Embedding Sustainability in Project Portfolios: Drivers, Barriers, and Learning Mechanisms in the Extractive Sector

  Innovation   Portfolio Management   Sustainability  

Sustainability is no longer optional for extractive firms (mining, oil, and gas); it is central to competitiveness, social license, and long-term value. The white paper entitled Embedding Sustainability in Project Portfolios shows how companies can embed sustainability into project portfolio management (PPM), moving beyond compliance to make it a driver of efficiency, innovation, and stakeholder trust.

Drawing on 24 in-depth interviews with senior practitioners across strategy, portfolio, and project delivery levels in major extractive firms, the study pursues two objectives:

1. First, it identifies the main barriers and drivers that shape the integration of sustainability into PPM.
2. Second, it examines how organizational learning mechanisms (search, knowledge creation, knowledge retention, and knowledge transfer) enable or constrain the uptake and institutionalization of sustainability across portfolios

Findings from the research
The findings show that sustainability in organizations is driven by strong executive commitment, external stakeholder expectations, global sustainability frameworks, collaborative learning cultures, and integrated sustainability tools.

However, it is hindered by short-term financial pressures, regulatory uncertainty, cultural resistance, fragmented knowledge systems, limited sustainability skills, and competing operational …

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