Sustainability gains ground in companies, but the cultural transformation of their Workplaces is not keeping pace

Sustainability is becoming firmly established as a strategic priority for Spanish companies, yet their ability to translate this ambition into organizational culture and day-to-day operations continues to progress at a much slower pace. This is one of the main conclusions of the second edition of the Esade-ISS Sustainability in the Workplace Barometer, developed by Esade’s Institute for Social Innovation in partnership with ISS Iberia. The report identifies a persistent gap between the importance companies assign to sustainability and its effective implementation within the workplace.

The study reveals that 70% of sustainability leaders now report directly to the CEO, compared with 45% in 2024. This significant increase reflects how the ESG agenda is evolving from a peripheral function to becoming integrated into the core of corporate decision-making. However, this progress in governance is not always matched by equivalent transformations in areas such as organizational culture, leadership, employee well-being, or diversity and inclusion management.

Sonia Ruiz, researcher at Esade’s Institute for Social Innovation and author of the report, highlights that “the workplace is one of the most transparent spaces within an organization and the most honest indicator of what a company truly prioritizes. In a context of extreme disruption, where everything pushes organizations toward short-term thinking, those companies that understand the workplace as their most tangible strategic asset will be best positioned to lead the sustainable transformation required by today’s challenges”.

According to Eulalia Devesa, Director of Social Sustainability at ISS Iberia, “companies must work to ensure that sustainability ceases to be an abstract concept and becomes a real part of our culture, our decisions, and our services. At ISS, we have embedded it into our DNA: we place people at the center and build a truly sustainable workplace that cares for and creates value for those who use it every day”.

Progress in Sustainability, but Gaps Remain in Implementation

The analysis of global ESG trends shows that the sustainability agenda is at a critical stage: moving from ambition to action in a volatile environment. While progress has been made in decarbonization and governance, the current landscape highlights structural gaps that continue to hinder meaningful impact.

From an environmental perspective, companies are consolidating energy efficiency and renewable energy as strategic priorities, with water management gaining importance in response to Spain’s ongoing water crisis. However, the circular economy illustrates the challenge of turning intentions into action: while its relevance is widely acknowledged (89%), practical implementation continues to lag behind (59%).

On the social front, diversity, equity, and inclusion rank as the top priority. Nevertheless, the Barometer identifies a gap between recognizing their importance and effectively implementing policies and cultural changes capable of genuinely transforming workplaces.

The ethical and sustainable management of value chains remains another major unresolved challenge, reflecting the difficulties organizations face in extending their ESG commitments beyond their own corporate boundaries. The same applies to governance: sustainability is still often perceived as a compliance exercise rather than as a corporate culture or a strategic tool for anticipation and long-term value creation.

Five Tensions That Will Define the Workplace of the Future

The Esade-ISS Barometer is based on surveys conducted among 46 companies from a range of sectors, including agribusiness, finance, construction, and pharmaceuticals. Of these, 56% are listed on the IBEX 35 and 78% employ more than 1,000 people.

Against this backdrop, the report identifies five key tensions that will shape the evolution of workplaces in the coming years: the consolidation of hybrid work without fully developed management models; the rise of artificial intelligence and the gap between expectations and outcomes; declining trust in organizations and their leaders; the crisis of employee well-being and engagement; and the growing importance of human skills in increasingly automated environments.

The data illustrate the scale of these challenges: fewer than 45% of organizations have a formal hybrid work policy, and three out of four have not trained their leaders to manage hybrid teams effectively; only one in fifty investments in artificial intelligence generates truly transformational value; just 16% of employees fully trust that their leaders make the right decisions for their teams; and 79% report feeling disengaged from their organization. At the same time, creativity, empathy, critical thinking, and the ability to build trust are emerging as the distinctive capabilities that technology cannot replace.

Ten Keys to Bridging the Gap Between Ambition and Implementation

The Barometer proposes a leadership framework of ten key actions to help organizations accelerate workplace transformation and close the gap between ESG ambition and effective implementation. Key recommendations include integrating sustainability into real decision-making structures; turning active listening to employees, customers, suppliers, and communities into a strategic tool; strengthening credibility through transparency; driving change with a long-term perspective; and positioning employee well-being as a critical factor for performance and organizational resilience.

The report also encourages organizations to extend ESG capabilities across all business functions, move beyond sustainable models toward regenerative workplaces that create positive impact, and invest in developing a new generation of leaders capable of integrating sustainability, business performance, and innovation.