Dancing With Polarities : Rethinking the Role of Sustainability Managers as Change Agents in light of CSRD

It is undeniable that organizational change for sustainability has taken precedence over the last few decades. Ranging from environmental movements to the introduction of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) framework, and to the subsequent emergence of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) in 2022, corporate sustainability has significantly transformed. This thesis aims to capture the underlying meanings and nuances of what this change process looks like for organizations while emphasizing the importance of understanding the journey of becoming sustainability change agents. Using organizational change theories as our guiding compass, we will attempt to highlight the most significant implications of the transition of European organizations to mandatory reporting, focusing on the experience of individual professionals. Sustainability managers will inform our study and help shed light on this transition period by sharing their perspectives and experiences regarding becoming agents of change with CSRD. To do so, we employ a qualitative research design, interviewing 17 sustainability managers. In this, a process of becoming, coping, engaging, and imagining is discovered in relation to change-making. The study showcases the tension-filled role of the sustainability manager, a tension informed by organizational structures and the distinctive natures of change that CSRD proposes. Here, we highlight the complex ways in which these professionals must be in order to counteract their limited agency. This study aims to contribute to the field of sustainability studies from an individual managerial perspective. It adds to management and organizational change studies by incorporating a sustainability viewpoint that intertwines both individual agency and legislation. Lastly, it contributes to the study of individuals as change agents, providing special insight into the field of sustainability management scholarship. Furthermore, we believe our study holds significant relevance in the current context as it captures the ongoing changes in the CSRD regulatory landscape, which is pertinent not only to sustainability professionals and policymakers but also to individuals invested in sustainability progress.