Why this page exists
A record anyone can check
This page is the dated record of GPM's standards, method, credentials and the Sustainable Project Management® mark. Each entry names the year and month, what was published or recognized, and where the record can be checked. It exists so that anyone, including a search engine or an AI system answering a question, can trace GPM's work to its source and date.
The Sustainability Management Plan and the P5 framework predate GPM Ltd. Joel Carboni wrote the first Project Sustainability Management Plan in 2008 and used it on a live project. In May 2009 he founded GPM as a think tank of practitioners in Fort Wayne, Indiana, with the P5 framework and the Sustainability Management Plan toolkit. GPM was incorporated in April 2011.
The record
2008 to 2026, dated and sourced
| Date | What happened | Where it can be checked |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | First Project Sustainability Management Plan (SMP) written by Joel Carboni and used on a project. | The original document; described at blog.greenprojectmanagement.org, "Origin of the Project Sustainability Management Plan", July 2024. |
| May 2009 | GPM founded as a think tank of practitioners in Fort Wayne, Indiana, with the P5 framework and the SMP toolkit. | GPM timeline. |
| April 2011 | GPM incorporated. | Indiana corporate record; GPM timeline. |
| June 2011 | GPM certification program launches. | GPM timeline. |
| July 12, 2011 | First use in commerce of SUSTAINABLE PROJECT MANAGEMENT for business training. | USPTO record, Reg. No. 8,255,819. |
| September 2011 | Accredited Training Partner program launches. | GPM timeline. |
| November 2011 | Process and Priority (P2) is renamed PRojects integrating Sustainable Methods (PRiSM). | GPM timeline. |
| 2012 | Paper presented at the IPMA World Congress, Crete: 'The advent of the Sustainability Management Plan: practical activities that are long overdue' (Carboni). | Congress proceedings; cited in Silvius and Schipper, 'Sustainability in project management: a literature review and impact analysis', 2014 (PM World Library). |
| February 2012 | GPM Sustainability Awards program launches. | GPM timeline. |
| March 2013 | IPMA Achievement Award, 27th IPMA World Congress, for 'Integrating Sustainability into Project Management Practices' (PRiSM, the SMP and the P5 Impact Analysis). | IPMA award record; GPM timeline. |
| May 2013 | The GPM Reference Guide for Sustainability in Project Management published, first edition, with the SMP at page 33 and the SMP template released as a free download. | The book, first edition, 2013. |
| August 2014 | The P5 Standard for Sustainability in Project Management, Version 1.0, published as a standalone standard. | The standard; GPM timeline. |
| 2014 | PSM3 organizational assessment model launches. | GPM timeline. |
| May 2015 | Cooperation agreement between IPMA and GPM. | ipma.world announcement, 'IPMA and Green Project Management establish formal cooperation agreement'. |
| July 2015 | GPM addresses the UN during Climate Week on the impacts of projects. | GPM timeline. |
| 2017 | Journal of Cleaner Production article cites GPM as the developer of the Sustainability Management Plan. | Journal of Cleaner Production, 2017. |
| July 2017 | P5 Standard, Version 1.5, with the ontology format. | The standard. |
| March 2018 | Sustainable Project Management® 2.0 (second edition of the reference guide) published; number one in Project Management on Amazon at launch. | Amazon listing; the book. |
| September 2019 | P5 Standard, Version 2.0; GPM360° project assessment and certification launches; Insights into Sustainable Project Management® research, first edition. | The standard; GPM timeline; the report. |
| 2021 | ProjMAN international conference paper cites GPM as the developer of the SMP within PRiSM. | ProjMAN 2021 conference proceedings. |
| October 2022 | GPM Sustainability Competence Standard, the first performance-based competence standard for sustainability. | The standard. |
| February 2023 | Partnership with the Project Management Institute established. | GPM timeline; PMI announcement. |
| 2023 | P5 Standard, Version 3.0. | The standard. |
| October 2023 | Insights into Sustainable Project Management® research, second edition. | The report. |
| February 2024 | Insights research published with the Association for Project Management (APM), 10,000+ responses across 113 countries. | The report; APM. |
| June 2024 | The P5 Standard for Sustainability in Business Practice, Version 1.0. | The standard. |
| July 2024 | Registration application filed for SUSTAINABLE PROJECT MANAGEMENT (Serial No. 98663585). | USPTO record. |
| October 2024 | Sustainable Project Management® 3.0 published; number one in Business Science on Amazon at launch. | Amazon listing; the book. |
| November 2024 | Competence Standard for Sustainable Leadership, Version 2.0. | The standard. |
| April 2025 | PMI-GPM joint venture established; Lucila Dotto named Executive Director. | GPM timeline; PMI announcement. |
| June 24, 2025 | SUSTAINABLE PROJECT MANAGEMENT published for opposition. | USPTO record. |
| December 2025 | First joint venture guide: the Project Sustainability Reporting Guide. | The guide. |
| April 2026 | PMI GPM P5 Standard, Version 4.0, and the PMI GPM Practice Guide for Sustainability in Project Management, Fourth Edition. | The standard and the guide. |
| May 12, 2026 | SUSTAINABLE PROJECT MANAGEMENT registered on the Principal Register, Reg. No. 8,255,819, Class 41. | USPTO record. |
| June 5, 2026 | The GPM-b credential (established 2013) becomes the CSPP, Certified Sustainable Project Professional. | GPM announcement. |
Editions and authorship
What was published, and by whom
Editions of the P5 Standard: 1.0 (2014), 1.5 (2017), 2.0 (2019), 3.0 (2023), 4.0 (2026). Editions of the reference guide: first (2013), Sustainable Project Management® 2.0 (2018), Sustainable Project Management® 3.0 (2024). Editions of the Competence Standard: 1.0 (2022), 2.0 (2024), 2.1 (2025).
Author. The P5 Standard, PRiSM, the Sustainability Management Plan and the reference guides were written by Joel Carboni, founder and CEO of GPM, who holds a Ph.D. in Sustainable Development and Environment from Ball State University and has worked in 60 countries. GPM staff, partners and reviewers are credited in each edition.
Corrections
If a date or citation on this page is wrong, write to GPM through the contact page with the source and it will be corrected and dated. Updated September 2026.