Awards & Recognition
Award-winning strategy in the spotlight.
Sophia is frequently recognized by the press and has earned numerous prestigious, highly competitive awards over the course of her career. Her leadership in sustainability and application of AI to sustainability has been consistently celebrated, with honors spanning corporate climate strategy, ESG management, and executive leadership.
Sophia has won the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Climate Leadership Award (2016). Bloomberg named her one of the top 30 people leading the climate charge (2020). She led work that resulted in SAP receiving the Best ESG Management, Large Cap (2023). In 2024 and 2025, Sophia received notable awards including being named as a top Chief Sustainability Officer and received the Responsible AI Impact Award.
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Responsible AI Impact Award
2025, London Climate Action Week
“When ESG data is managed like financial data — with rigor, governance, and relevance — it becomes a strategic asset.”
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Top 5 Chief Sustainability Officers
2025, Women We Admire
Sophia expertly executes, “ensuring companies remain competitive and resilient in a rapidly evolving global landscape.”
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Top 100 Women in 2024
2024, Sustainability Magazine
Sophia highlighted inSustainability Magazine for her speciality in “balancing immediate financial goals with sustainability and ESG governance for long-term business viability.”
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Best ESG Management, Large Cap
2023, GRC 20/20
The prestigious market research firm awarded Mendelsohn Best ESG Management for the use of software in considering and reporting ESG factors.
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Top 10 Sustainability Leaders
2023, Sustainability Magazine
Sophia was recognized as a Top Sustainability Leader of the Year for the speed at which she has implemented large scale and robust ESG programs at Cognizant.
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Best Overall Transparency
2021, Transparency Awards
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Bloomberg Green 30
2020, Bloomberg
Sophia named as a "pioneer and leader trying to solve the climate crises" and a "mastermind" of "build[ing] sustainability into long-term planning."
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Best ESG Solution
2020, Treasury Today, Adam Smith Awards
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Ringing the Nasdaq Bell
2018, Ringing the Nasdaq Opening Bell with SASB and JetBlue
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Top 50 Fixers of 2017
2017, Grist
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Climate Change Leader of the Year
2017, EPA
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Sustainability Leader of the Year
2016, Ethical Corporation
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The Responsible 100
Book Contributions
Chief Sustainability Officers at Work
In Chief Sustainability Officers at Work, Mendelsohn is interviewed as one of the top chief sustainability officers of Fortune 500 companies alongside CSOs at Amazon, Coca-Cola, and Procter & Gamble. Mendelsohn discusses sustainability and environmental, social, governance (ESG) as a growth driver, element of risk mitigation and center-piece of enterprise strategy.
Reimagining Capitalism in a World on Fire
Harvard Business School Professor and Financial Times director of the year, Rebecca Henderson, showcases Mendelsohn as "spearhead[ing] a major shift in how [a] company measured and managed itself."