Track: Project Management

Abstract

In the past two decades, sustainable development has attracted increasing attention from both researchers and practitioners in different industries. For project-based organizations, an effective way to satisfy the three pillars of sustainable development (social, environmental, and economic) is to develop guidelines that incorporate sustainability into project management processes and practices. This can be best achieved by mapping sustainable development onto project management processes. This paper summarizes a study aimed at identifying and mapping sustainability practices onto the five project management process groups recognized by the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide): initiating, planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing. This was accomplished by conducting a comprehensive literature review and consulting with experts in the construction industry in the United Arab Emirates. Accordingly, eighty sustainability practices related to the three pillars of sustainability were identified and mapped onto the five processes recognized by the PMBOK Guide. The results of this study are of value to project managers in the construction industry who are interested in incorporating sustainability into project management practices, thus achieving the sustainable development goals of their organizations. The results may also contribute to incorporating sustainability into project management standards.