Perspectives · Business Case

The GPM P5 Standard for Sustainability in Project Management. Who uses it and how?

Last month we surveyed 15,036 individuals who have downloaded the GPM P5 standard since it was released in 2014 and received 3,600 responses. It was conducted to find out how sustainability factors are incorporated into projects, by whom, where was the focus the most prominent, and most important, if the standard having a positive impact.

Breakdown of the responses by region:

• 44% Europe
• 39% The Americas
• 10% Asia Pacific
• 6% Africa
• 2% Middle East

Break down of respondents by focus:

• 33% project managers
• 19% academic focused
• 17% sustainability professionals
• 11% executives
• 8% training providers
• 6% portfolio or program managers
• 6% government officials

Breakdown of the respondents by years of project management experience:

• 42% have greater than 15 years
• 22% have 6 to 10 years
• 8% have 4 to 5 years
• 17% have 1 to 3 years

Key statistics (See Analysis Below):

1. 94% of the respondents stated that projects and project management are integral to sustainable development.
2. 76% of the respondents are using the standard in their projects.
3. 93% of the respondents who are using the standard in their projects have seen a tangible increase in project performance.
4. 96% of the respondents found the standard helpful
5. 75% of the executives stated that their organizations do sustainability reporting
6. 50% of the project managers stated that their organization does not do sustainability reporting

Analysis Based on the survey outcome the number of individuals who believe that projects and project management are key to sustainable development is almost a unanimous opinion. the data shows that adoption of sustainability in projects is at a slightly faster pace in Europe and the Americas as compared to the rest of the world. Project managers, academics and sustainability professionals comprise of the largest adopters and of them the more senior in experience are the early adopters. Those that have adopted the standard see an increase in overall project performance which is a strong indicator that (among adopters) the shift has begun to expand project performance standards beyond the standard time, cost, and scope measures. Of the respondents, that are project managers, half manage projects in organizations that do not publish sustainability reports which allows for opportunity to projects to be a driving force for materiality when reporting does begin. Of the executives who responded, the 75% percentage of which stated that their organization does sustainability reporting which is the same percentage of the S&P 500 that published corporate sustainability reports in 2015 according to the G&A Institute. To download P5 for yourself, click here! 

Infographic

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