This paper is based on the notion that the discourse of corporate sustainability is becoming institutionalised at a time when it is just getting started. It therefore attempts to contribute to research approaches that question and go beyond the dominant normative discourse of corporate sustainability. It poses the question of what would be some of the assumptions needed to open up the discourse and what would be some of the implications of doing that. It assesses a number of earlier reviews of the field, and undertakes a case study of The Natural Step, which, while claiming to open up a new discourse, may be understood as another means of institutionalising the narrative of corporate sustainability. Three areas for future research are outlined in this paper.