The systematic degradation of social and ecological systems’ ability to support human well-being is causing existential threats, this demands society to undergo a radical transition. Examples of these demands include biodiversity loss, climate change, inequality, and a decline in trust, highlighting the urgent need to adopt practices for sustainable development. This thesis explores the organisational process of Leading sustainable development.

The work starts with a linear logic where the Leading process is related to a chain starting with Understanding, Defining, Measuring, Communicating and ending with Leading sustainable development. The logic is used to conduct maturity assessments in the value chain for building in Sweden and globally where the results are used to indicate that there is a lack of understanding sustainability and sustainable development. With these empirical results research results, insights and theories are combined in a conceptual development using both abductive and retroductive inferences to describe the relation between the processes Understanding, Defining, Measuring, Communicating and Leading.

The conceptual development results in a new model – the LUnDeMeCo model which underlying mechanisms are described from a critical realist perspective. The conceptual development is positioned in the sub-theme of Quality Management research which suggests further integration between quality thinking and system thinking. The proposed goal of this theme in Quality Management is contributing to sustainable development through a shift from customer focus to stakeholder focus. Further results are derived through relating the shift from customer focus to stakeholder focus to the underlying system contexts and is informed by second-order critique guided by Critical Systems Thinking.

Main result is the proposed LUnDeMeCo model and the related system methodologies, in the form of principles, practices, and tools, which are context dependent. Where the context is related to a typology of sustainability challenges developed in one of the appended papers, and the System of System Methodologies grid used in Critical Systems Thinking.

The results contribute to the field of Quality Management where there is ambitions to support sustainable development, but confusion about the implications from the shift from customer focus to stakeholder focus. Results also contribute to organisations looking to engage in Leading sustainable development in understanding how different principles, practices and tools can support their organisational capabilities for Leading, Understanding, Defining, Measuring and Communicating.