Project Management and Sustainability: Playing Trick or Treat with the Planet

Danijela Toljaga-Nikolić, Marija Todorović, Marina Dobrota, Tijana Obradović and Vladimir Obradović
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Danijela Toljaga-Nikolić: Faculty of Organizational Sciences, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Marija Todorović: Faculty of Organizational Sciences, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Marina Dobrota: Faculty of Organizational Sciences, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Tijana Obradović: Faculty of Organizational Sciences, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Vladimir Obradović: Faculty of Organizational Sciences, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 20, 1-20

Abstract: The incorporation of the social, environmental, and economic dimensions of sustainability in different aspects of human life and business provides a guarantee for our future. Organizations have shown a great interest in incorporating sustainability into managerial concepts, both at the strategic and operational levels. Sustainable business strategies are being implemented in many projects, which has led to a recent expansion of interest in exploring the potential of integrating sustainability dimensions in project management. With the intention of contributing to a better understanding of sustainable project management, this paper examines whether project management methodologies, applied in different sectors, support the introduction of sustainability dimensions. It also surveys the level of integration of sustainability dimensions in groups of project management processes. Considering that the incorporation of sustainability in project management poses numerous challenges for project managers, this paper examines the necessary knowledge and skills required for sustainable project management in different sectors. As part of this research, an empirical survey was conducted in project-oriented organizations from both the public and private sectors. The findings reveal that the application of project management methodologies promotes the introduction of sustainability dimensions, particularly the social aspect, irrespective of the sector, since the processes in projects managed by a specific methodology are consistent with the social elements of sustainability. In the public sector, there is a noticeable lack of knowledge of the meaning and dimensions of sustainability and, accordingly, an urgent need for project managers to gain knowledge and skills pertaining to sustainable project management.

Keywords: sustainability; project management; sustainable project management; project manager; competences (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (19)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:20:p:8619-:d:430659

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