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Communication and the Narrative Basis of Sustainability: Observations from the Municipal Water Sector

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  • Charles N. Herrick

    (Stratus Consulting Inc., 1920 L Street NW, Suite 420, Washington, DC 20036, USA)

  • Joanna L. Pratt

    (Stratus Consulting Inc., 1920 L Street NW, Suite 420, Washington, DC 20036, USA)

Abstract

Numerous studies attempt to operationalize sustainability and seek to characterize objective, or at least standardized, metrics of sustainable conditions and/or operations. In this paper, we suggest that sustainability is better viewed as an emergent quality, defined in terms of specific institutions and situations. Observations from the water sector suggest that sustainability is not merely a matter of “bolting on technologies”, but a complex synthesis of institutional factors, social value perspectives, technologies and engineered artifacts, and natural or environmental conditions. The pursuit of sustainability appears to involve a process of broad-scale organizational transformation, a transformation that can vary significantly from utility to utility. Owing to this contingent quality, we suggest that sustainability is productively understood as a narrative construct. We illustrate how two types of discourse are particularly critical to the establishment and perpetuation of meaningful sustainability programs in water utilities and municipalities: (1) constitutive discourse, which frames and enables new ways of conceiving a particular state of affairs; and (2) transactional discourse, which provides a medium for participatory deliberation and enables the sharing of instructions and information necessary to carry out a transformation from the status quo to an envisioned future state. Although physio-chemical properties, ecological processes and thresholds, and technological factors must inform deliberations, we suggest that the realization of sustainability is at base a narrative enterprise. Observations articulated in this essay were derived through an ensemble research approach including a targeted literature review, a three-phase survey of 18 U.S. water utilities, and a workshop with water sector professionals, regulators, and experts in sustainability and organizational change.

Suggested Citation

  • Charles N. Herrick & Joanna L. Pratt, 2013. "Communication and the Narrative Basis of Sustainability: Observations from the Municipal Water Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(10), pages 1-16, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:5:y:2013:i:10:p:4428-4443:d:29625
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    4. World Commission on Environment and Development,, 1987. "Our Common Future," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780192820808.
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    2. Roland Z. Szabó & Borbála Szedmák & Anna Tajti & Péter Bera, 2023. "Environmental Sustainability, Digitalisation, and the Entrepreneurial Perception of Distances as Drivers of SMEs’ Internationalisation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-21, January.
    3. Franzisca Weder & Stella Lemke & Amornpan Tungarat, 2019. "(Re)storying Sustainability: The Use of Story Cubes in Narrative Inquiries to Understand Individual Perceptions of Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-15, September.
    4. María Ángeles Alcaide & Elena De La Poza & Natividad Guadalajara, 2019. "Assessing the Sustainability of High-Value Brands in the IT Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-20, March.
    5. Alfonso Siano & Francesca Conte & Sara Amabile & Agostino Vollero & Paolo Piciocchi, 2016. "Communicating Sustainability: An Operational Model for Evaluating Corporate Websites," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(9), pages 1-16, September.

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