394 Int. J. Environment and Sustainable Development, Vol. 11, No. 4, 2012 Copyright © 2012 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. Sustainability and competencies in organisational contexts: a proposal of a model of interaction Luciano Munck Post-Graduation Program Business Administration, Universidade Estadual de Londrina, Rodovia Celso Garcia Cid, PR-445, Km 380, Campus Universitário, CESA, 86051-980, Londrina, Brazil E-mail: munck@uel.br Rafael Borim-de-Souza* Business Administration, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Senador Souza Naves, 2677, apto.1601, Londrilar, 86015-430, Londrina, Brazil E-mail: rafaborim@yahoo.com *Corresponding author Abstract: The objective of this article is to propose a model of interaction between sustainability and competencies in organisational contexts. It explores the construction of a model for understanding organisational sustainability, which is supported by contributions from organisational competencies and linked with the theory of organisational action. This leads to a brief presentation of topics related to discourse on the central idea of interaction. The article culminates by explaining the model’s logic: that competencies concede the ability for organisations to manage sustainability, and since the theory of organisational action helps clarify how organisational and societal action mesh in attempts to achieve holistic sustainability, their alignment links sustainability and competences in an organisational context with management strategies that allow an organisation to become a social agent that is aware of its place in reaching overall sustainable development. Keywords: organisational sustainability; organisational competencies; organisational action; interaction; organisations. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Munck, L. and Borim-de-Souza, R. (2012) ‘Sustainability and competencies in organisational contexts: a proposal of a model of interaction’, Int. J. Environment and Sustainable Development, Vol. 11, No. 4, pp.394–411. Biographical notes: Luciano Munck is a PhD in Business Administration and a Full Professor at State University of Londrina. Rafael Borim-de-Souza is a Researcher with a PhD scholarship from the Brazilian Council of Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), has a Master degree in Business Administration and makes his doctorate in the same area at Federal University of Paraná.