Concepts Attributed to Sustainability in Organizations from Different Sectors

Abstract

The term sustainability has emerged in  Biology and Ecology fields, however, the indiscriminate and uncritical use of it had made its adoption diverge from the original definition. This study aims to discuss the different concepts attributed to sustainability in organizations, describing the meanings assigned to it. The object of study adopted was the sustainability reports and websites of eight organizations. It was observed large discrepancy between the concepts associated to sustainability. Most of the ideas associated with sustainability were related to the permanence of the company itself. Environment concerns were restricted to the reduction of natural resources use or to the impact on the environment. Social concerns were related to different forms of investments, programs and social activities. Most organizations are using the term sustainability in order to legitimize their operations, causing a weakening of this concept by restricting it to the maintenance of organization interests.