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Sustainability in Project Management in the Digital Transition Era: Principles, Tools and Practice

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 February 2023) | Viewed by 42818

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Raquel Castro Madureira

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Guest Editor
Research Unit on Governance, Competitiveness and Public Policies (GOVCOPP), Department of Economics, Management, Industrial Engineering and Tourism (DEGEIT) Universidade de Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
Interests: smart cities; engineering and technology; waste management; energy sustainability; management sustainability; public policies
Prof. Dr. Marlene Amorim

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Guest Editor
Department of Economics Management Industrial engineering and Tourism, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-192 Aveiro, Portugal
Interests: service operations; service quality; innovation; digitalization
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Marta Ferreira Dias

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Guest Editor
Research Unit on Governance, Competitiveness and Public Policies (GOVCOPP), Department of Economics, Management, Industrial Engineering and Tourism (DEGEIT) Universidade de Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
Interests: energy policy and regulation; energy economics; energy markets; energy demand and supply; consumer behaviour; eco-innovation; sustainability
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Cláudia Margarida de Sousa e Silva

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Guest Editor
Research unit in Governance, Competitiveness, and Public Policies, Águeda School of Technology and Management, University of Aveiro GOVCOPP, Aveiro, Portugal
Interests: project management; sustainability; quality management; agile management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Sustainable Project Management is the planning, monitoring and controlling of project delivery and support processes, with consideration of the environmental, economical and social aspects of the life-cycle of the project.

In a world of global digital transition the achievement of the sustainable objectives in business activities for 2030 is one of the key elements of project evaluation. It determines the go/no go for subsidization and the go/no go for delivering certain products to the market. The digital transformation will put project managers ahead of new problems, but also new methods and new techniques to scope them.

Project Managers must also be aware of this new reality and start to adopt measures from the very beginning of the life cycle process project management and take decisions consciously, considering all relevant aspects in the best managing practices.

The science no longer evolves by breaking the edges of knowledge all alone but with a systematic and analytic sense of sustainability toward a common objective: protecting our habitat.

Thus, this Special Issue aims to create a guide of good principles, tools, and practices for project managers helping them assesshow “sustainable is my project management processes ” in both the real and the virtual worlds along the life cycle of project development.

Prof. Dr. Raquel Castro Madureira
Dr. Marlene Amorim
Prof. Dr. Marta Dias
Dr. Cláudia Margarida de Sousa e Silva
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Project management
  • Sustainability
  • Digital transition
  • Sustainable development goals

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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22 pages, 2324 KiB  
Article
Exploring the Values of a Sustainable Project Manager
by Ruben van der Sluijs and Gilbert Silvius
Sustainability 2023, 15(10), 8006; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15108006 - 14 May 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2345
Abstract
An important project management trend today is Sustainable Project Management. The project manager plays a pivotal role in the sustainability of his/her project, and studies into the stimulus of project managers for sustainability show that the project manager’s intended behavior with regards to [...] Read more.
An important project management trend today is Sustainable Project Management. The project manager plays a pivotal role in the sustainability of his/her project, and studies into the stimulus of project managers for sustainability show that the project manager’s intended behavior with regards to sustainability in and of the project is mainly driven by his/her personal attitude towards sustainability. Sustainability is therefore considered a personal trait. The study reported in this article investigates how the values that are underlying to this attitude are therefore a project manager’s intrinsic motivation for sustainability. The study deployed a survey-based design with 116 responses, in which the correlation between a project manager’s values and the motivation for sustainability was explored. The study revealed five values that are positively correlated to the motivation for sustainability and five that are negatively motivated. Values that are negatively related to the motivation for sustainability have a strong personal focus and are related to conforming to rules, whereas values that are positively related have a more social focus. The study provides guidance for organizations that aim to develop the motivation of their project managers for sustainability, and shows that sustainability is not a personal trait, but a personal value. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability in Project Management in the Digital Transition Era: Principles, Tools and Practice)
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22 pages, 1097 KiB  
Article
Think Twice to Achieve a Sustainable Project Management: From Ecological Sustainability towards the Sustainable Project Management Cube Model
by Raquel Castro Madureira, Cláudia Sousa Silva, Marlene Amorim, Marta Ferreira Dias, Bruno Lins and Gisela Mello
Sustainability 2022, 14(6), 3436; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14063436 - 15 Mar 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 5667
Abstract
This work aims at contributing to a new Sustainable Project Management (SPM) paradigm, focusing on the role of project managers as a key element. The contribution of this research has both practical and theoretical implications. It presents the first results of a project [...] Read more.
This work aims at contributing to a new Sustainable Project Management (SPM) paradigm, focusing on the role of project managers as a key element. The contribution of this research has both practical and theoretical implications. It presents the first results of a project developed under the Erasmus+ program Think Twice, recommending a set of ecological practices to motivate and develop project managers’ skills to adopt Sustainable Project Management. Subsequently, supported by a literature review and content analysis of the data collected for this project, an original conceptual model is presented: the Project Management Triple Sustainability Cube. This tool is intended to guide project managers on their journey to sustainability in project management, comprehensively and systematically. To this end, the tool outlines guidelines for adopting comprehensive practices according to the triple bottom line sustainability vectors (environmental, social, and economic) relating to people, processes, and innovative solutions (go/no digital) throughout the project life cycle. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability in Project Management in the Digital Transition Era: Principles, Tools and Practice)
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18 pages, 6860 KiB  
Article
From Macro to Micro: Impact of Smart Turbine Energy Harvesters (STEH), on Environmental Sustainability and Smart City Automation
by Ajibike Eunice Akin-Ponnle, Felisberto Sequeira Pereira, Raquel Castro Madureira and Nuno Borges Carvalho
Sustainability 2022, 14(3), 1887; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14031887 - 7 Feb 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2606
Abstract
In the digital transition era of scaling down from macro through micro turbine; to the setting up of Smart Turbine Energy Harvesters (STEH), this paper presents Project Management (PM) principles applicable and best practices to meet the increasing energy demand of digitised technology. [...] Read more.
In the digital transition era of scaling down from macro through micro turbine; to the setting up of Smart Turbine Energy Harvesters (STEH), this paper presents Project Management (PM) principles applicable and best practices to meet the increasing energy demand of digitised technology. The massive deployment of autonomous devices such as those for Internet of Things (IoT), for the support of smart cities, has necessitated more research about their energy demands. With the use of ‘waterfall’ Project Management Methodology (PMM), turbine grid-connected energy are classified into different categories, and comparative study is made between scaling down of turbine grid from macro to micro, to the economic impact of setting up of STEH. This study concludes by proposing the use of STEH, which is an onsite green energy harvesting scheme that is self-sustaining; ubiquitous; and long lasting; as preferable source to other categories of turbine grid system. Additionally, it is an improvement on energy harvesting (EH) mechanisms using battery; whose replacement and disposal are not economical. STEH is considered economical and time saving with little or no physical and investment risk attached, the Return on Investment (RI) is considered favourable. Also, the energy delivery is sufficient for the requirement of IoT and Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability in Project Management in the Digital Transition Era: Principles, Tools and Practice)
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25 pages, 6352 KiB  
Article
Stakeholders’ Perceptions of New Digital Energy Management Platform in Municipality of Loulé, Southern Portugal: A SWOT-AHP Analysis
by David Gago, Paula Mendes, Pedro Murta, Nuno Cabrita and Margarida Ribau Teixeira
Sustainability 2022, 14(3), 1445; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14031445 - 27 Jan 2022
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 3106
Abstract
This study aimed to develop a multi-stakeholder analysis to identify the best strategies for the integration of a new Digital Energy Management Platform (DEMP). The municipality of Loulé (South of Portugal) was used as a case study. A Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats [...] Read more.
This study aimed to develop a multi-stakeholder analysis to identify the best strategies for the integration of a new Digital Energy Management Platform (DEMP). The municipality of Loulé (South of Portugal) was used as a case study. A Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) framework combined with an Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) framework and a TOWS Matrix was employed to analyse the stakeholder’s perceptions to propose strategies for integrating the DEMP. Five focus stakeholder groups were involved. Results showed that stakeholders considered that the positive aspects of DEMP outweigh the negative aspects by approximately 36%. Strengths were ranked with 34.4%, Opportunities with 33.8%, Weaknesses with 20.2%, and Threats with 11.6%. The sequence of factors with the highest overall score by stakeholders was O1(12.7%) > S2(11.1%) > W2(7.4%) > T3(4.1%). Based on stakeholder perceptions, the most suitable strategies were those that use Strengths and Opportunities of the system (SO strategies), and strategies that take advantage of Opportunities while dealing with Weaknesses (WO strategies), achieving a prevalence compared with the other strategies of 34% and 27%, respectively. Therefore, the participation process involving stakeholders’ groups in the implementation and monitoring of the DEMP provided an action plan and consensus capable of meeting the environmental and municipal energy management challenges. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability in Project Management in the Digital Transition Era: Principles, Tools and Practice)
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17 pages, 622 KiB  
Article
Role of the Project Management Office in University Research Centres
by Gabriela Fernandes, Hugo Sousa, Anabela Tereso and David O’Sullivan
Sustainability 2021, 13(21), 12284; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132112284 - 7 Nov 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 5357
Abstract
University Research Centres (URCs) have become a primary organisational structure in universities for bringing together a critical mass of multidisciplinary research interests that can compete for large, funded research projects and create breakthrough research results. Some of the more successful URCs are now [...] Read more.
University Research Centres (URCs) have become a primary organisational structure in universities for bringing together a critical mass of multidisciplinary research interests that can compete for large, funded research projects and create breakthrough research results. Some of the more successful URCs are now developing specialised project management offices (PMOs) that can coordinate key activities, from proposal development to project execution, and ensure that research results are disseminated. A key challenge for URCs is to define what roles, functions, and competencies such a PMO should have. This research identifies a number of key attributes of PMOs that meet the unique challenges of URCs. This paper presents an initial conceptualisation of roles and functions developed from a literature review and that are later tested via a detailed survey among 370 URC participants involved in collaborative R&D projects worldwide. The study suggests that there are three PMO maturity stages: ‘basic’, ‘intermediate’, and ‘advanced’. The resulting conceptualisation highlights six functions for a ‘basic’ PMO stage, an additional ten functions for an ‘intermediate’ PMO stage, and a further ten functions for ‘advanced’ PMO. The research presented provides guidance and decision support to URCs when selecting the role that a PMO should play for achieving tangible and intangible project benefits. Although the study suggests a lengthy list of functions, none of these should be considered in isolation. Most of the functions interact with each other and affect the PMOs’ impact within the URC in various ways. The paper contributes to the transformative and evolutionary nature of PMOs, and illustrates that universities are receptive and even demanding of the need to create an effective PMO to improve the operation of major R&D projects and programs and create greater societal impact by URCs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability in Project Management in the Digital Transition Era: Principles, Tools and Practice)
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17 pages, 1002 KiB  
Article
Project Management in the Biotech Context: Exploring the Interrelation between Maturity and Sustainable Project Management
by José Magano, Cláudia Sousa Silva and Micaela Martins
Sustainability 2021, 13(21), 12090; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132112090 - 2 Nov 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3748
Abstract
Biotechnology is an emerging and increasingly important sector in the current context. As the number of biotech projects grows, so does the need to establish processes to improve project management effectiveness and project success, including assessing their impacts (positive and negative) on the [...] Read more.
Biotechnology is an emerging and increasingly important sector in the current context. As the number of biotech projects grows, so does the need to establish processes to improve project management effectiveness and project success, including assessing their impacts (positive and negative) on the Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs). This broader approach opens the door to developing a new project management (PM) paradigm designated by sustainable project management (SPM). However, there is a need for more empirical studies to understand how sustainability can be integrated into project management. This research is based on the proposition that PM maturity could lead to incorporating sustainability in PM. No research studies are reported in the literature exploring this interrelationship between maturity and sustainable project management; such is this study’s purpose and originality. The study applies Kerzner’s Level 3 PM maturity model on a sample of 96 biotech companies in Portugal through a questionnaire that addressed project managers and team members. The findings suggest that the process of integrating sustainability into PM should follow these steps: (1) perform an early PM maturity diagnosis to identify the company’s most and least dominated areas; (2) identify the strengths and weaknesses that impact the integration of sustainability into project management practices; (3) develop a customized and adjusted action plan to integrate sustainability in PM. The study’s main contribution relies on understanding how sustainability can be integrated into project management, explaining the role of maturity assessment in this process. In addition, it characterizes the biotech industry projects concerning the linkage between PM maturity and sustainability and provides recommendations that may contribute to the companies’ development towards sustainable project management. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability in Project Management in the Digital Transition Era: Principles, Tools and Practice)
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Review

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18 pages, 1746 KiB  
Review
Sustainability and the Digital Transition: A Literature Review
by Albérico Travassos Rosário and Joana Carmo Dias
Sustainability 2022, 14(7), 4072; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14074072 - 29 Mar 2022
Cited by 98 | Viewed by 17254
Abstract
The digital transition processes have demonstrated an enormous capacity to develop and implement sustainable solutions, which allow solving several problems such as poverty, high rates of species extinction and lack of equal opportunity. However, little attention is paid to the connection between the [...] Read more.
The digital transition processes have demonstrated an enormous capacity to develop and implement sustainable solutions, which allow solving several problems such as poverty, high rates of species extinction and lack of equal opportunity. However, little attention is paid to the connection between the digital transition and sustainability. Thus, a systematic bibliometric literature review was developed to fill this knowledge gap and demonstrate the potential contributions of the digital transition to environmental, economic, and social sustainability aspects. In environmental sustainability, the digital transition involves the application of technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), big data analytics, Internet of Things (IoT), and mobile technologies that are used to develop and implement sustainability solutions in areas such as sustainable urban development, sustainable production, and pollution control. In economic sustainability, emerging digital technologies can drive transformation into a more sustainable circular economy, the digital sharing economy, and establish sustainable manufacturing and infrastructure design. In the digital transition to social sustainability, the studies analyzed demonstrate the need for multidimensional policy perspectives to address the current digital divide. For effective management of the digital transition that achieves sustainability goals, the study discusses alternative approaches that include innovation through experimentation and dynamic and sustainable advantages achievable through temporary benefits. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability in Project Management in the Digital Transition Era: Principles, Tools and Practice)
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