This paper expands on the novelty of using transient knowledge nets as sustainability governance mechanisms under the framing of institutional theory based on regulative, cultural-cognitive and normative dimensions. Through a case study of one transient net, existing at the public–private interface within Sweden, it explores: a) what net’s functions are; b) how the net is received and perceived by its multisector actors; and, c) the potential of such nets for diffusing sustainable practices throughout the supply chain upon termination. The guiding question is: How do multisector organisations respond to society and state with regard to the strategic implementation and diffusion of management accounting processes from multi-level environmental objectives? In this sense, it bridges the gap between field and organisational perspectives in the coordination of various sustainability objectives and offers a ‘shooting star’ analogy of this process over time and space. Specifically, it elaborates on the degree that such regulatory – yet concurrently interactive – governance mechanisms have on the long-term implementation of operational sustainable practices through institutionalisation via 1) the mobilisation of allies, as well as alliance cultivation and cooperative partnerships/networks; 2) the normalisation of beliefs regarding the Swedish environmental objectives; and, 3) the net’s ‘rules’ regarding goal-implementation as a corporate competitive advantage. It concludes that discussions in these nets are instrumental stimuli to normalise sustainability knowledge which can be seen as an intangible social control mechanism for effective environmental management accounting and control within both intra and inter-organisational environments.