Abstract: The debate on the environment and the negative effects of economic growth has been shaped by controversies revolving around issues such as the substitutability of natural resources or the role of technology and work in a “green” economy. Depending on their respective points of view, the disputants reach very different conclusions on possible pathways towards a socially and ecologically sustainable society, translating into differences on instruments deemed appropriate. Indicators and accounting systems belong to those contested instruments. To tackle the issue of information systems in a systematic way, this paper proposes to start with the controversies among different approaches advocating a socio-ecological transformation. The resulting map of typical positions in long standing controversies in the field of environmental and post-growth debates prepares the ground for the development of a typology of current “transformation discourses”. The purpose is to draw conclusions on the specific requirements for measurement systems flowing from different types of transformation discourses.