The Politics of Knowing ‘organizational Sustainable

In this paper, we critically examine organizational representations of sustainable development in close to 200 publicly-available corporate reports spanning a 12 year period. Using a discourse theoretical approach, we analyze how these particular organizations have come to ‘know’ sustainable development, and we consider the conditions which have made this knowledge possible. Themes emerging from the analysis are: 1) enlightened self-interest and the business case for sustainable development; 2) organizational sustainable development as a balancing act; 3) organizational sustainable development as necessary and important; 4) being sustainable as a responsibility and/or an obligation; 5) organizational sustainable development as a challenge and an opportunity; and 6) sustainable development as both a new and an old concept. Our findings reveal taken-for-granted assumptions about sustainable development contained in the reports. These assumptions emphasize organizational ability to manage sustainably underpinned by optimism about technological advancements, continuous improvement and efficiencies. The accommodating nature of the organizational construction of sustainable development to current organizations and systems of organizing is identified. Reporting may be more about organizational legitimation, than about sustainable development. More extensive and compelling engagement with the discourse is required if an environmentally, socially and economically enabling construction of sustainable development is to be realized.