Why this joint venture exists
PMI's purpose, GPM's work, one vision
The Project Management Institute states its purpose as to maximize project success to elevate our world, and its vision as a world where every project lives up to its full potential for positive impact. GPM has spent seventeen years building the standards, methods and certifications that make positive impact something a project team can specify, measure and deliver. In April 2025 the two organizations put those things together.
Our joint vision is to make PMI's vision a reality by bringing GPM's unmatched expertise in Sustainable Project Management® to the world's largest community of project professionals, and elevating our world with them. PMI brings the reach: millions of professionals, thousands of organizations, academic institutions, training providers and governments. GPM brings the substance: the P5 Standard, the PRiSM method, the practice guides, the competence standard and the certifications that sit on top of them.
2025
joint venture formed
5
free publications
3
certifications in one family
1,600
professionals in the 2026 research
35
countries surveyed
In their words
What the two leaders said on the day
"Sustainability transformation is one of the biggest challenges of our time, and it won't happen without projects. This joint venture is about placing project professionals at the center of that transformation. With GPM's certifications, learning programs and standards now brought into a joint venture fully integrated into the PMI organization, we are in a strong position to help our community turn good intentions into meaningful, measurable action, across industries and on a global scale. Our goal is to make sustainability practical at the project level and to equip professionals and organizations to lead their own sustainability journeys toward a more resilient and prosperous future."
Pierre Le Manh, President and CEO, Project Management Institute
"The future of project management must move beyond delivering outputs. Projects must play a critical role in generating prosperity, restoring ecosystems and building more equitable communities. This joint venture brings us closer to making sustainability and regeneration core to the profession."
Dr. Joel Carboni, Founder and President, GPM
From the joint announcement of 7 April 2025. Read the full release at pmi.org.
What we publish together
Five publications, all free, all PMI-GPM
Every publication below is a PMI-GPM publication: written by GPM, published by the joint venture, and available free from GPM and from PMI. Together they form one system: the impact standard, the method, the sponsor's governance, the reporting bridge and the competence standard for the people doing the work.
Impact standardThe PMI GPM P5 Standard for Sustainability in Project Management, Version 4.052 impact elements across People, Planet and Prosperity, five lenses, thresholds and crosswalks to GRI, ISSB and the SDGs. April 2026.
MethodThe PMI GPM Practice Guide for Sustainability in Project Management, Fourth EditionHow the P5 Standard is applied through the six PRiSM phases, with the Sustainability Management Plan and templates. 209 pages, April 2026.
GovernanceThe PMI GPM Guide to Responsible Project SponsorshipFor the people who authorize projects: the STEWARD model of seven accountabilities and the four gate decisions. August 2026.
ReportingThe Project Sustainability Reporting GuideCarries project impact data into GRI, ISSB, CSRD and SDG disclosures so that sustainability is managed first and reported second.
CompetenceThe GPM Sustainability Competence Standard, Version 2.1Ten performance-based units defining what sustainability leaders and project managers must be able to do, with evidence.The interactive ecosystem map shows how the five fit together, station by station. PMI hosts the same publications at pmi.org/learning/sustainability.
Certification
One family, from first exam to mastery
The Certified Sustainable Project Professional (CSPP) is the joint venture's certification, delivered through PMI since June 5, 2026. It tests knowledge of the P5 method and replaced the GPM-b, the first sustainability certification for project professionals, which GPM established in 2013. Above it sit the competence-based CSPMs and CSPMx, which assess evidence from real projects against the Sustainability Competence Standard; they belong to PMI-GPM and are administered by GPM.
Foundation
CSPP, Certified Sustainable Project Professional
Exam-based, delivered through PMI. The entry point for project professionals who want sustainability in their toolkit.
Specialist
CSPMs, Certified Sustainable Project Manager, Specialist
Competence-based, evidence from moderately complex projects, administered by GPM.
Expert
CSPMx, Certified Sustainable Project Manager, Expert
Competence-based, evidence from highly complex projects, programs and portfolios, administered by GPM.
Beyond projects
CSF and CSP
GPM's own certifications for sustainability professionals in any function, outside the joint venture.
Research
Executing Sustainability Strategy: When Ambition Meets Reality
Published on June 5, 2026, the joint venture's first research report surveyed nearly 1,600 professionals in 35 countries in seven languages. Projects built around sustainability succeed at nearly twice the rate of those without it. Eighty-five percent of sustainability executives are confident their organization can deliver on its sustainability commitments; 43 percent of PMO leaders agree, a 42-point gap between the people who set the strategy and the people who run the projects. Only 41 percent of organizations have integrated sustainability into how projects are run; the rest manage it alongside.
The report names six friction points, from the difficulty of quantifying sustainability benefits in business terms to the longer horizons of sustainability outcomes, and two enablers: a clear purpose from leadership with sustainability embedded in capital, talent and time decisions, and the organizational capability to turn strategy into project-level decisions and measurable results. That second enabler is what the joint venture's standards, method and certifications exist to build.
"Sustainability progress lives or dies at the project level. Every ton of emissions avoided happens because a team had the skills, standards and will to deliver it."
Dr. Joel Carboni, Founder and President, GPM
Who does what
How PMI, PMI-GPM and GPM fit together
| What it does | Where to find it | |
|---|---|---|
| PMI-GPM, the joint venture | Publishes the P5 Standard, the Practice Guide, the Reporting Guide, the Sponsorship Guide and the Competence Standard; owns the CSPP, CSPMs and CSPMx certification family; publishes joint research. | pmi.org/learning/sustainability and gpm.org |
| PMI | Distributes the publications to its global community, delivers the CSPP exam through its certification infrastructure, and carries sustainability into its research and learning programs. | pmi.org |
| GPM | Writes the standards and builds the courses for the joint venture; administers the CSPMs and CSPMx; runs its own research and advisory work, the CSF and CSP certifications, the PSM3 and GPM360° assessments, the Ambassador program, and its own standards for business and professional practice. | gpm.org |
The result for a project professional is simple: one set of standards, available everywhere PMI reaches, written by the people who created the field's impact standard and method, with a certification path that starts with an exam and ends with evidence.
Milestones
From partnership to joint venture
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| 2022 | PMI begins offering GPM's Sustainable Project Management® course with the GPM-b exam to its community. |
| 7 April 2025 | PMI and GPM announce the joint venture. GPM's standards, guides, tools, learning and certifications move into PMI-GPM. |
| December 2025 | The Project Sustainability Reporting Guide is published. |
| 22 April 2026 | Earth Day release of the P5 Standard, Version 4.0, and the Practice Guide, Fourth Edition, the first editions to carry both names. |
| 5 June 2026 | The GPM-b becomes the Certified Sustainable Project Professional (CSPP), delivered through PMI. Executing Sustainability Strategy is published the same day. |
| 14 August 2026 | The PMI GPM Guide to Responsible Project Sponsorship is released, the first joint publication written for the people who authorize projects. |
The dated record of every GPM standard and edition, back to 2008, is on the Provenance page.
Where to start
Three doors in
Read
Download the P5 Standard and the Practice Guide
Free, from GPM or PMI. Start with the standard to learn what a project must account for, then the guide to learn how.
Certify
Take the CSPP through PMI
The entry certification for sustainability in project management, on PMI's platform.
Apply
Bring GPM in
Advisory, P5 tailoring, PSM3 maturity assessment and GPM360° project certification for organizations that want the system installed.
Questions
Frequently asked
What is PMI-GPM?
PMI-GPM is the joint venture formed in April 2025 by the Project Management Institute and Green Project Management (GPM). GPM's standards, guides, tools, frameworks, learning and certifications for sustainability in project management were brought into the joint venture, in which PMI holds the majority stake and GPM a minority stake for at least five years. GPM writes the standards and builds the courses for the joint venture and continues its own research and advisory work.
What does the joint venture publish?
The PMI GPM P5 Standard for Sustainability in Project Management (Version 4.0, April 2026), the PMI GPM Practice Guide for Sustainability in Project Management (Fourth Edition, April 2026), the Project Sustainability Reporting Guide, the PMI GPM Guide to Responsible Project Sponsorship (August 2026) and the GPM Sustainability Competence Standard. All are free to download from GPM and from PMI.
Which certification does PMI-GPM offer?
The Certified Sustainable Project Professional (CSPP), delivered through PMI since June 5, 2026. It replaced the GPM-b, which GPM had offered since 2013. The competence-based CSPMs and CSPMx certifications also belong to PMI-GPM and are administered by GPM until they move to PMI's platform.
What does GPM still do on its own?
GPM remains an independent sustainability organization that advances regenerative practices. It writes the standards and builds the courses for PMI-GPM, keeps its research and advisory work, publishes the P5 Standard for Sustainability in Business Practice and Sustainability in Practice, and runs the CSF and CSP certifications, the PSM3 and GPM360° assessments and the Ambassador program.
Where do I get the standards?
From GPM's standards library at gpm.org or from PMI's sustainability pages at pmi.org/learning/sustainability. The PDFs are free; no membership is required.
What research has the joint venture published?
Executing Sustainability Strategy: When Ambition Meets Reality (June 2026), based on nearly 1,600 professionals in 35 countries, found that projects built around sustainability succeed at nearly twice the rate of those without it, and that 85 percent of sustainability executives are confident in their organization's ability to deliver against 43 percent of PMO leaders.
I held a GPM-b. What happens to it?
The GPM-b became the CSPP on June 5, 2026. GPM-b holders can reinstate and upgrade; the steps are on the CSPP transition pages linked from GPM's certification hub.
Page updated 5 September 2026.
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 (GPM): the organization. Standards and publications: the full library. Certifications: the whole family. Strategic alliances: PMI and GPM's other partners.