Making sustainable development sustainable

Purpose – Although all organisations claim to be engaged in sustainable development, research shows that they misunderstand what is involved. This paper aims to reconsider what is meant by sustainability and to show that the way accounting operates in an organisation actually prevents an organisation from recognising sustainable operations.Design/methodology/approach – The paper develops a theoretical argument that sustainability depends upon a redefinition of efficiency and shows the problems with the current descriptions of organisational activity.Findings – The paper shows that efficiency is not demonstrated through cost cutting but through recognising value‐creating activities, and that sustainability cannot be achieved without a consideration of the distribution of the effects of organisational activity.Research limitations/implications – The research shows a different model of sustainability which highlights key aspects that are not normally included; it thereby points the way towards further resear...

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