Psychosocial factors influencing the experience of sustainability professionals

Drawing on Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, this study explores the lived experience of six sustainability professionals and leaders in the UK and Canada. It identifies key psychosocial factors shaping their experience - particularly psychological threat-coping strategies, psychological needs, motivation and vitality - and models the complex interactions and trade-offs between them, including tensions between competency, relatedness and autonomy needs and coping strategies such as suppression of negative emotion and a threatened 'deep green' identity.