A good part of PMI president and CEO Gergory Balestrero's opening remarks last Sunday afternoon at global congress centered on sustainability--and how project managers and the profession can play a huge part. PMI has started to play its part by announcing a new strategic principle:
PMI shall take actions and make decisions in a socially and environmentally responsible way.
The sustainability effort has been brewing within PMI for a while now. Just take a look at the current issue of PM Network (now and forever on recycled paper), which is completely devoted to the topic.
And for those of us who get to hear Mr. Balestrero speak on a regular basis, you will notice that he often touches on the important role project managers and project management can play in the sustainability effort.
When econsense official Thomas Koenen signed up to serve as the keynoter for the PMI global congress in Malta earlier this year, Mr. Balestrero said, "Social responsibility is no longer the whim of an environmentally sensitive CEO. It has become a mandate for all organizations in every operation. Project managers must recognize and address this mandate now and into the future."
Good sentiments, indeed. Throughout the year, however, I sometimes speak to in-the-trenches project managers who don't share the same point of view. They say social responsibility is nothing more than a "feel good" effort and argue the topic as it relates to the profession is on overkill.
While this group may represent the minority, I wonder what PMI will do to convert these holdouts--and how they will raise the bar for sustainable project management around the world.
PMI shall take actions and make decisions in a socially and environmentally responsible way.
The sustainability effort has been brewing within PMI for a while now. Just take a look at the current issue of PM Network (now and forever on recycled paper), which is completely devoted to the topic.
And for those of us who get to hear Mr. Balestrero speak on a regular basis, you will notice that he often touches on the important role project managers and project management can play in the sustainability effort.
When econsense official Thomas Koenen signed up to serve as the keynoter for the PMI global congress in Malta earlier this year, Mr. Balestrero said, "Social responsibility is no longer the whim of an environmentally sensitive CEO. It has become a mandate for all organizations in every operation. Project managers must recognize and address this mandate now and into the future."
Good sentiments, indeed. Throughout the year, however, I sometimes speak to in-the-trenches project managers who don't share the same point of view. They say social responsibility is nothing more than a "feel good" effort and argue the topic as it relates to the profession is on overkill.
While this group may represent the minority, I wonder what PMI will do to convert these holdouts--and how they will raise the bar for sustainable project management around the world.
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