Trend or competitive advantage? Sustainability driving business
Sustainability has emerged as a strategic pillar of business competitiveness at a forum organized by the School of Science and Business meeting brought together leading figures from the business community
Photo: ManuelCastells (from left to right) Javier Arellano, Alberto Andreu Pinillos, Isabel García, Ramón Pueyo Viñuales, Andrea González González, and Sergio Brihuega Moreno.
16 | 02 | 2026
The School of Science and Business, in partnership NOVA Talent— network that connects and empowers high-impact professionals—held a session titled “Trend or Competitive Advantage? Sustainability Driving Business”at its graduate campus in Madrid . The meeting together leaders from the business, financial, technology, and public sectors to analyze the structural impact of ESG criteria on organizational strategy and competitiveness.
The roundtable moderated by Javier Arellano, director of the Master's Degree Sustainability, and featured Alberto Andreu Pinillos, director of Master's Degree Sustainability; Isabel García, former Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food, and the Environment; Ramón Pueyo, partner KPMG; Andrea González, general director of Spainsif; and Sergio Brihuega, CEO of Sygris and president of LCEU.
Throughout the session, the speakers agreed on one central idea: sustainability can no longer be understood as a reputational or circumstantial issue, but rather as a strategic variable that affects management , access to financing, and long-term value creation.
Alberto Andreu opened the discussion that "all non-financial risks sooner or later become financial risks," focusing on the need to integrate environmental, social, and governance variables into business decision-making.
From an institutional perspective, Isabel García emphasizedthat sustainability transcends the exclusively environmental sphere. "Incorporating environmental, social, and governance variables into decision-making means sophisticating management, managementshe said, reference letter role of framework European framework in consolidating standards of transparency and accountability. She also emphasized the value of sustainability as one of the major areas of development professional opportunities in the current context.
Ramón Pueyo emphasized the cross-cutting nature of sustainability and its impact on the internal organization of companies. As he explained, integrating ESG criteria involves reviewing strategy, management , supply chain, and corporate culture from a long-term perspective.
For her part, Andrea González addressed the financial dimension of the phenomenon. "Activists now own the money," she said, reference letter the growing demand from institutional investors to incorporate ESG information into risk and profitability analysis.
The session closed with a presentation by Sergio Brihuega, who linked sustainability and digital transformation. He emphasized the role of artificial intelligence in the management analysis of large volumes of data highlighted that its development the integration of ESG criteria into business processes.
The meeting with an open discussion among attendees—including students, alumni, and professionals—who were interested in understanding how sustainability is redefining business competitiveness. Through initiatives like this one, the School of Science and Business reinforces its commitment to training , interdisciplinary training . Through its Master's Degree Sustainability, the institution prepares professionals to lead in an ever-changing economic landscape.
