Is this for you
You already run sustainability through your projects. Certify it.
10
competence units
0
exams
2011
GPM certifying since
USD 1,299
one fee, monthly plan available
The CSPMs is for project managers who have stopped treating sustainability as a section in the charter and started treating it as scope: impacts assessed at Discovery, thresholds agreed with the sponsor, suppliers selected on more than price, a Sustainability Management Plan that is actually maintained, and results verified at closure. If that describes your last two or three projects, you have the evidence already.
It sits above the CSPP, the exam-based certification for the P5 method delivered through PMI. Where the CSPP shows you know the method, the CSPMs shows you have applied it, on real projects of moderate complexity, to a published performance standard.
Project managers
Construction, infrastructure, energy, technology, healthcare, finance
You deliver projects where environmental permits, community impact, supply-chain standards or emissions targets are part of the acceptance criteria.
Program and PMO leads
People who set the approach others follow
You define templates, gates and reporting for a portfolio and want the sustainability content of that framework recognized.
Agile and hybrid delivery
Product owners, delivery leads, scrum masters
Sustainability shows up in your backlog, your definition of done and your release decisions. The evidence is different; the standard is the same.
Owners and consultants
Client-side and advisory project managers
You are asked to prove that the projects you run for others meet their sustainability commitments. The CSPMs is that proof for you as an individual.
What it certifies
The ten units, applied to moderately complex projects
The GPM Sustainability Competence Standard defines ten units. Eight are shared with GPM's certifications for sustainability leaders; two, project governance and planning and project monitoring and control, cover how a project manager designs and runs a project so that sustainability commitments are met. The PMI GPM P5 Standard supplies the impact structure and the PRiSM method the delivery method that the evidence is judged against.
| Unit | What you show evidence of |
|---|---|
| Ethical leadership | Decisions taken against stated values under delivery pressure; conflicts of interest named; the team held to the same standard. |
| Living systems stewardship | The project's dependence and impact on living systems understood and managed: compliance, resources, emissions, land, water, biodiversity. |
| Talent acquisition, retention and empowerment | Fair, inclusive practices in building and running the project team, and the capability sustainability delivery requires. |
| Assessing and responding to sustainability impacts | A P5 Impact Analysis run at the right points, materiality applied, thresholds set, and responses governed through the Sustainability Management Plan. |
| Stakeholder collaboration and engagement | Affected stakeholders identified and engaged, with a record of how their input changed scope, plan or design. |
| Sustainable procurement | Sourcing against impact criteria, supply-chain due diligence, supplier commitments written into contracts and monitored. |
| Change management and resilience | Change delivered so that it sticks, and the project's ability to absorb shocks built in. |
| Regenerative design | Deliverables designed to measurably improve system capacity beyond a baseline, with indicators and verification. |
| Project governance and planning | Impacts, thresholds and commitments built into the business case, scope, plan and decision gates from the start. |
| Project monitoring and control | Sustainability performance monitored, breaches escalated, results verified through delivery and into benefits realization. |
How the assessment works
Six steps, no exam
Enrol on the portal, free
Open the submission guide on GPM's learning portal and read the introduction. The competence units, elements and performance criteria are all visible before you pay anything.
Check your fit
Map your own work against the units. If you can point to real outputs for most criteria, you are ready. If not, the gaps tell you what to build first.
Pay the assessment fee, USD 1,299
One payment, or a monthly plan. The fee covers the assessor's review of your portfolio, the interview and the certification itself.
Upload your CV and declaration
A current CV and a signed candidate declaration, including any access needs and consent for GPM to verify what you submit.
Submit evidence unit by unit
For each performance criterion, attach the document, record or measurement that shows it and write a short note on your role and the result. Most candidates complete the portfolio in four to eight weeks alongside their job.
Competence interview, decision and badge
A GPM assessor reviews the portfolio and then meets you online to probe the evidence. A pass leads to certification, a digital badge and a listing in the GPM certification registry. A shortfall comes back as specific feedback so you can resubmit.
Why competence-based
What a CSPMs tells a sponsor or an employer
| Exam-based certificate | GPM competence-based certification | |
|---|---|---|
| What it proves | That you can recall a body of knowledge on the day of the test. | That you have done the work, with results, to a published performance standard. |
| How it is assessed | Multiple choice, timed. | Evidence portfolio reviewed by a practising assessor, then a one-to-one competence interview. |
| The standard behind it | A syllabus or exam content outline. | The GPM Sustainability Competence Standard: units, elements and performance criteria you can read before you apply. |
| Process discipline | Varies. | Aligned with ISO 17024, the international standard for bodies certifying persons. |
| What an employer learns | That you studied. | What you can be trusted to do on Monday. |
GPM was the first organization to certify individuals in sustainability-based project management, in 2011, and its assessment discipline has not changed: a public standard, evidence, a practising assessor, an interview and a registry entry anyone can verify. The process is aligned with ISO 17024, and the head of GPM's assessor pool sits on the ISO committee that governs it.
Why now
The demand side
GPM's 2024 Insights survey of project professionals found that 73 percent consider sustainability critical to project success, that 68 percent of organizations have not aligned their project management practices with their sustainability goals, and that 53 percent of projects worldwide have been disrupted by extreme weather linked to climate change. The gap between what organizations need from their project managers and what most project managers can show they have done is the space these certifications fill.
The path
Where the CSPMs sits
Foundation
CSPP, Certified Sustainable Project Professional
The exam-based entry certification for the P5 method, delivered through PMI. Formerly the GPM-b.
Specialist
CSPMs, Certified Sustainable Project Manager, Specialist
Ten units, evidence from moderately complex projects.
Expert
CSPMx, Certified Sustainable Project Manager, Expert
Ten units, evidence from highly complex projects, programs or portfolios, at the level of someone who shapes organizational practice.
For sustainability leaders
CSF and CSP
GPM's certifications for people who lead sustainability outside the project function.
Getting started
Read the criteria first, then decide
Enrol on the portal. Enrolment is free and shows you all ten units and every performance criterion before you pay.
Rate your projects. Run two or three recent projects through the complexity tool and choose the ones whose evidence best covers the criteria.
Build the portfolio from what you already have. Impact analyses, Sustainability Management Plans, procurement criteria, gate papers, monitoring reports, closure verification. Most of it exists; the work is selecting and annotating it.
Questions
Frequently asked
What is the CSPMs certification?
The Certified Sustainable Project Manager, Specialist (CSPMs) is the competence-based certification for project managers who deliver sustainability through moderately complex projects. It assesses evidence from your own projects against the ten units of the GPM Sustainability Competence Standard, followed by an interview with a GPM assessor.
Who is it for?
Project and program managers who already build sustainability into how they scope, plan, procure, deliver and report, on projects of moderate complexity, in any industry and under predictive, agile or hybrid approaches.
How does it relate to the CSPP?
The CSPP is the exam-based entry certification for the P5 method, delivered through PMI. The CSPMs sits above it and tests what you have done rather than what you know: your projects, your plans, your impact analyses, your results. The CSPP is a useful preparation but is not a prerequisite.
What does moderately complex mean?
GPM rates project complexity on internal complexity, external complexity and coupling, with a free twelve-question tool. CSPMs candidates present evidence from projects that need analysis and adaptation to deliver, rather than routine execution. Candidates whose evidence comes from highly complex projects, programs or portfolios apply for the CSPMx.
Is there an exam?
No. You submit evidence against each performance criterion and discuss it with an assessor in a competence interview. The process is aligned with ISO 17024.
What does it cost and how long does it take?
USD 1,299, with a monthly payment plan available. Enrolment on the portal is free. Most candidates complete the portfolio in six to ten weeks alongside their job.
Who awards it?
The CSPMs is a PMI-GPM certification administered by GPM: GPM's assessors review the evidence, conduct the interview and award the certification, and holders are listed in GPM's public registry.
How long is it valid?
Five years from the date of award. Renewal is arranged with GPM's certification team ahead of the expiry date. The CSPP, the PMI-GPM certification issued by PMI, follows PMI's own three-year, PDU-based cycle in the holder's PMI account.
Page updated 5 September 2026. Fees in US dollars; a monthly payment plan is available on the portal.
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
The CSPMx: the expert level. The CSPP at PMI: the entry certification. The Practice Guide: the method the evidence is judged against. The Sustainability Competence Standard: the units in full, free.