Leveraging projects and PMOs to drive sustainability

Leveraging projects and PMOs to drive sustainability

As sustainability becomes a critical focus for organisations worldwide the SWWE and PMO Interest Networks event highlighted the pivotal role that Project Management Offices (PMOs) and project professionals play in driving sustainability initiatives. Emma-Ruth Arnaz-Pemberton, a Responsible PM Ambassador, and Nigel Chisnall led the discussion, shedding light on various aspects of sustainability in the modern world of projects.

Sustainability in the modern world

According to the APM, sustainability in the project profession is about balancing environmental, social and economic aspects to meet current stakeholder needs without compromising future generations. This approach extends to business operations, where companies strive to reduce adverse environmental and social impacts.

Challenges and benefits

The journey towards sustainability in projects is not without its challenges however, with higher costs of sustainable building processes, long bureaucratic procedures to change the way organisations approach transformation and a lack of awareness in the project management practice sitting front and center.

When we flip the coin though, the benefits of adopting sustainable practices are significant. Organisations gain a competitive advantage as over 50% of consumers cite that they will buy more sustainable solutions if given the option (IBM 2021), greater appeal to investors who are more frequently supporting more sustainable start-ups, compliance with the inevitable regulatory requirements that are on the way and experience increased longevity of transformation investments by future-proofing and thereby reducing the chances of a need to pivot.

The human factor

As always understanding the human factor is crucial in driving sustainability. Humans are social beings who need to see the connection between cause and effect. It is essential to communicate sustainability in a way that resonates with people, avoiding a lecturing tone.

Utilising nudging, a process used by marketing and other companies to encourage individuals to make a ‘better’ choice by making it fun to do, or making specific behaviour socially acceptable, can help to create a culture of sustainability.

The role of the PMO

PMOs play a vital role in aligning and prioritising sustainability initiatives. They establish governance frameworks, practices and metrics to ensure that sustainability is integrated into the organisation's core operations.

The Tower of Net Zero metrics, for example, provides a structured approach to measure progress towards net zero goals and can be seen as part of the PMO interest network article in 2024.

When it comes to defining the PMO role in sustainability, take the time to understand the organisation reality, and where the PMO fits in to ensure that your role is appropriate and achievable within the structures and environment within with the PMO exists.

It is much harder to be the driver of sustainability if you already have a team focused on this specifically – in this scenario, work with the team to understand any project or transformation gaps to determine where you will likely add the most value.

Evolving roles and strategies

As we continue to evolve our project management practice to lead on the sustainability agenda, roles and attitudes will also need to change.

Leadership in sustainability involves making more informed decisions, empowering teams and fostering a culture of sustainability.

PMOs must develop a broader view of the world, upskill to understand the impacts of their decisions and encourage ongoing learning and community collaboration.

Delivery teams must have information and technology available to them, along with education on when and how to make a different choice.

Whilst the rest of the organisation should be open to being on and part of the journey, becoming champions of change.

Measuring progress

To measure the journey to net zero, organisations need to focus on various levers such as literacy, culture, funding, technology and processes. Carbon accounting, whole life carbon assessment and GreenOps are some of the methods used to track and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The PMO should start to identify and incorporate sustainability into its frameworks, processes, decision points, services and metrics to demonstrate how it is becoming part of the everyday conversation.

It is important to remember though that part of the process is understanding the current position and attitudes in the organisation. As a whole, the teams and leadership may not be ready to start changing their approach to transformation, so get to know your PMO Customers to understand how they will likely react to the conversation and start off with something appropriate. You can add discipline and structure as you go.

Success stories

The teams who attended the session were asked to come up with some ideas for sustainable solutions across a variety of different organisations, each with a different mindset and approach:

• Changing infrastructure
• Developing a sustainability programme
• Making only operational changes

Real-world examples were used to demonstrate how several organisations have successfully implemented sustainability initiatives in different ways.

A few examples from the session include:

Professional services enterprise rationalised estates, adopted flexible working policies and embraced digital technologies as part of a sustainability programme.

Retail organisation installing solar panels, rainwater collection systems into existing infrastructure and thermal walls in new buildings.

Manufacturing business revising and introducing packaging recycling programs, fair trade policies and carbon accounting practices to become operationally more sustainable.

In conclusion

There is more than one way of taking the first steps towards more sustainable change. Depending on the PMO and wider environment, different approaches will bring the same amount of value.

Some of the keys to success in driving sustainability discussed in the session with SWWE and PMO Interest networks:

• Identifying the organisation's sustainability reality and attitudes
• Uncovering areas for improvement and where you can add the most value
• Learning about sustainable practices and educating those involved in projects and beyond
• Supporting and getting to know the humans in the project management practice

About the author

Emma-Ruth Arnaz-Pemberton is the Director of Consulting Services at Wellingtone; a PPM consultancy firm with offices in Windsor (UK), Madrid (Spain) and Dublin (Ireland).

She is a Fellow of the Association for Project Management (APM), a volunteer with PMI UK, member of IPMA AEIPRO, PMI Spain, an Axelos P3M3 Assessor, and an NLP Master Practitioner practicing life and professional coaching with a Diploma in Modern Applied Psychology.

Emma-Ruth is a PMO, PPM specialist with extensive experience in the change management industry with a particular focus on collaboration, reminding us that we should be human first and change champions second. Emma-Ruth is the founder of the Wellingtone PMO Academy and has developed globally Accredited courses and services that support PMOs to reach their goals and even win industry awards.