Sustainable leadership in the workplace: From risk to strategic opportunity 

Sustainability is no longer on the margins of the business agenda. Today, it is present in management committees, influences decision-making, and conditions the way companies prepare for an increasingly complex environment.   

This progress, however, has not been without tension: regulatory pressure, unprecedented political polarisation, technological disruptions, short-term demands, and the difficulty of translating broad concepts into concrete management strategies have marked the process of integrating sustainability into organisations.

But as noted in the recent webinar by Esade's Institute for Social Innovation, "Sustainable leadership in the workplace: between tension and opportunity," the time has come to take the next step: transforming these tensions into strategic opportunities and sustainability into tangible results for business competitiveness.

Held as part of the Esade-ISS Sustainability Barometer and moderated by Sònia Ruiz (Study Coordinator), the meeting brought together experts Javier Urbiola (CEO of ISS Spain and Portugal), Lourdes Ripoll (Sustainability VP at Meliá Hotels International) and Alberto Andreu (Senior Advisorat EY, Doctor of Economics and Executive Director of the Master's Degree in Sustainability at the University of Navarra), who shared a clear vision:sustainability has established itself as a strategic pillar, but it will only generate value if it is managed rigorously, with the appropriate language, and metrics that translate it into tangible terms.  

Risk and opportunity, key levers

Organisations today operate in a scenario marked by uncertainty: geopolitical instability, rapid regulatory changes, and growing social polarisation. They also face trends such as technological disruption, supply chain reconfiguration, and migratory flows.  

In this context, sustainability can be reduced to a logic of regulatory compliance or risk management, rather than deploying its transformative potential. However, the speakers agreed on one key idea: risk and opportunity are the two major levers of sustainability.They also agreed that ignoring it does not eliminate a company's exposure to certain risks, but rather increases it. The impact of taking action is as significant as the impact of not taking action: opportunities not seized, cost savings not realised, talent not attracted, inefficiencies that become chronic, or risks that materialise too late.  

Well-integrated sustainability allows organisations to anticipate scenarios, strengthen resilience, innovate, and prepare for future conditions that are already emerging.

Sustainability for better competitiveness

Much of the tension between sustainability and competitiveness is narrative. Alberto Andreu put it clearly: when there is no shared definition of sustainability, each actor interprets it differently, generating confusion and rejection. In many cases, it is associated solely with the environment or decarbonisation, overlooking its social, economic, and governance dimensions, and its capacity to create long-term value.

A reductionist interpretation of sustainability leads companies to engage in politics rather than economics

Language is not neutral. Talking about sustainability in abstract or ideological terms makes it difficult to understand, identify, and integrate into the day-to-day management of a company. Translating it into the language of business, into the economics of "the small stuff" — such as energy costs, water management, absenteeism, turnover, and operational efficiency — allows it to cease to be perceived as an imposed external agenda and become part of business as usual.  

Making sustainability tangible

One of the clearest points of consensus in the webinar was the need to make sustainability tangible. Without data, metrics, and measurement systems, sustainability remains intangible, vulnerable to cuts and questioning.  

According to ISS and Meliá executives Javier Urbiola and Lourdes Ripoll, who participated in the webinar, data culture has been a turning point for both companies. Measurement makes it possible to highlight achievements, compare realities, identify areas for improvement, and, above all, quantify aspects that previously went unnoticed. Sustainability gains legitimacy when it enters the scorecards and is analysed with the same discipline as financial indicators.  

It is not just a question of demonstrating positive impact, but of showing what costs are avoided and what risks are reduced thanks to well-structured sustainable management.  

The real impact of results

Sustainability reaches maturity when it connects with the company's economic and financial results. Variables such as absenteeism, unwanted turnover, energy consumption, and waste management cease to be isolated indicators, and become factors that affect profitability and competitiveness.  

What is not measured cannot be managed, and what is not managed is difficult to sustain over time 

In this regard, the speakers emphasised the importance of closing the circle: linking ESG indicators to their economic and financial impact. This connection not only reinforces the internal credibility of sustainability, but also facilitates its integration into strategic decision-making and responds to an integrative, humanistic-financial vision.   

Leading sustainability

Integrating sustainability into workspaces — understood as physical and virtual environments, and collaborative ecosystems — requires leadership, but also structure and consistency.  

There are no shortcuts here: clear governance, alignment between the board, executive committee and teams, and the assignment of responsibilities to different areas for management, execution, and measurement are necessary conditions for sustainability to become widespread and part of everyday life.  

The sustainability of leadership that emerges from this coordination is less epic and more persistent. It is based on consistency, active listening, and translation into each organisational reality. Understanding that embracing profound changes takes time.  

Preparing resilient companies for tomorrow  

Sustainability is no longer an additional layer or an aspirational narrative. It is an organisational capacity that enables companies to better manage uncertainty, strengthen their resilience, and create long-term  value.  

Rather than reacting, sustainable leadership consists of preparing organisations for complex scenarios, difficult decisions, and a future in which competitiveness and sustainability will no longer be separate dimensions, but deeply interdependent.