In seven years (from 2018 to 2024), the percentage of Spanish companies that know the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has gone from 69% to 88%, according to the latest consultation on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda in the business fabric prepared by the UN World Covenant. Another conclusions is that companies already openly highlight the correlation between sustainability and economic profitability. 84% of the 2,300 surveyed consider that following an ASG (environmental, social and governance) agenda offers advantages over their competitors. However, not all 17 SDGs are being implemented at the same pace, Cristina Sánchez, director of the UN World Covenant, notes, notar. That, for example, the SDG 2 (zero hunger) advances difficult to fully affect the agri -food sector, and has a double reading, observes: it is a market opportunity to innovate in land uses and new forms of healthy eating, and also a clear risk if it does not act. «Food security and companies will depend on their ability to anticipate climatic crisis, extreme weather phenomena or interruptions in supply chains,» progresses. Sustainability, a whole that is only complete with the fulfillment of the 17 SDGs, is the indispensable condition for competitiveness, says Sánchez. SDD 5 (gender equality) occupies the first position among those most worked by Spanish companies; ODS 7 (clean energy) positions and becomes a priority of business strategies. Others such as SDG 14 (underwater life) and SDG 15 (life of terrestrial ecosystems) are systematically maintained in the last places. «It seems that these areas are perceived as more sectoral challenges, when in reality they are strategic for the entire economy,» warns the expert. Not investing in the care of the ocean in a country with as many kilometers of coast as Spain seems to «miss a key lever of innovation and resilience.» Remember that the blue economy represents 7% of the national gross added value, generates more than 600,000 jobs and provides more than 21,000 million euros per year.
Exiguous priorities
«Companies prioritize, from their activity, the contribution to objectives linked to clean energy management and response to climate change, decent work, digitalization and business behavior,» says Germán Granda, general director of Forética. He blames it that they are the most quickly translate into operational efficiency, risk management, innovation, reputation and competitiveness. In addition, they can be measured and aligned with regulatory frameworks and expectations of investors and interest groups. For the opposite reasons – less direct or immediate business impact; need for complex intersectoral collaborations; lack of clear metrics; Difficulty linking them with tangible economic returns – the SDGs related to inequalities reduction (10), the aforementioned underwater life, and that of global alliances (17) are relegated. More information about 2025 is 10 years since the adoption of the SDGs. His intermediate balance shows «great gaps,» says Granda. If we analyze for territories, Europe leads in transparency, climate and circular economy, «for commitment and for regulatory demand»; United States, in innovation and technology; Asia, especially China, in infrastructure and clean industry; In Latin America and Africa, the focus is on employment and social inclusion. propitious cultivation for competitiveness. But it demands the need for reliable and comparable climatic data, so that investors can act on a large scale.
Gaps by size
There are also gaps between large and small companies, Ángel Pérez Agenjo, director of the Strategic Sustainability and Transcendent impact. Without being up to date in ASG aspects, an SME ceases to be preferential as a larger provider, he warns. In general, the expert estimates that Spanish organizations are implementing the SDGs irregularly and insufficiently. In his opinion, few have known how to understand the value of these tools; Much of the business fabric has used them «more as a communication framework than as an effective roadmap.» Nor has it helped politicization and polarization around the 2030 Agenda that has occurred in Spain. «It has subtracted credibility and interest to a framework that can be useful for business management, if you know how to use,» he defends. In his opinion, the problem is not the SDGs, ASG or any other acronym. «The greatest risk is to lose competitiveness for not having a business curiosity due to the possible advantages of sustainability,» he says. For not reviewing products and services from the point of view of sustainability. Not incorporating – or doing it late – the tools proposed by the UN is a decade ago is «losing opportunities to improve financing, strengthening supply chains or being prepared for adverse climatic effects,» says Pérez Agnjo.
Circular economy, emission reduction and many alliances
Miriam Zaitegui or Ángel Pérez Agenjo were speakers at the ESG Spain 2025 event on business sustainability, organized by Forética on September 16. Patricia Dueñas also participated, Global Lead Circular Economy of Iberostar Hotels & Resorts, which a few days before, and by email, made a brief review of the SDGs that serve as a compass to their company. The circular economy area, guided by SDG 12 (responsible production and consumption) has contributed to eliminating 69% of waste sent to landfill since 2021, while preventing its generation. The climate action area looks at the SDG 13 (climate action), achieving a 17% reduction in emissions and global energy consumption compared to 2019. «We continue to involve the value chain in the decarbonization strategy. In Spain, 100% of our electricity comes from renewable sources,» he said. The ODS 17 (Alliance to achieve the objectives) «is the key piece that makes it possible for the rest of the 2030 advance,» he said. Alliances are established with public and private organizations, and with local suppliers and actors of the destinations in which it operates. He defends that great challenges such as decarbonization or biodiversity protection require collective responses, more important than ever in matters such as circularity. «Through collaboration, we can move from isolated projects to a systemic change, in the destinations where we operate and throughout the value chain,» he concluded.
