Spain is a country with a high dependence on fossil fuels. For this reason, in 2007, it implemented a bonus system that aimed to encourage the production of renewable energies, particularly photovoltaic solar energy. These production bonuses, guaranteed by the Spanish government, led to an exponential increase in the number of companies in the market and, consequently, the MWh produced. However, in 2012, given the excessive budgetary burden involved in maintaining this “feed-in tariff” system and after several years of institutional instability, the aforementioned system of incentives for phoyovoltaic (PV) energy was eliminated. This paper has tried to analyze the consequences of this institutional change, a clear example of the “hold up” problem. For this purpose, a sample of 5354 companies, which was divided, geographically, into Spanish regions and, temporarily, into three different periods, has been taken, considering diverse economic and financial variables. The results show a notable weakening of the sector that, due to the effects of the regulatory change, has lost attractiveness and profitability for investors and is consequently suffering from stagnation, which has led to the disappearance of many companies in the sector.

The institutional framework designed to protect the environment demands a growing involvement of companies. The new environmental paradigm drives the business community to embrace corporate sustainability more broadly and effectively. This trend is especially pronounced in the petroleum sector since, to a greater degree than in other industries, modern society demands that wealth creation be conducted while guaranteeing social and environmental wellbeing. To achieve this aim, it is necessary to implement an environmental management model that links sustainability planning with a control and supervision system. One of the most effective is the Sustainability Balanced Scorecard approach. This method will be used in this article to evaluate the sustainable performance of a Spanish company whose activity is focused on the marketing and distribution of petroleum products. The objective of this article is to analyze the environmental management of the hydrocarbon company and whether the four perspectives of its strategic vision have satisfactorily incorporated variables that promote sustainability. 2021 is the reference year for the indicator values, which will be compared with the target values for 2022. The results show that, while financial performance reveals a margin for improvement, as well as staff education and training in sustainability, the degree of environmental satisfaction of consumers is acceptable.