For over a decade, the concept of sustainable development questions the very functioning of capitalism by calling for changes of various magnitude depending on the underlying meaning given to this concept. This paper aims at specifying the potential contributions of John R. Commons’ institutionalism to the analysis of « environmental collective action ». The latter refers to the will to structure conflicts within a sustainable form of capitalism. In following paper, we first stress the links between contemporary capitalism and sustainable development. Then, we analyze the relevance of the concepts coined by Commons to understand the emergence of « sustainable capitalism ». To this purpose, we more particularly underline the fruitfulness of reasonable capitalism principles such as defined by Commons, as well as their potential proximity to sustainable development. By significantly distancing itself from the posture of classical political economics, Commons’ institutionalism actually introduces an interesting opportunity for understanding the stakes of sustainability. Finally, we tackle the difficulty of transposing these principles to the current stakes of defining sustainable capitalism. More specifically, we insist on the limits of applying the concepts of “transaction” and "reasonable value” to initiatives aiming at integrating environmental constraints into the economic behaviors of contemporary capitalism.