۱- Introduction

۲- Literature review

۳- Methodology

۴- Results

۵- Discussion

۶- Conclusion

References

Abstract

Sustainability is becoming increasingly important in the delivery of projects as stakeholders require ethicality, eco-friendliness, and economic efficiency during a project’s life cycle. Previous studies focused on the environmental aspects of sustainability in project deliverables, whereas less attention has been directed at sustainable project management during project delivery. The goal of this study is to identify the control practices that a project organization uses for sustainable project management. A qualitative single-case study was conducted on a large infrastructure project in which a road tunnel was constructed in a highly demanding environment, involving multiple stakeholders in an alliance contract. The results reveal that sustainable project management is implemented using not only indicators but a holistic control package in which control mechanisms are used differently for different sustainability dimensions. Internal project control is complemented with sustainable project governance, linking the project to its external stakeholders and regulations. The alliance contract activates the partners to exploit innovation opportunities and, thus, promotes economic, environmental, and social sustainability.

Introduction

Projects may succeed and fail in terms of how they reach their goals and how they are managed (Lehtonen and Martinsuo, 2006). The achievement of project goals requires efficient project control (Nieminen and Lehtonen, 2008). Recently, companies and researchers have become increasingly concerned with sustainability as a project goal and as a characteristic of the process through which the project is managed (Gareis et al., 2013; Silvius and Schipper, 2014). Although much research attention has been directed at sustainability-oriented performance indicators and assessment, less is known about sustainable project management, that is, the practices through which projects are controlled to ensure the achievement of their sustainability goals. This study explores the use of project control in sustainable project management in an infrastructure delivery project. There is no widely agreed on definition for sustainability or sustainable project management (Aarseth et al., in press). Most of the literature builds on the Brundtland Commission’s definition of sustainable development: “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (World Commission on Environment and Development, WCED, 1987). Despite the high number of different definitions (over 100 according to Aarseth et al., in press), there is a common agreement that sustainability can be divided into three individual, but interlinked and equally important, dimensions: economic, social, and environmental sustainability (Elkington, ۱۹۹۷, e.g., 1994). This so-called triple bottom-line approach (e.g. Silvius and Schipper, 2014) encourages treating environmental and social issues in the same way as economic aspects when doing business. One potential area for practical implementation of sustainability is sustainable project management. In project management, attention is clearly moving from immediate project goals to broader business benefits (Atkinson, 1999; Shenhar et al., 2001) and dimensions of value that are more versatile (Martinsuo and Killen, 2014). Companies need ways to incorporate sustainability into project management processes and shift from focusing on the iron triangle of cost, time, and quality to broader impacts (e.g. Silvius and Schipper, 2014). Acknowledging sustainability is extremely important in delivery projects where the deliverables and processes may have a substantial impact environmentally and socially. It is not enough for the company to evaluate the sustainability of the project deliverable, but the project delivery process has to be sustainable as well.