At a time when business competitiveness is being redefined in light of climate risks, technological disruption, new regulatory demands, and increased investor scrutiny, it is becoming increasingly clear that sustainability can no longer be treated as a parallel agenda. It is within this context that CATÓLICA-LISBON has been deepening, through empirical evidence, its understanding of how Portuguese companies are integrating sustainability into their strategies, a topic that will also be highlighted at the event on March 20. The current picture is unequivocal: sustainability is moving from the level of declarations to the core of business decision-making, although at different levels of maturity.
Data from the SDG Observatory in Portuguese Companies illustrates this evolution. Over the past four years, large Portuguese companies have moved from a primarily conceptual alignment toward more concrete levels of implementation, maturity, and coherence between discourse and practice. The misalignment previously visible between the importance attributed to sustainability and its effective incorporation has been progressively reduced and, in some cases, eliminated. Greater structure can also be observed in reporting and performance measurement. Among SMEs, progress exists but remains more partial and uneven. Recognition of sustainability as a business opportunity and a factor of differentiation is increasing, although limitations persist in terms of resources, technical knowledge, and operational capacity. Even so, the direction is clear: sustainability is consolidating itself as a strategic axis rather than merely institutional language.
This evolution is not merely normative or reputational. It is competitive. The international reports analyzed reinforce that companies integrating sustainability into the core of their strategy tend to position themselves better in more volatile and demanding markets. In Morgan Stanley’s global study, 88% of the companies surveyed consider sustainability an opportunity for value creation, and 65% state that they are meeting or exceeding expectations in executing their strategy in this area. PwC, in turn, shows that investors are moving away from a checklist approach and are increasingly viewing sustainability as a signal of operational efficiency, resilience, and adaptability.
It is therefore not surprising that 84% of investors believe companies should maintain or increase investment in climate adaptation, and many report that they reward organizations that improve energy management, strengthen the resilience of supply chains, and use sustainability data to improve performance. In simple terms, well integrated sustainability increases the ability to anticipate risks, protect financial flows, innovate, and respond more quickly to changes in context.
This is also why sustainability can strengthen competitiveness in the marketplace. Today, competing is not merely about increasing business volume. It is about operating with lower vulnerability, greater predictability, and stronger credibility with investors, customers, regulators, and talent. The PwC report is particularly illuminating in showing that non-financial variables are increasingly present in investor evaluation models. 51% refer to competitive advantage, 44% to sector trends, 40% to innovation and research and development, and 31% to business model agility as elements incorporated into their value assessments. Companies that integrate sustainability into their strategy generally improve resource efficiency, reduce exposure to future costs, reinforce credible reputation, better prepare for regulatory demands, and capture opportunities in new markets and segments. When treated with strategic seriousness, sustainability does not reduce competitiveness; it redefines it on stronger foundations.
The most frequent objection continues to be cost. It is true that the transition requires initial investment, process transformation, internal capacity building, and sometimes a revision of the business model itself. The Morgan Stanley report itself shows that costs remain the main barrier perceived by many companies. However, the same study dismantles the idea that this investment is financially blind, showing that more than 80% of companies report being able to measure the return on investment in capital expenditure, operating expenditure, and research and development related to sustainability. Moreover, one quarter of companies identify increased profitability as the main value creation opportunity of sustainability over the next five years, while others associate this agenda with revenue growth, lower cost of capital, greater visibility over cash flows, and improved capacity to generate cash. Investing in efficiency, resilience, product innovation, waste reduction, climate adaptation, and the robustness of the value chain may put pressure on costs in the short term, but it tends to strengthen margins, reduce losses, improve access to financing, and protect value in the medium and long term.
The central question, therefore, is no longer whether sustainability matters, but whether companies are incorporating it with sufficient strategic depth to transform this agenda into competitive advantage and economic performance. The Observatory shows that Portugal is moving forward, although still asymmetrically, particularly between large companies and SMEs. International reports show that markets are already valuing those who make this integration seriously, measurably, and in connection with the business itself. The challenge now is to accelerate, move beyond sustainability as an additional layer of communication, and treat it as an architecture of decision-making, investment, and value creation. It is precisely for this debate, grounded in evidence rather than rhetoric, that it is worthwhile to follow the work of CATÓLICA-LISBON and participate in the meeting on March 20, where these results will be discussed with the depth the topic requires.
Mafalda Sarmento, Researcher and Consultant at CATÓLICA-LISBON CRBL