How Can Sustainable Development Redefine Project Management Processes?

Abstract

The relationship between Project Management (PM) and Sustainable Development (SD) is tested in this chapter through its application on the construction industry. When PM is embedded in construction projects, it has the capacity to be a significant leverage point of great influence, and it becomes one of the cornerstones for rethinking the relationships between PM, SD, and the Construction Industry. The work presented discusses the need for integrating sustainable development into project management processes to ensure a better outcome for the construction industry, which is directly related to the degradation of our quality of life on the economic, social, and environmental levels. The author explores the origins and philosophies behind sustainability, the core of project management processes, the strategic implications of the construction industry practices, and puts forward the “systems thinking and points of leverage” approach to facilitate an efficient environment of integration. Thinking and acting sustainably requires not only incremental change but also a revolution in approach, a shift of perspective; sustainable project management processes are possible to achieve.