Inisghts on projects and sustainability

The sustainability landscape for companies is evolving from simply a reporting and reputational focus into a comprehensive and truly impactful area that is embedded throughout the organization. An approach like this will require considering sustainability in all business areas, (also in the field of project management.)

This is also changing the way businesses and other organizations view/do project management. The field of project management is beginning to move beyond the traditional focus on time, cost, and scope to an emphasis on delivering business objectives while ensuring a net positive environmental, social and economic impact. Consequently, projects should not come at the expense of sustainability (GPM, 2022).

Against this backdrop, it is now clear that sustainability is relevant for projects and project management as well. According to a study conducted by GPM (2022), 97 % of executives recognize the need to integrate sustainability into project management. This brings into question, how to do this in practice?

Project Portfolio Management is a suitable way for integrating sustainability into organizational practices, especially to projects. It is possible to integrate sustainability elements such as connections to sustainable development goals and to key sustainability actions to a project. Thinking Portfolio allows organizations to incorporate their sustainability efforts to the Project Portfolio and further enhance their sustainability efforts as organizational sustainability capacity evolves. When Project Portfolio alone starts to feel inadequate for sustainability efforts, adopting an individual Sustainability portfolio with connection to the Project Portfolio and other portfolios is possible.