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How can sustainability be effectively be integrated in project management education?

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Babatunde Salami Senior Lecturer in Project Management with interests in Project Intelligence| Cardiff School of Management, Cardiff Metropolitan University Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom
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Francisco Matheus Chagas
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Project & PMO Manager | Research & Enterprise Mentor| GFB Holding South America, Brazil
To effectively integrate sustainability into project management education, curricula must shift from a purely profit-driven focus to a holistic consideration of environmental, social, and economic impacts. This involves teaching future project managers to view "resources" broadly: encompassing natural assets, personal well-being, and team cohesion.

Education should emphasize understanding and respecting ecological limits, promoting resource efficiency, and embedding circular economy principles, such as recycling and waste reduction, into project lifecycles. Furthermore, it's crucial to cultivate an appreciation for diverse people's values, fostering ethical decision-making, stakeholder engagement, and social responsibility throughout project planning and execution.

Ultimately, sustainability in project management education means equipping professionals with the knowledge and tools to lead projects that are not only successful but also responsible, resilient, and regenerative, ensuring a balanced approach to progress.
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Luis Branco CEO| Business Insight, Consultores de Gestão, Ldª Carcavelos, Lisboa, Portugal

Babatunde Salami
Integrating sustainability into project management education requires more than adding a module or a checklist, it demands a shift in mindset.

Effective integration begins when sustainability is treated as a strategic lens, not a peripheral topic.
This means embedding it across the curriculum: from stakeholder analysis to risk management, from project selection to benefits realization.

What does this look like in practice?

- Teaching trade-offs between short-term deliverables and long-term impact.
- Using real-world case studies that include social, environmental, and ethical dimensions.
- Encouraging learners to design projects with systemic awareness — considering the triple bottom line: People, Planet, Profit.
- Introducing frameworks like the UN SDGs, ESG criteria, or regenerative design principles to reframe project value.

Ultimately, sustainability in project education shouldn't be a topic.
It should be a design principle that shapes how future project leaders think, decide, and lead.

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