Koppers merges two functions into one with new CSO appointment

US-based Koppers, an industrial provider of carbon compounds and treated wood products, has appointed Stephanie Apostolou as Chief Legal and Sustainability Officer, bringing together sustainability and health and safety responsibilities as two top roles retire.

The chemical firm’s previous sustainability leader, Leslie Hyde, became Koppers’ first Chief Sustainability Officer in 2020, after about four years in risk management and corporate strategy roles within the company. Over the past four years, she worked alongside Joseph Dowd, Global Vice President Zero Harm, who focused on health, safety and environmental protection.

Now, both Hyde and Dowd are retiring, and Koppers is merging the two functions under the helm of Apostolou, who will also maintain her current Legal and Secretary responsibilities.

"Stephanie possesses a valuable blend of curiosity and caring that makes her the perfect successor for leading Sustainability and Zero Harm at Koppers. In addition, she has been heavily involved in every major decision made at Koppers in the past five years and knows our businesses like few others, which makes her uniquely qualified to also oversee our Risk Management and Strategic Planning processes. I have every confidence Stephanie will excel in her expanded responsibilities and carry on the proud tradition established by her predecessors," commented Koppers Chief Executive Officer Leroy Ball.

Apostolou joined Koppers in 2011 as Corporate Counsel, and subsequently served as Deputy General Counsel and Assistant Secretary before being named General Counsel and Secretary in 2020.

Koppers climate strategy

NYSE-listed Koppers is a vertically integrated provider of treated wood products, wood preservation technologies and carbon compounds to the railroad, infrastructure, aluminium and rubber industries. 

The firm produced its first TCFD-aligned report in 2023, reporting around 400,000 metric tonnes of Scope 1 and 2 emissions, down 54% from its 2007 baseline. 

Koppers doesn’t have a climate target approved by the Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi). In its 2023 sustainability report, the firm said it was “working to establish a new, ambitious GHG reduction target” to be announced in the coming months, along with its first assessment of Scope 3 emissions. 

Beyond climate, Koppers’ environmental commitments include increasing renewable energy consumption and eliminating waste from operations.