Chief Sustainability Officer

The Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) at National Grid is an important strategic position reporting directly to the Chief Strategy and Regulatory Officer and serving as a member of the senior leadership group (SLG).  

The CSO will lead the sustainability strategy for National Grid, acting as a centre of excellence for the Business Units and Group Functions and an ambassador for sustainability both internally and externally. They will directly support stakeholder and investor engagement on all matters related to sustainability and climate change. The CSO will ensure the effective governance of environmental and social considerations within National Grid’s operations and investments. 

National Grid is committed to delivering a secure, affordable, and clean energy future. As a network company owning and operating networks in the UK and USNE and supplying energy to customers in the USNE we want to play our part to help deliver the networks and customer solutions needed to deliver net zero. We want to ensure operations are sustainable and responsible.  

Demand and supply for clean, secure energy is accelerating. It’s a big challenge that requires a big response. We are investing £60 billion over the next 5 years across the UK and Northeast US, to deliver the energy transition. 

The energy landscape is evolving, and so is National Grid. For almost 10 years, we have been guided by our CEO, John Pettigrew. On 1 May 2025, it was announced that John will retire later this year after 35 years of service. As such, on 1 May, it was also announced that Zoë Yujnovich, a global executive at Shell plc, will assume the Chief Executive role at National Grid on 17 November 2025. She comes with a diverse background in energy and natural resources, along with a proven record in capital delivery. 

The business areas play a vital role in connecting millions of people to the energy we use, while continually seeking ways to make the energy system cleaner. National Grid Ventures and National Grid Partners also enable innovations to help revolutionise and decarbonise the future of energy.  

• Sustainability Strategy Development: Design and oversee the development of National Grid’s sustainability strategy, climate targets ensuring alignment with business goals, national, regional (State) and international climate policies and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

• Net Zero: Develop and review National Grid’s Net Zero Transition Plan supporting the Group and Business Unit’s contributions to helping their national and State level governments meet their sustainability goals (including the transition to net zero) while aligning with business objectives, driving action, monitoring progress, and disclosing performance. Drive thinking working with other functions and the Business Units to make sure the organisation is prepared and resilient in a climate-changed world. 

• Stakeholder Engagement: Engage with stakeholders and represent National Grid in national and international climate and sustainability forums, promoting the company’s contributions to climate action and fostering a culture of listening and learning from stakeholders. 

• Investor Relations: Collaborate with the Investor Relations Team to lead proactive and reactive shareholder Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) engagement based on National Grid’s sustainability policies and performance. 
• Sustainability Reporting: Lead the preparation of transparent sustainability reports aligned with national and international ESG frameworks, driving high performance against key targets and KPIs. 

• Location: Boston based

• Competitive base salary dependent on experience 

• Role closes: 29/09/2025

• Manager: Steve Smith – Chief Strategy and Regulation Officer (ExCo)