In the current Anthropocene context, organizations are facing imminent risks caused by a degraded climate and an increasing resources rarity, thus nudging them towards finding more sustainable practices to ensure their survival. Energy Management Systems (EnMS) are receiving growing attention from organizations across several sectors, especially the international standard ISO 50001 which recognizes an organization’s efforts to achieve better energy performance through certification. However, amidst the hype around implementing this standard and obtaining this worldwide recognition, literature around the unexpected challenges and negative outcomes for organizational members engaging in this process, such as the destruction of value, remained unexplored. This exploratory qualitative study aims to uncover the different forms of value co-destruction that could result from the hidden challenges related to conforming to this institutional norm, through a multi-stakeholder perspective, by conducting interviews with different organizational actors, to help establish the necessary strategies to avoid value conflicts and resolve emerging controversies. The Economies of Worth framework represents the basis of the analysis of these social interactions and allows for a deep reading of the complexity of institutional settings.
