The sustainable workplace in action: Ten takeaways from the second edition of the Esade-ISS Barometer
Two years on from the first edition, sustainability has gained ground in corporate management, but the challenge is no longer about convincing anyone: it’s about delivering.
Two years ago, the first Esade-ISS Sustainability in the Workplace identified a new reality: the workplace was no longer understood as a physical space but as an ecosystem of relationships, culture and purpose where sustainability integration becomes visible. The second edition, which involved 46 companies — 24% more than the first — confirms that this transformation has moved forward, but also puts numbers to a gap that recurs across almost every area examined: the one that separates what organizations say matters from what they have actually put in place. In other words, the gap between what is perceived as relevant in terms of sustainable transformation and what is actually carried out.
While one of the study’s most striking findings is that the share of sustainability leaders reporting directly to the CEO has risen from 45% to 70% in two years, and the function has undoubtedly gained weight, the question that remains open is whether that weight translates into a real transformation of day-to-day workplace life. Drawing on the quantitative findings, the voices of the focus group of sustainability executives, and the case studies of Gestamp, Girbau and ISS Iberia, we set out ten takeaways to assess whether this is the case and identify the key areas that reflect the reality of the workplace sustainable in 2026.
CEO reporting surges, but culture has yet to catch up
The jump from 45% to 70% in direct CEO reporting is the clearest sign that sustainability has entered the core of business decisions. Yet when companies are asked about the actual rollout of a sustainable corporate culture, the answer is far more modest: despite ranking third in perceived relevance within the governance dimension, implementation barely reaches 40%. The org chart has changed before everyday behaviours have. A seat closer to senior management does not, by itself, guarantee that sustainability is lived across every department and embedded in culture, behaviour and decision-making.
Five tensions redefine theworkplacein 2026
The study identifies five frictions running through today’s workplaces: the consolidation of a hybrid model that is still poorly managed (fewer than 45% of companies have a formal policy), the gap between expectations and the real results of artificial intelligence, the erosion of trust in leadership, the engagement crisis among workforces, and the growing relevance of human skills in the face of automation. None of these tensions is new, but all have intensified. The common thread is a lack of intentionality: flexibility without design does not generate wellbeing, only fragmentation; technology without governance does not free up time, it adds to the load. If we consider that one of the greatest challenges in change management — and sustainable transformation is exactly that — is winning the commitment and trust of workers for this value proposition, the fact that the workplace is under strain contextualises why real transformation will be more complex and must go far deeper than a change to the org chart.
Water emerges as the major new environmental priority
While energy efficiency continues to lead environmental priorities in the workplace, this edition’s standout finding is the rise of water management, which moves up to third place in perceived relevance. In a country facing structural water stress, water has shifted from being managed by inertia to becoming a strategic variable, with direct implications for facility planning and relationships with local communities. AI applied to environmental management is also emerging as a trend, though the Barometer flags a risk: decarbonising workplace processes cannot come at the cost of driving up the energy and water consumption of the data centres that underpin that very technology.
The circular economy remains the most persistent gap
It is, probably, the finding that recurs most consistently across both editions of the Barometer: the circular economy enjoys extremely high perceived relevance, yet implementation is barely moving. The leap from operational efficiency to circular models requires redesigning processes and building trust relationships across the entire value chain — something that cannot be solved with a statement of intent and requires meaningful cultural change: moving from relationships based on commercial transactions to partnerships that tackle value chain challenges together. The Gestamp case, which has integrated the management of its own scrap metal as a strategic raw material, shows that closing this gap demands time, investment, and, above all, physical presence: engineers working side by side and laboratories opened up to partners.
Diversity, equity and inclusion rises to the top — with caveats
Despite the rollback of DEI policies in some countries, commitment to diversity, equity and equality moves to the top of perceived relevance in the social dimension among the Spanish companies surveyed. It is a signal of conviction that holds firm against the international backdrop. Yet it is also the widest implementation gap in the entire study: the challenge is no longer recognising its importance, but translating it into measurable policies and structural changes in culture and leadership. Recognising the problem and solving it, the Barometer warns, are two very different stages of the same process.
Dignity in the value chain: a responsibility that does not end at your own workplace
A workplace that defends the dignity and safety of its own workers cannot tolerate different conditions in its suppliers’ spaces. This idea, already signalled by the first edition, is confirmed as one of the most stable social priorities in the Barometer — and also one of those with the greatest gap between recognition and action. The ISS Iberia case illustrates the flip side of this issue: before demanding consistency from the value chain, a company must ensure that those who look after its own workspaces — cleaning, maintenance, facility management— do so with dignity, recognition and empowerment.
Artificial intelligence forces a rethink of talent
The emergence of generative AI cuts across all three dimensions of the Barometer as a new cross-cutting theme: as a lever for environmental management, as a source of new invisible risks, and, in the social sphere, as a training challenge. Fostering a culture of adaptability and continuous learning to build AI capabilities emerges as the social priority with the highest expected growth over the next twelve months. The underlying message reflects something that is beginning to show up in workplaces: technology does not replace the value of human work, but shifts it towards what automation cannot replicate, such as creativity, empathy and critical thinking.
Scope 3 moves beyond a reporting exercise
Ethical and sustainable value chain management and the integration of sustainability as a strategic business axis remain among the aspects of highest perceived impact in both the social and governance dimensions. The Girbau case shows just how far this demand can reach: 96% of the Catalan company’s emissions are generated outside its factories, in the way its customers use its machines. Its response — an internal currency, G-Seeds, that translates scope 3 emission reductions into concrete decisions about design, procurement and sales— is an example of how to turn an abstract indicator into a lever for everyday behaviour.
Double materiality: from a compliance exercise to an early warning system
The Barometer insists that double materiality has a potential most companies have yet to tap: far from being a procedural step tied to regulatory reporting, it can become the most comprehensive active listening mechanism a company has, able to anticipate risks and detect opportunities before they become a crisis. Today, however, it is still perceived by most as a reporting requirement. Although the Omnibus package has raised the CSRD and CSDDD application thresholds, this does not change the real risks in the environment: it only reveals which companies were acting out of conviction and which were doing so purely out of obligation. The alignment of sustainability strategies and corporate roadmaps around material issues is one of the hallmarks of companies that genuinely embed this analysis as a driver of business resilience.
Sustainable leadership redefined: from managing the agenda to orchestrating change
The findings of the focus group with ten sustainability executives point to a transformation in the role itself of the chief sustainability officer: from "owner" of the ESG agenda to orchestrator of a transformation that must spread across the entire organisation. Their measure of success is no longer the size of their team, but the degree to which every department has made sustainability its own. To achieve this, the Barometer returns to an idea that runs throughout the report: real sustainability integration is felt when it "speaks" the language of each function, connects with its incentives, and becomes a shared business and innovation opportunity.
For this to be possible, there is a key challenge addressed in the final ten-point checklist of this Barometer, and it is none other than governance: for sustainability to become a reality in the workplace, it must be given the structures it needs to generate impact. Incentives, budgets, decision-making, investment and innovation must all be aligned with what sustainability demands and is expected to deliver. Without genuine commitment, no transformation is possible — and neither is the sustainable workplace that would reflect it.