This article focuses on the methodology used in researching the concept of sustainability in a philosophical context. Developed out of a personal interest, this academic pursuit challenges the limits and interactions between various study fields and brings philosophy, sociology and anthropology together in an attempt to create a new frame for thinking about our interactions with the environment. The practical example of the Transylvanian Saxons is used to position in a more realistic matter any contemporary green-initiative in the larger historical context of such communal practices.