Complex Systems Studies and a Polysemous Meaning of the Term Corporate Sustainability

Sustainability, referring to various levels of societal hierarchy, has become one of social theory and practice's most popular and influential terms. It has also become one of the crucial issues in modern management. However, the multitude of meanings of sustainability may doubt its applications' validity. Economic, environmental, and social domains cover all areas of corporate activities. Additionally, sustainability is a value-laden term, a universal good. Under such circumstances, the research on sustainability demands a sound conceptual background. The paper aims to show how selected methods of complex systems studies applied in studying the relations between a system and its environment can help order the research on corporate sustainability understood as a polysemous normative term. The environmental aspects of corporate sustainability will be treated as the core issue. The following problems will be studied: 1) Companies strive for environmental sustainability and the universal meaning of environmental sustainability. 2) A more detailed interpretation of the idea: “Think globally, act locally” in environmental protection. 3) The role of complex systems research in developing theoretical foundations of sustainability studies in the general sense and at the corporate level 4) The future applications of complex systems research in studying environmental and economic aspects of sustainability at the corporate level.