Perspectives · Project Management

Why We Chose Regenerative Design as a Competence Unit and Not Sustainable Development

Dr. Joel Carboni December 5, 2024
The global landscape of sustainability is evolving rapidly. The challenges we face—from climate change to biodiversity loss—demand urgent and transformative action. While sustainable development has been a guiding principle for decades, it has become increasingly clear that its framework is insufficient for the times we live in. This realization drove us to make a bold choice: we chose Regenerative Design as a competence unit for project managers, leaving behind the traditional concept of sustainable development. This decision wasn’t about following trends—it was about acknowledging the reality of what humanity needs now and equipping project managers with the tools to deliver a thriving future. At GPM, our standards are refreshed on a bi-annual basis, ensuring they remain relevant in a rapidly changing world. Our entire ecosystem is now less than 18 months old, reflecting the agility required to address the evolving sustainability landscape. Since 2022, the entire sustainability world has changed. Any model older than 2020 is fundamentally outdated. Why? The Stockholm Resilience Centre’s data, spanning from 2009 to 2023, brought into sharp focus that out of nine planetary boundaries assessed, six have already been crossed. Of these, biodiversity loss is the most extreme—far exceeding the urgency of climate change. This new reality demands bold, actionable frameworks that move beyond sustainability toward regeneration. (Credit: Azote for Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University. Based on Richardson et al. 2023, Steffen et al. 2015, and Rockström et al. 2009)

Sustainable Development: A Concept Past Its Prime

The concept of sustainable development, defined by the Brundtland Commission in 1987 as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs,” was revolutionary. It gave us a shared language to discuss balancing economic growth with environmental and social stewardship. But let’s be clear: sustainable development isn’t a corporate buzzword to retrofit onto outdated practices. It’s a systemic transformation, and trying to dilute it into vague CSR nonsense with no accountability or meaningful outcomes is a complete waste of time. Here’s the truth: we didn’t achieve sustainable development. We’re nowhere close. Instead, we got a lot of box-ticking, feel-good initiatives with no teeth. CSR is a prime culprit—philanthropic window dressing designed to appease marketing departments and investors, not to drive real change. I’ve said this at CSR forums, debated it with executives from some of the world’s biggest brands, and called out greenwashing when I saw it. Remember the Nestlé baby formula scandal in 2017? I went toe-to-toe with one of their executives in a panel debate. People who know me understand one thing: I don’t back down. And here’s what I know after working with global brands for decades: I’ve never seen a Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) ask a project manager to map CSR policies to PMO governance or integrate them meaningfully into a project. Why? Because it doesn’t matter. CSR is optics, not outcomes. And any project manager wasting their time on it is wasting everyone’s time.

What Is Regenerative Design?

Let's start with Regenerative Development, which at it's core is development in service of life. And a bit shout out to my dear friend Eduard Müller  (who I believe is the world's foremost expert in regeneration) for his personal definition.  We have adopted it as our core organizational definition and give him full credit as it is perfect.

Competence Unit 8: Regenerative Design (in the Project Management Section)

Here’s how we structured Regenerative Design in our Competence Standard - Get it for free -  Unit 8: Regenerative Design:  is development in service of life. It is a forward-thinking approach that minimizes negative impacts and actively seeks to enhance and regenerate social, ecological, and economic systems. Sustainable Project Managers apply regenerative design principles throughout the entire life cycle of a product, infrastructure item, or service.

Competence Elements:

8.1 Striving for Net-Positive Outcomes for Social and Natural Systems:
  • 8.1.1 Applies regenerative design principles in decision-making.
  • 8.1.2 Aligns design choices with global biodiversity goals.
  • 8.1.3 Uses systems thinking tools and techniques toanalyze connections among social, environmental,and economic systems.
8.2 Ensuring That Design Choices Restore Degraded Ecosystems and Enhance Biodiversity:
  • 8.2.1 Encourages regenerative design in their projects.
  • 8.2.2 Uses design-as-nature techniques to reduce theenvironmental footprint of projects.
  • 8.2.3 Facilitates awareness among stakeholders.
8.3Advancing Regenerative Outcomes Through Integrated Design:
  • 8.3.1 Ensures that regenerative solutions reflect a balanced integration of ecological, social, and cultural priorities.
  • 8.3.2 Establishes actionable frameworks that connect design choices to measurable long-term regenerative impacts.
  • 8..3.3 Creates innovation pathways that prioritize ecosystem restoration, biodiversity enhancement, and human well-being.
  • These elements create a framework for action that moves beyond vague aspirations and delivers measurable, transformative outcomes.

Underpinning Knowledge and Skills

To ensure Regenerative Design is actionable, we embedded Underpinning Knowledge and Underpinning Skills into the framework. These are not theoretical—they are practical and measurable. Underpinning Knowledge: (Here are just a few)
  • Planetary Boundaries: Understanding Earth's critical thresholds and respecting these in decision-making.
  • Regenerative Land-Use Practices: Applying methods that restore ecosystems and promote biodiversity.
  • Scenario Planning Tools and Techniques: Preparing for long-term environmental and social impacts.
Underpinning Skills: (Here are just a few)
  • Impact Measurement: Quantifying net-positive outcomes across ecological, social, and economic dimensions.
  • Life Cycle Assessment: Evaluating the cradle-to-cradle lifecycle of projects to ensure sustainability at every stage.
  • Design-as-Nature Approaches: Leveraging biomimicry and natural systems to create innovative solutions.
This structured approach ensures project managers have the tools they need to drive meaningful change​​​.

Why Project Managers?

Project managers are uniquely positioned to lead this shift. Sitting at the intersection of strategy and execution, they have the power to embed regenerative principles into every stage of the project lifecycle. But this requires competencies that go beyond "knowing" the SDGs or ISO standards for CSR (pointless). While these are important for policymaker, they do little for practitioners managing on-the-ground projects. Project managers need frameworks that are directly actionable.

A Call to Regenerate, Not Sustain

We chose Regenerative Design because it reflects the reality of today’s challenges and tomorrow’s opportunities. Sustainability is no longer enough. We must strive for regeneration—to leave our world better than we found it. By embedding regenerative principles into project management, we are equipping professionals to go beyond reducing harm. We are preparing them to create thriving systems—socially, economically, and ecologically. Let’s face it: putting "sustainable" in front of old, worn-out practices doesn’t make them so. The choice to prioritize Regenerative Design over Sustainable Development was not about rejecting the past but about embracing the future. It’s a future that demands bold action, measurable impact, and a commitment to creating a world that works for all life. It’s time to regenerate, no more treading water.
Project Management Regeneration Sustainability