Critical Discourse Analysis: A Critical Approach To Expose Hidden Realities In The Discourse Of Sustainable Development

Abstract

The acceptability of sustainable development as the concept to response to increasing social environmental challenges has led many firms to adopt sustainable development in the form of corporate sustainability. However, the evidence show there is little impact of the so called sustainable activities of the firms on the society and environment and business as usual continues. In the paper it is suggested that to understand why such impact has not occurred we need to look at the current discourses on sustainable development and corporate sustainability through the lens of critical theory and its methodology of critical discourses analysis. Major discourses prevailing in Sustainable Development and Corporate Sustainability have been discussed. It is found out that dominant discourse of Business Case for Sustainability is marginalizing the other discourses that favor nature or society over economics as the central theme of sustainability. The implications of the findings is such that unless the dominant discourse Business Case for Sustainability is not challenged the goals of Sustainable Development would remain elusive and the path towards social and environmental degradation would continue.