Electric vehicle maker Rivian (NASDAQ:RIVN) has named Anisa Kamadoli Costa as the company’s first chief sustainability officer. RIVN stock traded in line with the S&P 500 on the day the news was released. Prior to beginning her role with Rivian, Costa was the CSO of Tiffany & Co. and also served as the CSO of the Tiffany & Co. Foundation. Costa began her work in the role on April 18.
Costa’s role at Rivian will mirror her work at Tiffany & Co., as she will assume similar titles. She will serve as the chief sustainability officer for both Rivian and Rivian’s Forever foundation. The company itself has committed to carbon neutrality by 2028. And Costa will be charged with oversight of accounting for carbon emissions and other sustainability metrics.
Rivian is committed to carbon neutrality within its own operations by 2028. Further, the company has committed to carbon neutrality across its entire value chain by 2032. The news should mean that Rivian will begin to publish in-depth sustainability statistics in subsequent corporate reports. The firm is scheduled to publish Q1 earnings on May 11.
The role of chief sustainability officer is a rapidly growing one. In fact, according to the International Center for Trade and Sustainable development, there are now 95 CSOs among the Fortune 500. That’s more than three times as much as the 29 CSO roles that existed among the Fortune 500 in 2011.
It is no secret that companies are increasingly moving to improve sustainability efforts. Large firms including General Mills (NYSE:GIS) reported $4.8 million in savings in fiscal 2018 by implementing 60 energy reduction projects. Savings are relatively easy to find, but research also shows that these efforts increase stock prices. That is clearly important. Rivian has faltered since about a week after its IPO. RIVN stock has consistently trended downward losing more than 60% of its value.
That matters to Rivian, which has dropped dramatically throughout 2022 and continues to trade near lows.
On the date of publication, Alex Sirois did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.