Barriers to sustainability : an exploratory study on perspectives from Brazilian organizations

This paper is based on a qualitative study that explored the views of a group of staff from Brazilian organizations that profess to be 'sustainable', on barriers to sustainability. The main barriers identified in the study were lack of clarity in the concept, resistance to change, lack of systems thinking, political factors, inability to ensure sustainable behaviours among suppliers, and the consumer culture of global capitalism. In investigating perceptions of barriers to sustainability by managers of business companies, this paper contributes to a better understanding of how the tensions between the growth imperatives of an emerging economy and calls for sustainable practices are played out at organizational level. The paper also identifies a number of relevant themes for future research.