What is a sustainable project?
In this article, we are going to look at the ingredients of a sustainable project. What are the differences between a traditional project and a sustainable one? What makes a project sustainable?
The article takes a methodical perspective. The starting point is the PRISM™ method, developed by Green Project Management Global®. PRISM™ stands for ‘Projects integrating Sustainable Methods’. We are speaking therefore about integration of sustainable oriented methods, tools and techniques in the established project management frameworks and methods. Two such methods come into play for consideration: PMI PMBoK™ and PRINCE2™. We will see therefore how the sustainable methods, tools and techniques can be integrated into these two major frameworks (with a certain bias towards PRINCE2). But before that, let’s first define a sustainable project.
A larger perspective
Traditionally, project management has focused on key project parameters. The classical presentation of these parameters often uses a triangle, with scope, time and cost at its peaks. Later a fourth parameter, quality, was added, usually put in the middle. That presentation of the project parameters is associated with the PMI school of project management. It is worth noting that PRINCE2 never worked with just four project parameters. From early on, and till version VI, PRINCE2 added risk and benefits to that set of parameters.
Whether PMI PMBoK or PRINCE2, these major frameworks of project management took a rather narrow perspective of the project environment. In this view, projects need to deliver a product within the set parameters, that is, on time, within budget, and with a measurable potential of generating expected benefits. For sure, all project methodologies include stakeholder analysis, to identify the interested parties. But still the broader project environment, while mentioned in the respective manuals many times, was covered to a marginal extent at best.
So, to complete that narrow perspective, and out of the ongoing discussion about sustainability of global economies and societies, another set of parameters was put forward, under the logo of a Triple Baseline. The argument is that any project should consider its basic parameters and go well beyond that, to integrate the impacts on project’s broad environment. The Triple Baseline includes three words starting with the letter ‘P’: people, planet, profit. The economic profitably is always there, but the broadened perspective includes the human environment and the natural environment, and much further afield then the immediate stakeholders of the project.
We will see the translation of the idea of the Triple Baseline into a specific project impact analysis tool, but let’s first put in place a working definition of sustainable project. A sustainable project may be seen as a project that systematically identifies, plans for and manages its impacts on and interactions with its environment, in view of delivering the required product that will generate expected benefits. The transition from traditional to sustainable project management is shown in Image 1.
Project environment analysis
To allow us to map a project’s environmental impacts, GPM Global has developed a mapping tool, under a P5 logo. The five letters ‘P’ stand for
- Product
- Process
- People
- Planet
- Profit
The P5 matrix is quite elaborate and a bit complex, with the idea of giving the most comprehensive tool to map a project’s environmental impacts. Let’s see the mechanics of it.
The P5 matrix is quite elaborate and a bit complex, with the idea of giving the most comprehensive tool to map a project’s environmental impacts. Let’s see the mechanics of it.
The Triple Baseline is integrated into it, but as we are dealing with projects here, two project perspectives are added: Product and Process. Within these two perspectives we find several ‘lenses’, through which we can look at the environmental impacts. Any project is supposed to deliver a defined product. The first lens is the product lifespan, focusing on the impacts of a product during its useful life. The second lens is servicing, looking at the impacts of the product during servicing activities, whether on staff or on the natural environment.
The second perspective is the delivery process, and it holds three lenses: efficiency, effectiveness and fairness. Any products will be delivered using some delivery activities (processes), and the various sustainability aspects of these can be scrutinized.
Now, concerning the People, Planet and Profit, these are the sustainability aspects that can be assessed. Each of these three categories gives specific aspects of the human, natural and economic environment that can be looked at and analysed from the product perspective and from the process perspective. Together, the P5 matrix gives us a comprehensive tool to analyse the environmental impacts of a project. The P5 Ontology is shown by the Image 2.
Sustainability in management products
From P5 Ontology we move to PRISM™ project management method. As we said earlier, it is the matter of integrating some tools and techniques into the existing project management frameworks such as PMI PMBoK or PRINCE2. But PRISM suggest a set of documents of its own that can be used together with the management products (documents, registers, logs) of those methods. They will then fall into the tailoring principle of each of these methods, so they will be adapted accordingly.
First of all, and following the PRINCE2 vocabulary, if a project mandate is used, the first sustainability requirements will be specified in it by the Client. The project mandate is the starting point of work undertaken by the project team, on the outline business case and on the project brief. In the business case both the usual financial benefits and sustainability benefits (and dis-benefits) will be first defined. They will be specified in a detailed business case case later. In the project brief, the sustainability considerations of the project will included. This the moment when the P5 analysis can be carried out for the first time, and it will be a section of the project brief. Two more aspects are to be considered as well. First, during the work on the project brief the organisational sustainability strategy will come into play as a reference for any project, with its strategic objectives. Second, the organisational environmental management system, such as ISO 14001 or the European EMAS, will be positioned as the overall reference framework for the project activities.
Later on, while working on the full set of project documents, a.k.a. the Project Initiation Documentation, the specific PRISM tools will be integrated with the project management products. In particular, the most recent PRINCE2 Version VII has added a sustainability management approach to its document suite. The approach will be underpinned by the P5 analysis and it will be complemented by a Sustainability Management Plan. Any PRINCE2 approach offers a general framework for the management of an aspect of a project (like communication, risk, quality), and there is a corresponding register (risk register, quality register), holding specific items (risks, tests, inspections). Similarly, the Sustainability Management Approach gives a general framework for sustainability and the SMP, which can be seen as the corresponding register, gives the specific actions, with a calendar and responsibilities, to manage the sustainability in a project.
We also need to distinguish between sustainability impacts and sustainability risks. The difference is similar to risks and issues. The firmer are certain, the latter are potential. Our project will certainly generate a set environmental impacts, and actions to manage these, to reduce or remove negative impacts, or to maximise the positive impacts, will be foreseen and planned for in the Sustainability Management Plan. Unexpected sustainability related events should be seen as issues and managed within the issues procedure. The sustainability risks are not certain, they may materialise. If they are identified early on, they should be included in the risk register. If they materialise they should be managed as risks, within the risk management procedure.
Sustainability in project processes
Let’s position all that within project processes. This is where project methods differ significantly. PMI works with process groups: initiating, planning, executing, closing and controlling, and altogether there are about forty project processes in PMI school. For instance, writing a Project Charter is one of them. PRISM offers rather generic process model as well as: Authorisation – Pre-project – Discovery – Design – Delivery – Closure – Benefits realisation.
This is the Project Manager’s task to integrate and adapt the specific process models that are found in the methodologies (and in the specific manuals). But above the methodologies, it is important that in the practice of project management, there are sustainability checks and stage gates, at which the project situation is verified and the next steps are decided upon.
Assuming that the generic PRISM process model can be mapped against the PRINCE2 process model, this would allow us to apply the useful mechanisms of that method. For instance, PRINCE2 works with key idea of tolerances and resulting exceptions. Sustainability now being a project parameter, tolerances will be set for this parameter, like for any other. After being defined and planned for, the sustainability situation will be verified by the project manager within each delivery stage. If a tolerance is forecast to be breached, the project manager will escalate the matter to the Project Board, which may result in replanning of the stage or the whole project.
Similarly, PRINCE2 gives very specific activities for the product delivery and hand-over. Quality register holds all quality verification activities, and staff independent of the project team, usually representing the Client, is supposed to approve all the partial products and then finally accept the final product of the project. Analogous mechanism may be established for sustainability, using the P5 Impact Analysis, Sustainability Management Approach and Management Plan. And, of course, all sustainability requirements in the product descriptions.
Environmental Management Systems
Let’s add a word about an environment management system. There is an analogy here between an EMS and a Quality Management System, based for instance on a norm such as ISO 9000. ISO 9000 family of norms offers a reference point for the quality management in a project, including quality assurance function. Similarly, a sustainability management system, based for example on the ISO 14 001, or European EMAS, may give an organisational framework to sustainability management and it may establish a sustainability assurance function for the project portfolio and individual projects. In other words, the team involved in the introduction of ISO 14001 norm or EMAS (or both) may become sustainability competence centre in an organisation and a natural interlocutor for the PMOs at all levels, starting from the enterprise level (EPMO). The contributions may include internal audit and control (assurance, that is), and support to all project teams with regard to sustainability.
Sustainability benefits
Last, following the project closure benefits come into play. PRISM puts forward a specific benefits management approach. Similarly to PRINCE2, it emphases the benefits realisation as a mandatory – not to be forgotten – activity of project management, returning to the Client after the project closure. Above all, the benefits realisation model is rooted in the cradle-to-cradle product life cycle. After the useful life of the product, all useful product components and raw materials should be extracted and / or recycled. The cost of that should be considered in the benefits analysis.
GPM emphasises the complexities of benefits realisation. The first benefits may still appear during the project, if the subproducts or parts of the product are put into use. The deployment costs and the operational costs, which will grow with the product age, must be accounted for. Most importantly, both the ‘traditional’ benefits and the sustainability benefits (and dis-benefits) must be identified and then measured throughout the project and after it. If a benefit is understood as the value of improvement perceived by a stakeholder, the dis-benefit the value of loss affecting a stakeholder. The suite of documents, including the Business Case, the Benefits Management Approach, the P5 Analysis and the Sustainability Management Plan, should let us follow and measure the (dis-)benefits of a project. Image 3 shows the GPM approach to project benefits management.
Summary
PRISM is a method plug-in that integrates sustainability with the existing methods and practices of project management. We have shown how this integration may happen, bringing together several methods and toolboxes. Sustainability will be seen in the project mandate coming from the client, in the business case, product requirements and descriptions, stakeholder analysis and environment mapping, and then in appropriate approaches, plans and reports.
The tailoring principle, crucial for PRINCE2 but also for other established methods and frameworks will mean that all elements will need to be adapted during that integration and then again to specific contexts, industries and projects.
Trainings (in PRINCE2 VII and PRISM), workshops, consultancy and assessment services are available to support such adaptation.