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Transition towards and of sustainability—Understanding sustainability as performative
Author(s) -
Hallin Anette,
KarrbomGustavsson Tina,
Dobers Peter
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
business strategy and the environment
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.123
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1099-0836
pISSN - 0964-4733
DOI - 10.1002/bse.2726
Subject(s) - sustainability , situated , performative utterance , sustainability organizations , context (archaeology) , social sustainability , politics , sustainability science , transition (genetics) , meaning (existential) , sociology , environmental ethics , environmental resource management , political science , geography , epistemology , economics , computer science , ecology , archaeology , artificial intelligence , philosophy , biochemistry , chemistry , gene , law , biology
Abstract Our purpose is to explore the concept of “sustainability” when understood from a performative perspective, i.e. as a concept that is filled with meaning across time. Drawing on a 10 year‐long study of the digital footprint of Stockholm Royal Seaport, claimed to be northern Europe's largest sustainable urban development district, we show that “sustainability” emerged as the project became associated with particular places, projects, histories, and technologies. This means that “sustainability” was local in that it was situated in the particular spatial context of the project; temporal in that it was situated in a particular time; and political in that it expressed particular values and perspectives. The study contributes to explaining why “sustainability” remains—and always will remain—a contested concept, which is why sustainability transitions are complex. Consequently, we suggest that the transition towards sustainability always involves the transition of sustainability, something that needs to be acknowledged in order for a transition to actually become sustainable.