Projects are instrumental to the realisation of sustainable development goals, yet progress towards sustainable development in and through projects is slow. A key contributor is the diverse interpretations of sustainability in practice. This research argues that the meaning making work of leadership has the potential to align these diverse interpretations. This research will adopt an ethnographic strategy to explore leadership meaning making practices that promote shared interpretations and unified approach to sustainability in construction projects through the lens of Schatzki’s practice theory. The aim is to examine how everyday thinking, saying and doing (web of activities) and material arrangements (technological and physical) are woven together in situ to shape the meaning and action related to sustainability. To do this, data will be collected through participant observations, informal conversations, formal interviews and documentation review. Data will be analysed through narrative analysis and Gioia method of analysis.