Sustainability in Project Management: Two Sides of the Same Coin or Poles Apart?

Abstract

Project management maturity influences the success of project management and project implementation. Based on project management international standards and other project management methodologies, various project management maturity models have developed. These models evaluate the level of project management maturity from many lenses; holistically, or in specific project management capabilities or specific to certain industry sectors. Projects are implemented in all human endeavors. Research and development, innovation initiatives, new ventures all harness projects as tool of change. Sustainability has three dimensions - social, economic and environmental. Project management is as much as life skill as it is a management science, relevant to business and society., It is therefore fundamental that sustainability is interwoven into project management tools, techniques and practices. Consequently, project management maturity models have to also evaluate how sustainability is included and applied in project management. The article defines a framework to assess sustainable project management in the form of the most important indicators based on the three pillars of sustainability: People, Planet and Profit. This approach could be used for evaluation of sustainability in project management generally or for the evaluation of a specific project management maturity model.