Customer Success Managers

Action: Use your influence as a customer success manager internally and externally to commit to climate change.

Why is this important?

Customer success managers have a highly cross functional role that interacts with and has the ability to influence both external client and internal company decisions. They are viewed as trusted long term advisors and advocates. This puts them in a unique position to have an impact across multiple teams and ecosystems within and outside their company.

Employers are listening:

Sustainability can generate real business value for companies. As a CSM, a key facet of your role is to focus on creating value. Introduction to ESG highlights an increase in the availability of funds to investors for environmental, social and governance (ESG) to $20.6 billion in 2019. This amount more than doubled to $51 billion in 2020. Regulators and other stakeholders are also paying closer attention, and the impact of ESG on company performance is becoming more clear.

Ways to take action:

1. Use your influence as a customer success manager internally and externally to promote climate action and more sustainable practices. CSMs work with many teams both within their company and with clients. Customer success is a client facing role that requires CSMs to be trusted advisors. CSMs can use their deep relationships to help people see value in making more climate friendly decisions.
2. Only request new hardware when necessary, use sustainable suppliers and vendors, ask software vendors and clients about their sustainability programs.
3. Walk or take public transit to work and for local onsites. Look into transit benefits/negotiate if it doesn’t exist. Use green options for ride share (Uber has a “green” icon). If air travel is required, look into responsible and reliable carbon offset programs. If travel is not required, suggest a Zoom call.
4. Create a list of items that have a high energy use and see what you can turn off if it’s not needed. 

References:

Introduction to ESG

https://www.pwc.com/us/en/services/governance-insights-center/library/esg-corporate-directors-guide.html

https://www.thomsonreuters.com/en-us/posts/tax-and-accounting/esg-corporate-tax-departments/

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20170705-how-climate-change-could-transform-the-work-force

The impact of ESG and corporate culture on company performance

https://www.stern.nyu.edu/experience-stern/faculty-research/new-meta-analysis-nyu-stern-center-sustainable-business-and-rockefeller-asset-management-finds-esg

https://www.zendesk.com/blog/customer-success-manager/

https://hbr.org/2019/11/what-is-a-customer-success-manager