Sustainability

Sustainability is becoming ever more important. Since much of the modern world is created through portfolios of projects and programmes, it is clearly vital that the principles of sustainability are promoted through P3 management.

In the context of P3M, the goals of sustainability are to:

  • develop a sustainability culture within the team and stakeholders
  • build sustainability into end product(s)
  • manage the work with a focus on sustainability.

Sustainability in P3M has two perspectives:

Firstly, there is the sustainability of the objectives, i.e. outputs, outcomes and benefits. This needs a long-term view that continues until any outputs are decommissioned; well beyond the life of the project or programme. For a project or programme, this is something that must be built into the early phases where options are considered and designs agreed.

Secondly, there is sustainability in the way the outputs, outcomes and benefits are achieved. Project and programme management should incorporate sustainability practices throughout the lifecycle.

Both perspectives are reliant on establishing a culture of sustainability. While project and programme teams have influence over the culture within their temporary organisations, it will be difficult for these to thrive unless they exist within a suitable wider organisational culture.

Projects and programme lifecycles start with the identification phase and corresponding process. From the perspective of objectives, this is where different options will be considered for inclusion in the outline business case.

The analysis of options should follow the principles of the triple bottom line (TBL), which not only values benefits in financial terms but also considers social and environmental effects.

When considered for approval, the comparison of different options then takes all three aspects into account.

Finding the right balance echoes the more conventional triple constraint and each of the components of the TBL will have their own contribution to the balance of time, cost and scope.

Communication with the stakeholder community will be important in finding the optimum balance and it is inevitable that resistance will be encountered.

Techniques such as systems thinking will take an holistic view of the outputs and their operation. Environmental impact analysis will consider the impact of the outputs for the full product lifecycle until they are decommissioned. The total cost of ownership should be considered, not just the cost of development.

The early phases are important for establishing a sustainability culture for the rest of the lifecycle. Identification and definition teams will need to establish the advantages of a sustainable approach, that may include factors such as:

  • Reputational and competitive advantage in a market sector.
  • Cost savings through better use of resources.
  • Regulatory compliance.
  • Driving innovation.
  • Access to grants and funding sources.

Once authorisation is received for the delivery phase, sustainable practices focus on how the outputs are developed. Metrics should be identified that can be used in internal and external reporting. If appropriate, these will be defined in a sustainability management plan.

Functions such as risk management, stakeholder management, procurement and assurance, should all take sustainability into account.

Attention should be given to green and ethical procurement, and reduction of waste (which will obviously have cost benefits).

In the closing phase, the team should ensure that resources procured are recycled wherever possible. The transition from development to operation will be important to ensure that the planned sustainable practices are in place.

Building and maintaining sustainability is not easy but the project and programme management profession has a significant role to play because it is a primary agent for bringing about change.

 

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