We sat down with Angeline Griffin, Mecsia’s Head of ESG, to discuss the changing role of sustainability leadership, the growing expectations on facilities management providers, and why ESG needs to become part of how every function makes decisions.

A role designed to disappear?

From the frontline of sustainability in facilities management, one question is becoming harder to ignore: if ESG is truly embedded across a business, should the role of Chief Sustainability Officer exist at all?

The answer is yes, but not in the way the role has traditionally been understood. ESG should not sit as a separate function on the edge of the organisation. It should be a way of working: influencing how decisions are made, how value is created, how risk is managed and how businesses show up for clients, colleagues, communities and the planet.

The shift in client expectations

In facilities management, I have seen this shift accelerate first-hand. Client expectations have moved rapidly from asking whether suppliers have their own house in order — measuring Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions, for example — to asking how we can actively support their journey to net zero, help decarbonise operations and more recently, how can we deliver measurable social value through local charities, STEM engagement, apprenticeships and skills programmes.

That breadth of expectation cannot be carried by one person or one team. A sustainability function can lead strategy, interpret regulation, guide reporting and challenge the business to go further. But it cannot single-handedly own a decarbonisation roadmap, a social value programme, procurement decisions, customer commitments and supply chain resilience at the pace the market now demands.

The most mature businesses recognise this. They move ESG out of the silo and into the operating model.

From compliance to value creation

In my experience, most organisations pass through a recognisable ESG maturity curve. The first stage is compliance: measuring energy and emissions, producing annual disclosures and ensuring regulatory obligations are met. It is an essential foundation, but it is not transformation.

The second stage is risk management. ESG data begins to inform exposure around climate, supply chain, workforce and reputation. Yet too often, this still lives in spreadsheets and RAG-rated dashboards: useful for due diligence, but not powerful enough to change how the company operates.

The third stage is competitor parity. Businesses look sideways and ask what peers are reporting, what clients expect and what investors are beginning to demand. This can move the organisation forward, but it is still often reactive rather than strategic.

Together, these stages protect value. They help a business avoid risk, meet expectations and stay in the game. The real opportunity comes when ESG starts creating value.

The organisations making the greatest progress are those that build sustainability into the decisions functions already make every day: procurement choosing suppliers, operations designing service delivery, finance assessing investment and HR shaping skills, culture and employee engagement.

Why ownership has to move

Over time, I have learned that sustainability professionals often begin with energy, ambition and a clear view of what needs to change. But enthusiasm alone does not shift a business. Without commercial logic, operational ownership and clear accountability, ESG can remain something people support in principle but struggle to prioritise in practice.

In an organisation of 5,000 people, a sustainability team of five represents just 0.1% of the workforce. If all ESG thinking and action sits with that 0.1%, the impact will always be limited. But when department heads are accountable for embedding sustainable practice into their objectives, processes and teams, ESG becomes part of how the business runs rather than an initiative layered on top.

This is where the role of the Chief Sustainability Officer changes. Success is not about controlling every ESG activity. It is about creating the conditions for the business to own them.

What embedded ESG looks like

In finance, sustainability-linked funding can connect ESG performance directly to commercial terms, turning responsible practice into a financial lever rather than a reporting exercise.

In procurement, ESG-led supplier assessments can strengthen resilience, reduce reputational risk and improve visibility of Scope 3 emissions. In facilities management, where delivery depends on manufacturers, subcontractors and specialist partners, this is a particularly practical test of ESG maturity: supplier engagement is not peripheral. It is central to performance, carbon reduction and client confidence.

In operations, ESG becomes practical: choosing lower-carbon materials, reducing waste, improving energy efficiency, supporting local employment and designing services that help clients meet their own sustainability ambitions.

At full maturity, ESG is no longer a defensive function. It supports commercial positioning, financing terms, client retention and long-term resilience. It becomes part of how the organisation competes.

Why this matters now

Across Mecsia Group, we are seeing that shift play out commercially. More than 90% of bids and tenders across the private and public sectors now include some form of ESG or social value requirement. That direction of travel is only strengthening. Under PPN 026, central government procurements started from 1 January 2027 will place defined weightings on social value for covered contracts, including a greater focus on jobs, skills and opportunities in local communities.

At Mecsia, embedding ESG into the business has already contributed to tangible progress. Our SECR-reported emissions intensity, measured in tCO2e per £m revenue, fell by 22% between 2024 and 2025. That is not simply a reporting outcome. It is what happens when sustainability is translated into procurement, operations and finance rather than managed separately by a small team on the side.

The future role of the CSO

So, should the Chief Sustainability Officer exist? Yes — but as an enabler, translator and challenger, not as the sole owner of ESG. The most valuable sustainability leaders are not those who try to control every activity, but those who help the business understand a complex landscape, turn it into practical action and ensure accountability sits where decisions are made.

A sustainability leader’s success should not be measured by how much ESG activity their team controls. It should be measured by how much of it the business is ready, able and accountable to own for itself.

That is the shift from value protection to value creation. And from what we are seeing in facilities management, it is a shift that will increasingly separate organisations that simply report on ESG from those that use it to become more resilient, competitive and relevant.

The question for business leaders is not whether they have an ESG strategy. It is whether their business is structured to deliver it.

At Mecsia, we are continuing to learn what embedded ESG looks like in practice. We welcome conversations with clients, partners and peers who are facing the same challenge.