Project Management and Sustainable Development Principles

Sustainable Development has become a buzzword, with everyone from CEO's to legislators calling for the adoption of its principles. And while there are many terms for it "Corporate Social Responsibility," "Corporate Sustainability," "Corporate Citizenship," fundamental questions remain. Is Sustainable Development just a PR exercise for organizations trying to demonstrate a commitment to something other than a financial bottom line, or can it bring real lasting value? And if it is of value, how can Sustainable Development, which is fundamentally focused on the long-term, bring value to projects, which are by definition, temporary? In 2010, an interdisciplinary team of project management and sustainability practitioners and researchers from the University of Vienna, supported by a research grant from Project Management Institute, set out to answer these questions. Before their multi-year journey was through, they would find themselves working around the world: debriefing project teams at Siemens and OMV Petrom Wind Farms in Brazil and Romania, working alongside executives planning to build a hospital in Austria and collaborating with researchers and practitioners at academic conferences in Europe and the United States. Their conclusion: Sustainable Development is a new management paradigm, one whose principles can be operationalized and used to improve how practitioners of all levels manage the complexity and dynamics of organizations, projects and programs. Illustrated with more than 100 figures and tables, Project Management and Sustainable Development Principles provides practitioners with all the tools they need to understand Sustainable Development and apply its principles to the initiation and management of projects. This comprehensive volume begins by establishing a baseline understanding of Sustainable Development's history, its value to society and its relationship to global project management standards. It then offers an inside view of Sustainab