Sustainability is the Top Predictor of Project Success, But Most Organizations Can’t Execute on it, New PMI® and GPM® Research Finds
While executives express confidence, the teams responsible for delivery tell a different story, revealing why ambition alone is not enough.
New research from Project Management Institute (PMI) and Green Project Management (GPM) shows that while sustainability has moved to the center of organizational strategy, many organizations are still not equipped to execute on it. The report points to a widening disconnect between strategic ambition and delivery reality.
PMI research also found that sustainability is the number one predictor of project success - ranking ahead of project methodology, governance, and every traditional delivery factor. While sustainability drives innovation and boosts value realization, more than half of organizations (59%) do not fully integrate it at the project and function level, limiting its competitive impact.
“Sustainability has often been a side agenda or a signaling exercise. But it is now increasingly tied to business resilience, competitiveness, and long-term value creation,” said Pierre Le Manh, President & CEO, PMI. “Our research shows that projects built around sustainability succeed at nearly twice the rate of those that are not. The challenge for leaders now, beyond embedding sustainability into strategy, is how to build the organizations to deliver on it.”
