Setting the Pace: Five takeaways from our CSO panel at New York Climate Week

During New York Climate Week, we brought together sustainability leaders from Dolby, Marsh, and MetLife for Setting the Pace: The CSO Perspective, a panel discussion exploring the drivers and barriers to corporate climate action.

Drawing on our new survey of 600 senior climate decision-makers, they talked about how credits fit alongside emissions reductions, what they look for in a high-quality carbon project, and how they explain their choices to customers, employees and leadership.

Our panelists were Natasha Tuck, Director of Sustainability at Dolby; Shea Jameel, Chief Sustainability Officer at Marsh; and Josh Wiener, Vice President, Global Sustainability & Climate Lead at MetLife. Carolyn Bacchus, who leads our Client Solutions team for the Americas, moderated the discussion.

1. Carbon credits work alongside emissions reductions to deliver climate goals

Panelists agreed that reducing emissions comes first, with carbon credits addressing what remains. That's reflected in the CSO research, where 81% of buyers and prospective buyers say carbon credits are important or critical to meeting their climate goals today.

• At Marsh, Shea Jameel follows the carbon mitigation hierarchy, avoiding emissions through efficiency measures, reducing emissions where we can and then compensating and neutralizing through high quality offsets. "We believe that carbon credits play a role in these global targets." she said. Shea also welcomed the latest SBTi guidance, which recognizes the role of carbon credits, especially for Scope 3 emissions in the supply chain.

   

• Josh Wiener was clear on the priorities at MetLife. "Carbon credits need to be part of a broader climate strategy, not replace actual emissions reductions," he said. MetLife focuses first on efficiency across its global operations, then buys high-quality carbon credits each year for its Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 business travel emissions.

2. Credits deliver value beyond the climate impact

90% of buyers in our research reported measurable business benefits from using credits, including  increased brand trust, revenue growth, stronger brand reputation and customer acquisition. Panelists described where that value shows up for them, with customers who expect climate action and employees who connect with local projects.

• For Dolby, the clearest link is with customers. The company tracks customer inquiries related to sustainability and aggregates the associated revenue as a metric to demonstrate the importance of the topic to its customers. "It's really shifted from voluntary to mandatory when it comes to many of our customers," Natasha said.

   

• At Marsh, colleagues are a big part of the story. Shea prioritizes projects in countries where Marsh has a strong colleague base, and feedback shows that colleagues want to learn more about these projects. "Sometimes when you think of climate, it can feel very esoteric. But when you talk about a carbon credit project, it's quite clear what our role was and how we're enabling that," said Shea.

3. Credit quality is critical

Our research found that 84% of current buyers said quality matters more than price. We heard first-hand how corporates are ensuring quality in their carbon credit portfolios.

• Dolby builds its portfolio around co-benefits linked to the Sustainable Development Goals it prioritizes. It now holds an even split of removals and avoidance credits. Natasha relies on a trusted partner for project-level insight. "My day-to-day doesn't allow enough time to understand these projects intimately on the ground. Climate Impact Partners, as our trusted partner, has been able to provide that insight, as well as recommend projects that would align with our business strategy and goals, " she said.

   

• MetLife uses an internal framework to select projects. "It starts with quality, that's paramount. Having the right partner is really helpful beyond just due diligence: knowing your company's strategy, your risk appetite and ultimately the outcomes you want to achieve," Josh said. He also explained how the team assesses independent verification, durability, measurability and additionality, before reviewing the developer's track record and ongoing monitoring. Only then does it consider geography, portfolio fit and costs.

4. Multi-year agreements are on the rise

Buyers who have traditionally bought year by year are now exploring longer-term deals to secure supply and give developers a demand signal to help them scale. 98% of buyers and those who plan to buy would be interested in multi-year carbon offtake agreements that balance price against future availability risk.​

• MetLife made that move this year. Annual spot purchases had kept its program flexible, but the team noticed a pattern. "We came to a realization that we mostly keep supporting the same projects," Josh said. MetLife has now signed its first multi-year agreement. "It can serve as catalytic capital by signaling future demand for these developers who are trying to really invest and scale."

   

• Marsh is starting to explore what role these deals might play into their strategy. Part of the work is getting finance colleagues comfortable with "paying for something now, but not getting what you're paying for until 2030," Shea said. She sees strategic value in showing long-term commitment to projects and developers.

5. Evidence-based communication builds confidence

Only 22% of buyers feel confident communicating about their use of carbon credits. Panelists dug into this stat and gave their advice on how to overcome this, including selecting projects that provide a compelling story for your organization.

• Josh urged buyers to lead with evidence rather than broad claims. That means sharing which projects you support, the volume of credits bought, why you chose each project and what due diligence was done. Messages should then be specific to each audience, whether that's employees, customers or the communities where projects operate.

   

• For Natasha, storytelling is the biggest opportunity. A visit to a Climate Impact Partners project in Guatemala showed her the ripple effects of a household water filter on a community. "If you can tell the stories in a way that can be related to and connect people to them, it becomes more interesting and people get really excited," she said.