This chapter introduces the four parts with in total 27 chapters of this Research Handbook on Sustainable Project Management. The book provides a comprehensive overview of research into the role of projects in sustainable development, and the integration of sustainability into the processes and practices of project management. After a short overview of the background and development of sustainable project management, each chapter is briefly described. This introductory chapter concludes with an outlook to the future, in which the authors conclude that sustainable project management is now a well-developed concept. However, the book also shows that the operationalization of the societal perspective in an organization’s sustainability strategy, the projects it develops to realize this strategy, and the behaviour of individuals that implement these projects, is still challenging. Reflecting on the contents of the chapters, a research agenda for the future development of sustainable project management is proposed.
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Alvarez-Dionisi, L.E., Turner, R. & Mittra, M. (2016) Global project management trends. International Journal of Information Technology Project Management, 7, 54–73.
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Andersen, E. S. (2008) Rethinking Project Management: An Organisational Perspective. Harlow, UK: Prentice Hall.
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Bell, S. & Morse, S. (2005) Delivering sustainability therapy in sustainable development projects. Journal of Environmental Management, 75, 37–51.
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Bell, S. & Morse, S. (2008) Sustainability Indicators: Measuring the Immeasurable (2nd ed.). London: Earthscan.
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Eskerod, P. & Huemann, M. (2013) Sustainable development and project stakeholder management: what standards say. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, 6(1), 36–50.
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Freitas Netto, S.V. de, Sobral, M.F.F., Ribeiro, A.R.B. et al. (2020) Concepts and forms of greenwashing: A systematic review. Environmental Sciences Europe, 32, 19.
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Friedman, M. (1970) The social responsibility of business is to increase its profits. The New York Times Magazine.
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Gemünden, H.G. (2016) Project governance and sustainability—Two major themes in project management research and practice. Project Management Journal, 47, 3–6.
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Huemann, M. (2022) Celebrating the power of projects and their management. International Journal of Project Management, 40(1), 1–3.
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Huemann, M. & Silvius, A.J.G. (2017) Editorial: Projects to create the future: Managing projects meets sustainable development. International Journal of Project Management, 35(6), 1066–1070.
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Huemann, M., Wald, A., Ingason, H.T. & Ding, R. (2023) Call for papers: Welcome to the project society! Projectification and project-orientation of society. International Journal of Project Management, 41, 102511.
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Ika, I. & Munro, L.T. (2022) Tackling grand challenges with projects: Five insights and a research agenda for project management theory and practice. International Journal of Project Management, 40(6), 601–607.
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International Organization for Standardization (2010) ISO 26000:2010, Guidance on Social Responsibility, Geneva.
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International Organization for Standardization (2017) ISO 21505:2017, Guidance on Governance of Project, Programme and Portfolio Management, Geneva.
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International Project Management Association (2015) Individual Competence Baseline version 4, International Project Management Association, Nijkerk, the Netherlands.
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Labuschagne, C. & Brent, A. C. (2005) Sustainable project life cycle management: The need to integrate life cycles in the manufacturing sector. International Journal of Project Management, 23(2), 159–168.
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Loorbach, D., & Wijsman, K. (2013) Business transition management: Exploring a new role for business in sustainability transitions. Journal of Cleaner Production, 45, 20–28.
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Marcelino-Sádaba, S., Pérez-Ezcurdia, A. & González-Jaen, L.F. (2015) Using Project Management as a way to sustainability. From a comprehensive review to a framework definition. Journal of Cleaner Production, 99, 1–16.
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Maltzman, R. & Shirley, D. (2010) Green Project Management. Boca Raton, FL USA: CRC Press.
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Peterson, H. (2009) Transformational supply chains and the ‘wicked problem’ of sustainability: Aligning knowledge, innovation, entrepreneurship, and leadership. Journal on Chain and Network Science, 9(2), 71–82.
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PeopleCert (2023) Managing Successful Projects with PRINCE2 (7th edn), London: PeopleCert.
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Project Management Institute (2021) A Guide to Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide) (7th edn), Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute.
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Sabini, L., Muzio, D. & Alderman, N. (2019) 25 years of ‘sustainable projects’. What we know and what the literature says. International Journal of Project Management, 37, 820–838.
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Sabini, L. & Silvius, A.J.G. (2023) Embracing Complexity in Sustainable Project Management, in Winch, G. (ed.) Research Handbook on Complex Project Organizing, Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing.
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Silvius, A.J.G. (2017) Sustainability as a new school of thought in project management. Journal of Cleaner Production, 166, 1479–1493.
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Silvius, A.J.G. & Schipper, R. (2014) Sustainability in project management: A literature review and impact analysis. Social Business, 4(1), 63–96.
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Silvius, A.J.G., Schipper, R., Planko, J., Brink, J. van der & Köhler, A. (2012) Sustainability in Project Management, Farnham, UK: Gower Publishing.
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Schoper, Y. and Ingason, H.T. (2019) Projectification and the impact on societies. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, 12(3), 517–521.
