Identity
A sustainability organization that works through projects
GPM is a sustainability organization. Its subject is the impact that organizations have on people, the planet and long-term prosperity, and its chosen lever is the project, because projects are where strategies, policies and investments turn into buildings, products, services and change. Since May 2009 GPM has written the standards, the method and the competence requirements that let a project team identify its impacts, measure them against a baseline, manage them as requirements and report them with evidence, and it certifies the people and assesses the organizations that do so.
The word GPM uses for the direction of travel is regenerative. A sustainable project leaves every material impact at baseline or better after the agreed responses. A regenerative project leaves a system with more capacity than it had, and proves it. GPM's standards are built so that the difference is measurable: baselines, indicators, thresholds and verification rather than statements of intent. That is also why GPM's own commitments, from its carbon footprint to its supply chain, are published as dated disclosures.
GPM is a certified social enterprise, incorporated as GPM Ltd. in Indiana. It earns its income from training, certification, assessment and advisory work, publishes its standards and guides at no charge, and reinvests at least half of its profits in sustainability initiatives, education and advocacy. In 2013 it became the first project management organization to join the UN Global Compact.
What GPM does
Four lines of work, one position
Standards and method
Writes the standards the profession measures sustainability against
The P5 Standard for Sustainability in Project Management (first edition 2014, Version 4.0 in 2026), the PRiSM method (named 2011, published 2013), the Sustainability Management Plan (2009), the Sustainability Competence Standard, and the practice guides on delivery, sponsorship and reporting. Since April 2025 these are PMI-GPM publications; GPM writes them.
Certification
Certifies competence, with evidence
The CSPP, exam-based and issued by PMI; and four competence-based certifications, the CSF, CSP, CSPMs and CSPMx, assessed by GPM from portfolios of real work and an assessor interview, aligned with ISO 17024. A public registry verifies every holder.
Assessment and advisory
Assesses organizations and advises them
PSM3 maturity assessment for portfolios and PMOs, enterprise assessment against the P5 Standard for Business Practice, GPM360° project verification, and advisory work for organizations that need sustainability to survive contact with delivery.
Research and community
Publishes research and convenes practitioners
Insights into Sustainable Project Management® with the Association for Project Management (more than 10,000 responses, 113 countries), Executing Sustainability Strategy with PMI (2026), the Perspectives journal, and the GPM Ambassador network.
The position behind all four has not changed since 2009: an organization's sustainability commitments are either delivered or lost in its projects, so the project profession needs an impact standard, a method and a competence standard of its own, with evidence at every step. The guide to sustainability in project management explains how the pieces fit.
How GPM works
Free standards, paid application, a joint venture for reach
Everything GPM writes is free to download: the P5 Standard, the Practice Guide, the Sponsorship and Reporting Guides, the Competence Standard, the Sustainability Management Plan template and the glossary. Any project team, university or government can use them without asking. What GPM sells is the application: courses through its learning portal and Accredited Training Partners, competence assessments, organizational assessments and advisory work.
Since April 2025 GPM has worked with the Project Management Institute through PMI-GPM, the joint venture formed to put sustainability at the centre of the project profession. PMI-GPM publishes the standards and guides, PMI issues the CSPP certification through its global infrastructure, and GPM writes the standards and builds the courses. GPM remains independent: it keeps its research and advisory work, administers the CSPMs and CSPMx, and publishes its own certifications and assessments for sustainability professionals in any business function.
| GPM | PMI-GPM | PMI | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Writes the standards, method and courses | Yes | ||
| Publishes the P5 Standard, Practice Guide, Sponsorship and Reporting Guides, Competence Standard | Yes, as PMI-GPM publications | ||
| Issues and administers the CSPP | Yes, exam, certification and PDU renewal | ||
| Administers the CSPMs and CSPMx | Yes | PMI-GPM certifications | |
| Issues the CSF and CSP, for sustainability professionals in any function | Yes | ||
| Assesses organizations (PSM3, P5 for Business Practice, GPM360°), research, advisory | Yes |
Who GPM works with
Professionals, organizations, governments and universities
Professionals
Project, program and portfolio managers, and sustainability professionals
Certification, training and the Ambassador community. Many hold a PMI certification and add the CSPP; sustainability professionals outside project management take the CSF and CSP.
Organizations
Companies, PMOs and public bodies
Assessment against the P5 Standard and PSM3, advisory on making sustainability part of delivery, and training for whole teams.
Governments and development banks
Policy, procurement and infrastructure
GPM's standards are used to write sustainability requirements into project governance and to build capability in developing regions, one of GPM's stated purposes.
Universities and training partners
Educators and Accredited Training Partners
Universities use the P5 Standard and PRiSM in their teaching; Accredited Training Partners deliver GPM's IACET-accredited courses in their regions and languages.
The record
Dates a third party can check
| When | What |
|---|---|
| May 2009 | GPM founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana, as a think tank of practitioners, with the P5 framework and the Sustainability Management Plan toolkit. |
| April 2011 | Incorporated as GPM Ltd. PRiSM named. Certification launched in June 2011; Sustainable Project Management® in commerce from July 2011. |
| 2013 | The GPM Reference Guide for Sustainability in Project Management published; the GPM-b certification, the first sustainability certification for project professionals; GPM joins the UN Global Compact. |
| August 2014 | P5 Standard, Version 1.0. Version 1.5 in 2017, 2.0 in 2019, 3.0 in 2023. |
| 2023 | Partnership with the Project Management Institute begins. |
| 7 April 2025 | PMI-GPM joint venture announced. |
| April to June 2026 | P5 Standard Version 4.0 and the Practice Guide, Fourth Edition, on Earth Day; the Project Sustainability Reporting Guide and the Executing Sustainability Strategy research on 5 June; the GPM-b becomes the CSPP. |
| August 2026 | The PMI GPM Guide to Responsible Project Sponsorship. |
The full dated record, with sources, is on the Provenance page, and the story is told on Our Timeline.
Commitments
Published, dated and measured
GPM holds itself to the standards it writes. Its commitments are published as policies and disclosures with dates and, where the subject allows, numbers: the Net Positive Commitment and carbon footprint, Environmental Regeneration, the UN Global Compact communication on progress, a GRI report, a CDP disclosure, the Code of Ethics, and policies on suppliers, labor, human rights, data, digital sustainability and the use of AI. All sixteen are listed on the Policies page.
2009
founded
2013
first project management organization in the UN Global Compact
50%+
of profits reinvested in sustainability initiatives, education and advocacy
16
published policies and disclosures
Questions
Frequently asked
What is GPM?
GPM (Green Project Management®) is the sustainability organization advancing regenerative practices worldwide, and the creator of the P5 Standard for Sustainability in Project Management, the PRiSM method and the CSPP certification. Founded in May 2009 and incorporated as GPM Ltd. in April 2011, it writes the standards and builds the courses for the PMI-GPM joint venture with the Project Management Institute, certifies professionals against its Sustainability Competence Standard, assesses organizations, publishes research and advises. It is a certified social enterprise.
What does GPM stand for?
Green Project Management®. GPM® and Green Project Management® are registered trademarks of GPM Ltd., and GPM is the name the organization uses. The name dates from 2009, when the environmental impact of projects was the visible gap; GPM's work has assessed People, Planet and Prosperity together since the first P5 Standard in 2014.
What does GPM mean by regenerative practices?
Practices that leave a system with more capacity than it had before, demonstrated with evidence against a baseline. In GPM's standards regeneration is a measurable enhancement of system capacity beyond the baseline, whether the system is a watershed, a workforce, a supply chain or a community. Sustainability is the floor: every material impact at baseline or better. Regeneration is the direction beyond it.
Is GPM part of PMI?
No. GPM is an independent organization. Since 2023 it has partnered with the Project Management Institute, and since April 2025 the P5 Standard, the Practice Guide, the Sponsorship and Reporting Guides and the Competence Standard are PMI-GPM publications, with the CSPP certification issued by PMI. GPM writes the standards and builds the courses for the joint venture, keeps its research and advisory work, and publishes its own organizational standards and assessments.
Where is GPM based and where does it work?
GPM was founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and GPM Ltd. is an Indiana corporation. Its work is global: certified professionals, Accredited Training Partners, Ambassadors and assessed organizations around the world, and research spanning more than a hundred countries.
Is GPM a nonprofit?
GPM is a certified social enterprise. It earns its income from training, certification, assessment and advisory work, publishes its standards and guides free of charge, and reinvests at least half of its profits in sustainability initiatives, education and advocacy. Its commitments are published as dated policies and disclosures.
How does GPM make money if the standards are free?
The standards, method and guides are free to download so that any project team can use them. GPM sells what applies them: training courses through its learning portal and Accredited Training Partners, competence-based certification assessments, organizational assessments such as PSM3, and advisory work. The CSPP is sold by PMI.
Who leads GPM?
Dr. Joel Carboni is the founder and president of GPM and the architect of the standards, methods and certifications behind Sustainable Project Management®, delivered through the PMI-GPM joint venture. He created the P5 Standard, the Sustainability Competence Standard, the Sustainable Project Management® Practice Guide, the Project Sustainability Reporting Guide and the PMI GPM Guide to Responsible Project Sponsorship.
How can I get involved?
Read and use the free standards. Take a course or certify. Have your organization assessed. Join the GPM Ambassador network, the practitioner community that meets, publishes and mentors. Or partner: Accredited Training Partners deliver GPM's courses in their regions and languages.
Author
Dr. Joel Carboni is the founder and president of GPM and the architect of the standards, methods, and certifications behind Sustainable Project Management®, delivered through the PMI-GPM joint venture. He created the P5 Standard, the Sustainability Competence Standard, the Sustainable Project Management® Practice Guide, the Project Sustainability Reporting Guide and the PMI GPM Guide to Responsible Project Sponsorship. For over 30 years, his work has moved the profession in a different direction. A Forbes Business Council member and Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) contributor, he was shortlisted for Thinkers50's inaugural regenerative business award in 2025 for his book Becoming Regenerative.
Published 5 September 2026. Corrections through the contact page.
GPM®, Green Project Management® and Sustainable Project Management® are registered trademarks of GPM Ltd. PRiSM™, P5™, CSPP™, CSPMs™, CSPMx™, CSP™, CSF™, GPM360°™ and PSM3™ are trademarks of GPM Global and, where applicable, PMI-GPM. PMI and PMBOK are registered marks of the Project Management Institute.
Also on this site
Green Project Management®: the name and the marks. Sustainable Project Management®: GPM's method, training and certifications. PMI-GPM: the joint venture. Contact GPM.