Abstract
Sustainability requires fundamental adjustments not only in terms of policy objectives, but also in the ways policies are made and implemented, i.e. governance. Based on a transdisciplinary research project, this article presents how sustainability governance is understood and practiced in six Swiss cantons, and describes the challenges faced by cantonal sustainability offices. The central finding is that the cantons have developed different forms of sustainability governance, but face similar challenges. This leads to several follow-up questions about the potentials and limitations of different forms of sustainability governance in dealing with these challenges.