AI skills every sustainability leader should learn

Artificial intelligence is disrupting just about every profession – including the work of Chief Sustainability Officers. But sustainability leaders may be lacking the skills and proficiency to use this tool with confidence.  

Sustainability leaders recognise the potential benefits of AI, particularly to free up time spent collecting and analysing data, giving them more freedom to think strategically about their organisations’ transformation. As an example, Microsoft’s Chief Sustainability Officer Melanie Nakagawa noted in 2024 that AI had freed up 70% of her team's time.

Yet at the same time, most people in sustainability do not come from a tech background, so many are wary of using a technology that they don’t feel like they master – in addition to their concerns over the environmental impacts of AI. 

“AI is quickly becoming an essential part of the sustainability toolkit, but it’s only effective when practitioners know how to use it responsibly and confidently,” says Seb Kirk, CEO and Co-founder of AI consultancy GaiaLens.

But there’s no denying that AI is already changing the way most companies are run. According to Blue Yonder’s inaugural ‘Supply Chain Compass’ report, which surveyed nearly 700 global supply chain leaders, 80% of those who identified sustainability as a top-three priority say AI is already transforming their operations (compared to 74% overall). Additionally, 61% report they are actively exploring the use of generative AI.

For Blue Yonder’s Chief Sustainability Officer Saskia van Gendt, sustainability professionals play a critical role in ensuring AI is used responsibly. “They must weigh the benefits of AI-driven efficiency against the environmental costs, such as increased energy and water usage associated with data centres. This stewardship role gives sustainability leaders a seat at the table in shaping how AI supports a sustainable future,” she tells CSO Futures.

To play this role effectively, CSOs first need to get comfortable using AI, learning how to formulate the right prompts, understand data quality and privacy issues, and review AI-generated reports.

Understanding data accuracy and privacy issues

Before they start using AI in their work, it’s important for sustainability professionals to understand where the data collected by AI tools comes from – and what issues might arise without supervision. 

Van Gendt suggests that CSO should be aware of two main AI pitfalls before integrating it into sustainability tasks: AI may not reflect the most recent updates for rapidly changing regulations; and AI-generated responses can be inaccurate, generating what she calls “hallucinations”. 

An October study coordinated by the European Broadcasting Union and led by the BBC found that AI assistants misrepresent news content 45% of the time. “Always cross-check with trusted sources and experts, and avoid sharing confidential or sensitive information in open AI environments,” warns van Gendt.

Kirk adds: “Before applying AI to sustainability data, practitioners need to understand data quality and provenance: where information comes from, how complete it is, and whether the model has visibility into the context behind the numbers. Without that awareness, AI can amplify existing blind spots instead of solving them.”

Needless to say, human oversight remains absolutely critical when using AI, particularly in a highly scrutinised sector like sustainability.

Top AI prompts for sustainability leaders

That said, when used with caution, AI can be very efficient at supporting a CSO. Kirk and van Gendt summarise the most useful types of prompts for sustainability work.

Prompts to increase operational efficiency

“The most useful AI prompts are those that help sustainability leaders move from data gathering to decision-making,” says Kirk. For example, a sustainability leader could ask AI: ‘Summarise the key Scope 3 emission disclosures from this supplier report,’ saving the time it takes to read through the entire report to find that information.

Another suggestion is to leverage AI to summarise strategy meetings, with a prompt like: ‘Review the transcript from our Sustainability Taskforce meeting. Provide a bulleted summary of the discussion and action items, including deliverables, owners, and due dates.’

“Sustainability leaders often coordinate across numerous internal and external stakeholders, which can be time-consuming. AI can reduce the administrative load by assisting with planning, meeting preparation, and follow-ups,” adds van Gendt.

Prompts for to improve clarity and consistency

CSOs and Heads of Sustainability are often in charge of producing sustainability reports, which requires handling large amounts of data and presenting it in a digestible format. AI can support this work, with prompts such as: ‘Highlight inconsistencies in this ESG dataset’ or ‘Rewrite this draft report with a consistent tone and improved clarity. Use terms like 'carbon emissions' consistently and flag any jargon that may confuse an average reader. The audience is our shareholders and customers.’

“Sustainability reports often involve contributions from multiple teams, leading to variations in writing style, formatting, and tone. Inconsistent terminology may be used to describe the same initiatives, which can cause confusion, such as using “greenhouse gas emissions,” “emissions,” and “CO2 emissions” interchangeably. AI can help standardise language and ensure clarity throughout the document,” van Gendt suggests.

Prompts to strengthen the sustainability strategy

Van Gendt adds that sustainability leaders often need cross-functional alignment, especially with finance teams, and AI can simulate different stakeholder perspectives to help anticipate questions, refine arguments, and strengthen business cases.

For example, a CSO could ask AI: ‘You are our company's CFO. Review my 2026 work plan and provide the questions you would ask, along with responses based on the plan and our 2025 sustainability report’, to prepare for a meeting with the CSO.

Another suggestion is to use AI tools to adapt the sustainability narrative for different audiences, with a prompt such as: ‘We are training our staff on a new carbon reduction initiative. Provide an outline for a learning plan tailored to Marketing, Finance, and Facilities teams on the importance of reducing greenhouse gas emissions’.

Prompts to stay on top of sustainability regulations

AI can also help sustainability leaders understand regulatory requirements or tailor sustainability reports to comply with specific standards: ‘Map these sustainability KPIs to CSRD or SDG frameworks’ is one prompt example given by Kirk for this purpose.

It can help summarise complex regulations and suggest steps for compliance, with a prompt like: ‘What are the requirements for compliance with CSDDD for our company? Provide a work plan outlining stakeholder engagement, responsibilities, and milestones’.

However, van Gendt warns that sustainability regulations – such as those related to Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) – are evolving. “Use AI for initial insights, but always validate against the latest guidance,” she recommends.

You can find more AI prompt suggestions here.

How CSOs can acquire the necessary AI skills

Becoming more AI-proficient is now indispensable for CSOs and their teams, though as Kirk puts it, “the goal isn’t to replace expertise, but to extend it, using AI to automate the repetitive, data-heavy work that blocks strategic insight”.

He suggests that sustainability leaders can start by building foundational literacy through short, targeted courses in data analysis, prompt design, and AI ethics, many of which are now offered by universities, professional bodies, and even corporate learning platforms. “The best skill they can develop, though, is curiosity: knowing what to ask AI, and when to question the answers.”

For van Gendt, the best way to become more proficient is to practice using AI: “Make a list of your most time-consuming activities that are not helping you strengthen your relationships or advance your strategy, and research prompts that can help you reduce time on those tasks. Identify the biggest challenges you face in executing your strategy and use AI to help unblock or change your approach,” she suggests.

When asked where sustainability practitioners can acquire the skills they need to use AI confidently, she lists the built-in guidance offered by some AI platforms to help write more effective prompts, as well as using AI itself to help refine prompts. “The most effective prompts include relevant context, your intended outcome, key data sources, and details about tone and target audience,” she adds.

Finally, sustainability leaders should also learn from their peers, leveraging their collaborative mindset to share AI use cases and best practices.