Companies and organizations are navigating in a scenario in which sustainability is no longer an option but a regulatory requirement with a direct impact on their competitiveness and, therefore, on their income statement. In this sense, investors, clients, regulators and other stakeholders are increasingly exerting their influence to ensure that corporations integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) responsibility criteria into their culture and performance, which in turn requires that companies face the challenge of training their professionals in this area in order to overcome this new scenario with solvency.
In this context, Andersen and the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) have joined forces to create the Andersen UPV Chair of Sustainability and Regulated Markets. Its objective: to address policy and regulatory challenges in sustainability, offering companies tools and strategies to successfully address them; and, for students, training at the intersection between the legal framework and sustainable business practices.
One of the great strengths of the Chair is, precisely, to combine the best and deepest academic knowledge with the practical experience of the reality faced by companies and their managers.
Directed by Virginia Vega, full professor at the UPV, the Chair’s Committee is made up of a group of professionals who combine academic excellence with extensive knowledge and experience in the legal field. Representing the UPV are Elena de la Poza, Vice-Rector for Employment, Lifelong Learning and Languages, and María del Mar Marín, Dean of the Faculty of Business Administration and Management. On behalf of Andersen, Benjamín Prieto, Partner and Director of the Valencia office; Vicente Sanz, Partner, and Rafael Ripoll, Of Counsel.
One of the driving forces behind the creation of the Chair, José Vicente Morote, Managing Partner of Andersen, explains that this is a project in which the Firm has been fully involved from the outset. “We are convinced of the importance of connecting academic activity with the business world, especially in a new area with such relevant legal and social implications as sustainability and ESG criteria, areas in which Andersen has highly specialized teams. The Universitat Politècnica de València is an institution of great prestige with which we are pleased to be able to collaborate closely in the field of training and research,” he says.
The purpose of the Andersen UPV Chair is, as Virginia Vega states, “to have an impact on sustainable economic development, business competitiveness, support for public and private entities and the generation of employment”. Its dynamism, Vega continues, will allow it to promote the integration of sustainability criteria in local companies, helping them to adapt to new regulations; to promote the implementation of ESG strategies in companies and make them more attractive to investors; and to promote the transfer of knowledge and the employability of young people through internships and collaborations with companies.
The challenge is not a minor one. The Chair faces three major challenges: to keep abreast of the constant, and increasingly rapid, legal changes; to ensure an effective transfer of knowledge between the university and the company; and to promote innovation in sustainability within the business fabric.
To address them, it has designed a roadmap that includes training sessions on taxation, finance, compliance and labor law; the so-called Andersen Breakfasts, spaces for dialogue with experts; and the Sustainability Conferences, which allow trends to be analyzed and generate debate. Academic Awards have also been launched to recognize excellence in projects aligned with the Chair and the connection with students has been strengthened through initiatives such as the Quédate program and the UPV Employment Forum. In 2025, the Chair has sought its own visual identity with a Logo Contest in which UPV students participated, a reflection of the collaborative spirit that defines the project.
In a scenario where sustainability is a fundamental part of the future of the business fabric, the Andersen UPV Chair aspires to consolidate itself as a benchmark that offers companies and professionals the necessary knowledge to successfully face the challenges they face in such a changing regulatory environment.
You can find the original report in the Special Plaza Sustainability 2025: a commitment to the future: https://buff.ly/jTsvVC5