Sustainable Project Management: Revolution or Evolution?

Abstract

The integration of sustainability into business practices and organizational strategy requires a rethink as to the way in which operations are managed. As managing projects increasingly play an integral role in business and society, the question is whether current project management definitions, methods, processes, practices and knowledge areas are fitfor-purpose in delivering sustainable outcomes. This paper will examine the impact of sustainability on the methods, processes, practices and knowledge areas used to manage projects. A comparison of evidence from the literature will identify the leavers that shape the current agenda and can assist in the development of a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by the discipline to move towards 'sustainable project management'. This agenda will identify key areas of focus for academics and practitioners before evaluating whether an evolution of project management towards sustainable project management is possible, or if a more revolutionary approach is required.

25 years of ‘sustainable projects’. What we know and what the literature says

“…Consequently similar problems affect understandings of SPM, whereas concepts like 'project ', and 'project management' (e.g. PMBOK, 1996) are clear widely understood both in theory and practice, definitions of SPM are much more 'in development' (Moehler et al, 2018). Indeed, existing SPM definitions seem to reproduce with different degrees of attention the environmental issues, intergenerational equity, and compliance beyond regulations highlighted by Vos (2007).…”

“…"integrating sustainability requires a scope shift in the management of projects; from managing time, budget and quality, to managing social, environmental and economic impact" (Silvius and Schipper, 2014a, p. 78). This is particularly so given the entirely different time horizons of these activities (Hope, 2012;Moehler et al, 2018). Whilst PM is necessarily focused on precise objectives and time-bound activities, sustainability is concerned with long-term challenges for which there is often no clear solution.…”

“…However, since their review we have observed a substantial increase in the body of academic and practitioner literature which makes their original review increasingly obsolete, where 73% of academic articles in this area have been published in the last 4 years. Despite Silvius and Schipper's (2014a) attempt at integration, there has been an increasing fragmentation within this discipline so that the current literature is characterized by inconsistencies, different research questions (Brones et al, 2014), philosophical underpinnings Hodgson and Cicmil, 2016), levels of analysis (Agarchand and Laishram, 2017;Banihashemi et al, 2017;Carvalho and Rabechini, 2017;Gaziulusoy and Ryan, 2017;Hueskes et al, 2017;Kivilä et al, 2017;Marcelino-Sádaba et al, 2015;Martens and Carvalho, 2017;Sánchez, 2015), competing organizing frameworks (Abidin and Pasquire, 2007;Brook and Pagnanelli, 2014;Talbot and Venkataraman, 2011), and diverse understandings of sustainability and its determinants (Moehler et al, 2018;Vos, 2007).…”

Sustainability in Construction Projects: A Systematic Literature Review

“…This supports the notion of tensions where some objectives last only for the life of the project, others last longer, once the life of the product was considered, and the longest focus on global long-term environmental challenges. In effect, all these issues underpin sustainable project management [93]. Recently, two important summaries of the history and boundaries of project management literature about sustainability were published.…”

A Construct Validation Approach for Exploring Sustainability Adoption in Pakistani Construction Projects

“…In academia, the concept of SPM is viewed as a novel theme that accommodates different multifaceted dimensions from the domains of project management and sustainable development. While the scope of project management is well developed in both philosophy and application, the definition of SPM is in evolutionary stage where its organizational implications are yet to be clarified and understood [18,26] The prevailing SPM models tend to vary in their approach, but usually aim to represent the core sustainability dimensions with varying coverage of the environment, inter-generational equity and compliance beyond regulation [13]. In addition, the core concept of SPM in the construction industry covers the themes like lesser utilization of natural resources [27], due diligence towards project externalities [28] and conservation of human (as well as ecological) capital [29].…”