Sustainability is not just about protecting the environment or seeking environmentally friendly ‘green’ credentials for our projects. It is much more, and it is becoming increasingly important every day. Sustainability is about ensuring that access to the resources, environments, cultures and lifestyles that we enjoy today, are there to also be enjoyed by future generations.

Increasing pollution, loss of cultures, peak mining and resource extraction, financial crisis, pandemics, and climate change, are a few of many examples of the complex challenges we face in this rapidly changing world we live in, now and in the future.

If we take the concept of sustainability seriously and broaden its application beyond the green washing that we so often see, we have a better chance to manage the challenges our world is presenting to us.

Project planning and project management play an important role in the implementation of sustainability in projects. This can be achieved by delivering projects that create solutions to the challenges we face, and / or by embedding sustainability principles around people, place and profit into the governance and delivery project frameworks.

Establishing sustainability principles in project governance frameworks broadens the governance teams outlook and, makes sure that the project can contribute to solving some of these issues. This requires diverse thinking, problem solving, awareness of the project in the broader context, and independent thought.

Projects are a great vehicle to respond to and create change, and I see that project managers and project teams have a great opportunity to make some of these changes happen. We have the skill set, the knowledge, and the tenacity to get things done.

At Core Project Advisory, we are on the journey to embed sustainability principles in what we do and to act on them. Formally we have kicked off this journey with the publication of our Corporate Social Responsibility Report.

To find out more visit our website at www.corepa.com.au.