprise fluency – in areas including finance, supply chain, business operations and customer expectations,” Sophie explains.“ The collaboration between those different parts of our organisation and my office is at an all-time high.
“ It’ s actually quite a challenge for the individual in the CSO role to be all things to all people, but it’ s equally important for us – as we are upskilling – to think about how the role we play helps deliver risk management and long-term resilience for our business. We can’ t do that unless we have the big picture and all of the skills associated with, for example, business acumen, front and centre.”
In addition to working with her colleagues in other departments of IP, Sophie“ upskills” by working with external strategic partners, including as a board member for several NGOs.
“ Collaboration with others outside of our industry is really critical to be able to move the needle,” Sophie says.“ We can’ t scale without the insights of others.”
26 June 2026