In the shift towards a sustainable society, there have been varying interpretations of what this will mean for the social sphere. Using the parameters for social sustainability presented in the framework for strategic sustainable development (FSSD), this research sought to assist sustainability practitioners in identifying and eliminating the creation of or contribution to barriers that undermine the individual’s capacity to meet their needs. In doing so, the researchers explored the processes of social systems and employed a systems thinking perspective to examine how an organization could, through the intentional structuring of its processes, work to eliminate their contributions to arriers. From this research, characteristics of processes that move an organization towards socially sustainable development were identified as cooperation, transparency, openness, inclusiveness and involvement, around which a guidebook was developed to promote organizational reflection and examination of processes in regards to these characteristics and fundamental human needs.

This thesis aims to provide useful guidance for transforming organizational processes to better reflect a consideration of human needs. It seeks to address structures which act as barriers to the capacity of people to actualize their needs, and proposes a set of characteristics of processes that help to eliminate these barriers.