Perspectives · Projects

Killing Zombie Projects: A Sustainability Imperative

They’re the projects no one wants to talk about. They drag on quietly in the background—over budget, out of step with strategy, and somehow still alive in the system. No one’s championing them anymore, but no one’s pulled the plug either. They take up time, resources, and headspace, yet deliver little in return. These are the zombie projects. And in today’s sustainability-driven environment, letting them linger isn’t just inefficient—it’s irresponsible.

Why Zombie Projects Are a Sustainability Risk

Let’s be clear: in a world facing intersecting environmental, social, and economic crises, every project carries an opportunity cost. Every hour, dollar, or tonne of CO₂ allocated to a zombie project is a resource diverted from initiatives that could create real, positive impact. Zombie projects:

• Waste carbon and materials on outcomes that no longer matter.
• Consume team energy and leadership attention that could be redirected.
• Stall more regenerative projects from being prioritised.
• Undermine trust in governance and strategic discipline.

In sustainability terms, they’re doubly harmful: they deliver little value while preventing better options from moving forward. And because they’re rarely challenged, they often linger long after their strategic or ethical justification has expired.

How Do Zombie Projects Survive?

Zombie projects don’t exist because people are careless. They survive because organisations often lack the governance courage—or the right information—to challenge them. They persist because:

• No one wants to admit a project is failing.
• Sunken cost fallacies override current data.
• Governance boards are not empowered (or willing) to make hard calls.
• ESG criteria aren’t built into project continuation reviews.

And sometimes, they remain alive because the original business case was never revisited—even when the world around it has fundamentally changed.

From Risk to Responsibility: Why PPM Must Lead

Project and portfolio managers have long been responsible for delivery and alignment. But increasingly, we’re being called to lead with strategic and ethical accountability. Eliminating zombie projects is not about being ruthless. It’s about being responsible. In sustainable portfolio management, the courage to say “this no longer makes sense” is as important as launching something new. The real challenge? We need better mechanisms for spotting these projects early, evaluating their ongoing relevance, and knowing when to act.

Signs You Might Be Hosting a Zombie Project

Use this checklist to start the conversation with your team or governance board:

• No clear executive sponsor or business owner
• Benefits realisation has been quietly removed or deprioritised
• The project continues to absorb resources but hasn’t delivered value in months
• It’s out of alignment with updated ESG or strategic goals
• Stakeholder interest is passive—or purely political
• No one would defend it if it were challenged today

If you tick two or more, it’s time to investigate.

Practical Steps to Kill a Zombie (and Prevent More)

Zombie projects can be tricky to kill—but it’s easier when your portfolio governance is set up to do it deliberately and transparently. Here are four key actions to take:

1. Introduce Sunset Reviews

Build scheduled reviews into your governance model to revisit the relevance and impact of active projects—especially long-duration or high-cost ones. Tip: Require re-justification of the business case, including updated sustainability and stakeholder impact assessments.

1. Use Sustainability Criteria in Continuation Decisions

Don’t just look at progress to schedule. Ask whether the project still aligns with current environmental and social impact goals. Tip: If the project’s lifecycle carbon footprint now outweighs its value, be willing to exit—even if it's halfway through delivery.

1. Make Termination a Mark of Strength, Not Failure

Celebrate responsible project closure. Share lessons learned and reallocate resources quickly to higher-impact initiatives. Tip: Shift the language—from “cancellation” to “strategic redirection” or “regenerative prioritisation.”

1. Track Portfolio Drag

Maintain a dashboard that measures portfolio health—not just in terms of progress, but in value contribution, sustainability alignment, and organisational energy. Tip: A project that’s 80% complete but no longer relevant has more drag than value.

Case Example: A Missed Opportunity in Public Infrastructure

In 2023, a major transport project in a regional centre was finally completed after five years—two years late and 60% over budget. Originally designed to improve road capacity, it was later revealed to increase emissions, encourage urban sprawl, and damage protected wetlands. The kicker? A proposed regional rail project—rejected at the time due to funding limits—would have delivered more equitable, lower-carbon outcomes for the same population. But the original road project continued because “we’d already spent too much to stop.” This is the real cost of zombie projects: the opportunity we never got to fund.

Final Thought: Make Space for What Matters

Sustainability is not just about launching better projects—it’s about making room for them. That means being bold enough to ask:

• Is this project still the right one?
• Does it reflect what we now know, value, and believe?
• Would we fund it today, knowing what we know now?

Zombie projects don’t just waste time. They waste opportunity. And in the world we live in, that’s not just a missed chance—it’s a strategic and ethical failure. The future will belong to the portfolios that are disciplined, dynamic, and honest enough to let go of what no longer serves. It’s time to clear the clutter. Let’s fund the future—not the undead.