How to speak your CFO’s language
I moderated this ‘standing room only’ session at GreenFin 2025 (a part of Trellis Impact) with two stellar Enterprise & Sustainability leaders. The vibe was clear: We’re moving the conversation from aspirations and accolades to ‘How are we actually getting things done inside the enterprise?’
First, hats off to the content team who curate and co-create the dozens of panels and sessions at every event. They do their best to make sure that the knowledge building within the Sustainability community keeps evolving with the times.
Nico McCrossan and I co-created this topic for one reason: too many Sustainability leaders feel stuck inside their companies. They know what needs to change for the company to do its part to help curb climate change, conserve nature, address social and human rights risks in the supply chain. However, these leaders often struggle to get enough voice, space and resources to influence the enterprise and drive impact at the speed and scale that is needed.
Experienced, influential and impactful Sustainability leaders know that to gain influence and drive impact, they need to not just embody Sustainability expertise; but also Enterprise leadership. They work across the C-suite, partner with stakeholders within each C-suite leader’s organization, and embed Sustainability into the core of each function.
‘How to speak your CFO (Chief Financial Officer)’s language’ was a great example of how these Sustainability leaders work within the enterprise. The key takeaways?
Know the business - what it does, how it operates, the culture, communication styles and modalities, the business cycle, what investors ask, etc.
Don’t just wait to work solely with the CFO (or other C-suite leader): partner with key members of their team ongoing
Learn each other’s language:. Sustainability leaders should speak the business’ language, but should also infuse simple, clear Sustainability language in the enterprise.
A couple of journalists found the session so insightful they wrote about it. Here are the links:
https://www.carbonneutralcopy.com/cso-cfo-communication/
https://www.cfobrew.com/stories/2025/11/06/don-t-be-alarmed-the-sustainability-teams-are-coming
