Project management and sustainable development principles

Sustainable Development has become a buzzword, with everyone from CEO’s to legislators calling for the adoption of its principles. And while there are many terms for it - Corporate Social Responsibility , Corporate Sustainability , Corporate Citizenship , fundamental questions remain. Is Sustainable Development just a PR exercise for organizations trying to demonstrate a commitment to something other than a financial bottom line, or can it bring real lasting value? And if it is of value, how can Sustainable Development, which is fundamentally focused on the long-term, bring value to projects, which are by definition, temporary? In 2010, an interdisciplinary team of project management and sustainability practitioners and researchers from the University of Vienna, supported by a research grant from Project Management Institute, set out to answer these questions. Before their multi-year journey was through, they would find themselves working around the world: debriefing project teams at Siemens and OMV Petrom Wind Farms in Brazil and Romania, working alongside executives planning to build a hospital in Austria and collaborating with researchers and practitioners at academic conferences in Europe and the United States