Sustainable Mobility Law: obligations and benefits for companies

Law 9/2025 of 3 December on Sustainable Mobility, which entered into force on 5 December 2025, marks a turning point in the way mobility is conceived in Spain. It has left behind its stage as a draft bill and is, as of 2026, a national law in force with enforceable obligations for companies.

Its objective is to structurally transform the movement of people and goods, aligning the transport system with climate commitments, energy efficiency and improvements in air quality.

For companies, this law does not represent merely a new regulatory obligation: it introduces a framework that directly affects work organisation, talent management, cost planning and ESG strategy.

In this article we explain what the Sustainable Mobility Law entails: its main points, benefits and obligations for Spanish companies, with the calendar now updated following Royal Decree-law 7/2026.

What is the Sustainable Mobility Law and what does it aim to achieve?

The Sustainable Mobility Law is a national regulation that establishes the foundations for a more efficient, inclusive and low-emission transport model. Its approach goes beyond transport as infrastructure and positions it as a citizen's right and a strategic lever for climate, economic and social policy.

Its main objectives include the progressive decarbonisation of mobility, reducing energy dependency, improving public health through lower air pollution, and integrating mobility into urban, territorial and labour planning. In short, the law drives a model of sustainable transport at national scale.

For the first time, the law explicitly recognises people's right to access sustainable mobility, fundamentally changing how cities, industrial estates and workplaces are designed.

Key obligations for Spanish companies

The Sustainable Mobility Law places part of the responsibility for the ecological transition directly on the business sector.

Beyond statements of intent, the regulation establishes specific obligations for Spanish companies, particularly regarding the management of work-related travel.

One of the most relevant aspects of the law for businesses is the obligation to act on the mobility associated with workplaces. The law starts from a clear premise: commuting and work-related travel are a significant source of emissions and must be managed in a structured way.

Workplace Sustainable Mobility Plans (WSMPs)

Companies and public-sector entities with more than 200 employees per workplace or more than 100 workers per shift are required to develop, negotiate and implement a Workplace Sustainable Mobility Plan. This plan is not a formal document with no operational impact, but a living tool that must be integrated into the organisation's day-to-day management.

Pay attention to the deadline, because it has changed. Law 9/2025 initially set a 24-month deadline, that is, until 5 December 2027. However, Royal Decree-law 7/2026 of 20 March amended Article 26 of the law and cut that deadline from 24 to 12 months. As a result, as of 2026 the companies covered must have their WSMP in place before 5 December 2026, a year earlier than the original text foresaw.

The WSMP must be based on a rigorous diagnosis of the workforce's actual mobility, that is, analysing how employees travel, which modes of transport they use, the distances they cover and how shifts, schedules and locations influence those journeys. Without this prior analysis, any measure lacks real effectiveness.

Based on the diagnosis, the plan must define concrete actions aimed at reducing the environmental impact of work-related mobility: the law prioritises promoting collective public transport, active mobility (walking or cycling), reducing emissions linked to private vehicles, shared solutions and the promotion of flexible arrangements such as remote working or staggered schedules. It also incorporates road-safety measures and the prevention of commuting and on-duty accidents.

Monitoring is a central element of the WSMP: the company must establish indicators that allow it to periodically assess results, identify deviations and adjust measures when necessary. Continuous improvement is no longer a recommendation but becomes an implicit requirement of the model.

Once approved, the plan must be communicated within three months to the competent regional authority for incorporation into the Integrated Mobility Data Space (EDIM). Where there is no legal employee representation, the company is required to set up a specific negotiating committee to address the design and implementation of the plan.

Workforce negotiation and participation

The law introduces a very clear social dimension to mobility management: Workplace Sustainable Mobility Plans must be negotiated with the legal employee representatives or, failing that, with an internal committee created for this purpose, thereby requiring companies to ensure transparency in the use of mobility data and to design measures adapted to the operational and geographical reality of each site.

This negotiation is not a mere formality: in practice, many companies are incorporating sustainable mobility commitments into collective bargaining agreements, which reinforces their stability over time and makes them a structural part of labour policy.

Direct benefits for companies

Although the law's initial approach is regulatory, its proper application generates clear and measurable business benefits, such as:

Reduced operating costs

Optimising work-related mobility has a direct impact on cost structures. Reducing reliance on private vehicles lowers expenses associated with subsidised parking, fleet management and energy consumption. In addition, adopting sustainable mobility solutions eases access to tax incentives and public support programmes.

Digitising mobility data enables evidence-based decision-making, reduces inefficiencies and helps anticipate future needs.

Improved carbon footprint and ESG reputation

Workplace Sustainable Mobility Plans enable direct and quantifiable reductions in emissions linked to work-related travel. For a medium-sized or large company, this reduction can represent one of the main improvements in its Scope 3 carbon footprint, within the employee-commuting category.

Beyond the environmental improvement, there is an obvious reputational impact: companies that integrate sustainable mobility into their strategy position themselves as organisations aligned with the ecological transition, something increasingly valued by clients, investors and financial institutions. Installing EV charging infrastructure or actively promoting collective transport are clear signals of genuine commitment, not merely declarative.

Talent attraction and retention

Mobility has become a decisive factor in the employee experience. Facilitating access to the workplace through sustainable options, offering public transport passes or enabling flexible working arrangements directly improves job satisfaction.

In tight labour markets, this advantage makes the difference.

Access to funding and subsidies

The law creates specific instruments such as the State Fund for Contribution to Sustainable Mobility, which prioritises projects with prior planning, clear objectives and measurable results. Companies that already have a well-defined WSMP start with an advantage when accessing national and European funds.

Sustainable mobility also opens the door to innovative projects in collaboration with public authorities and other private actors, integrating companies into innovation and energy-transition ecosystems.

Penalties and risks of non-compliance

The Sustainable Mobility Law includes a sanctions regime for cases of non-compliance, whether for failing to prepare the plan, not negotiating it properly or not carrying out its monitoring. As a general rule, penalties are graded according to the seriousness of the conduct and can entail fines, the loss or repayment of public aid and restrictions on access to certain subsidies. Royal Decree-law 7/2026 itself provides that companies receiving direct aid that fail to meet the obligation must repay what they received.

Beyond the financial impact, the reputational risk is significant. In a context of growing ESG scrutiny, failing to comply with such a visible obligation can erode the trust of clients, investors and employees. Sustainable mobility should therefore be addressed as a structural risk-management policy.

How to implement the Sustainable Mobility Law in your company

Effective application of the law requires cross-functional coordination.

The process begins with an immediate diagnosis of current mobility, followed by setting up a negotiating committee in the first few months. Since the deadline has been brought forward to December 2026, the design and negotiation of the Workplace Sustainable Mobility Plan must be tackled with urgency, without exhausting the margins the original calendar allowed.

Once under way, the plan must be assessed periodically and communicated to the regional authority, integrating the results into corporate reporting systems.

Human Resources, sustainability, operations, legal and finance must work together to ensure coherence and effectiveness. In travel-intensive sectors, such as transport and logistics, the WSMP also overlaps with other fleet and supply-chain decarbonisation levers.

Sustainable mobility as a business opportunity

The Sustainable Mobility Law introduces a profound change in the relationship between company, work and territory. For Spanish organisations, this is not just about complying with a new rule, but about rethinking mobility as a strategic variable.

The benefits are clear: lower costs, improved productivity, talent retention, stronger reputation and greater access to financing.

Companies that integrate sustainable mobility intelligently will be better prepared for an increasingly demanding regulatory, economic and social environment. If you want to place mobility within a broader ESG strategy, it is worth connecting it to your sustainability report and the CSRD framework.

Frequently asked questions about the Sustainable Mobility Law

Do all companies have to comply with the Sustainable Mobility Law?

No. The WSMP requirement mainly applies to workplaces with more than 200 employees or more than 100 per shift. However, other measures in the law and general sustainability obligations may affect a wider universe of companies.

By when must the mobility plan be ready?

Following the amendment introduced by Royal Decree-law 7/2026, the companies covered must have their Workplace Sustainable Mobility Plan in place before 5 December 2026, not in 2027 as the initial text of Law 9/2025 established.

What happens if my company does not negotiate the plan with employees?

The rules require negotiation with the legal employee representatives. If none exist, a committee must be set up within the workplace itself. The plan must also be communicated to the competent regional authority within three months.

Can I adopt voluntary measures even if my company is not required to?

Yes. Companies can act ahead of time and design sustainable mobility initiatives to benefit from tax incentives, improve their ESG reputation and prepare for future regulatory changes.