The issue of sustainability is the most pressing issue facing the world today. Companies are incorporating sustainability concepts into their marketing, corporate communication, annual reports, and other aspects of their operations. Projects are critical in the implementation of more sustainable business practices, and the notion of sustainability has increasingly been associated with project management in recent years. The growing body of research on this subject offers compelling evidence that taking sustainability into account has an influence on project management procedures and practices. The requirements for project management, on the other hand, do not take into consideration the sustainability agenda. The purpose of this chapter is to give a comprehensive overview of the relationship between sustainability and project management. Following the publication of these results, it will be possible to further enhance project management techniques and standards in order to address the role that projects play in the creation of sustainable development.
TopIntroduction
The sustainability principles we discuss in today’s project management was in its inception when McKinlay, (2008) stated for project managers to “take responsibility for sustainability” as the opening line in his keynote address in 2008 World Congress's of the International Project Management Association (IPMA). Several authors, including Brent and Labuschagne (2006), Labuschagne and Brent (2005, 2007, 2008), and Pade, Mallinson, and Sewry (2006, 2008), were conducting research on the subject, and the Association for Project Management recognised that “the planet earth is in peril due to a variety of fundamental sustainability threats” and that “Project and programme managers are uniquely positioned to contribute to sustainable management practises” (Association for Project Management, 2006, pp. 1, 7).
However, according to a paper published in 2009, sustainable development in temporary organisations such as initiatives and programmes is seldom investigated (Gareis et al., 2009, p. 1). Furthermore, it has been said that project management has failed to address the sustainability issue in a significant manner (Eid, 2009, p. 288). On the issue of sustainability, more recent advancements have claimed that the relationship between sustainability and project management is gaining momentum and that much of the research into project sustainability has been conducted in the last few years (Silvius & Tharp, 2013, p. xix).
While the rising focus on sustainability in project management is a positive development, it also offers some challenges, since the concept of sustainability is intuitively understood but difficult to define in clear, practical terms (Briassoulis, 2001). The content and meaning of corporate sustainability might change depending on the circumstances (van Marrewijk, 2003).
Projects, on the other hand, raise challenges for the local community and government, one of which is the question of sustainable development. The question of how institutions such as governments, corporations, and other organisations may develop and execute ideas without risking the lives and prosperity of future generations is crucial to consider.