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Concept Paper

Sustainability as Practice: Reflections on the Creation of an Institutional Logic

by
Minelle E. Silva
* and
Marina D. Figueiredo
University of Fortaleza, Av. Washigton Soares, 1321, Bloco E, Sala 13, Edson Queiroz, Fortaleza, Ceará 60811-905, Brazil
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sustainability 2017, 9(10), 1839; https://doi.org/10.3390/su9101839
Submission received: 1 September 2017 / Revised: 29 September 2017 / Accepted: 10 October 2017 / Published: 13 October 2017

Abstract

Debates over social and organisational sustainability are constant because sustainability must stem from beliefs and goals that social and economic actors share. However, there is still a gap in the knowledge about how sustainability is practiced. In this theoretical paper, we use institutional logic (IL) to assume that the logic of sustainability can contribute to sustainability studies by explaining how practices are socially constructed and shared among actors. We consider sustainability as a practice by articulating IL through an understanding of practice-based studies (PBS). Sustainability as a practice facilitates the emergence of new organisational values and contributes to changes that support a new institutional logic. Hence, we define the institutional logic of sustainability (ILS) as a theoretical approach enabling comprehension of how sustainability can be observed and practiced through socially constructed actions and intentions. We highlight its relevance to deep sustainability studies and argue that by using different roles and meanings surrounding its performance, sustainability as a practice can facilitate studies about organisations.
Keywords: institutional logic; sustainability; practice-based studies institutional logic; sustainability; practice-based studies

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MDPI and ACS Style

Silva, M.E.; Figueiredo, M.D. Sustainability as Practice: Reflections on the Creation of an Institutional Logic. Sustainability 2017, 9, 1839. https://doi.org/10.3390/su9101839

AMA Style

Silva ME, Figueiredo MD. Sustainability as Practice: Reflections on the Creation of an Institutional Logic. Sustainability. 2017; 9(10):1839. https://doi.org/10.3390/su9101839

Chicago/Turabian Style

Silva, Minelle E., and Marina D. Figueiredo. 2017. "Sustainability as Practice: Reflections on the Creation of an Institutional Logic" Sustainability 9, no. 10: 1839. https://doi.org/10.3390/su9101839

APA Style

Silva, M. E., & Figueiredo, M. D. (2017). Sustainability as Practice: Reflections on the Creation of an Institutional Logic. Sustainability, 9(10), 1839. https://doi.org/10.3390/su9101839

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