Creating, fostering and communicating sustainability:

The virtuous relationship between your projects’ benefits

and the Sustainable Development Goals

ADVISORY ARTICLE

By Manuel M. Ancizu Beramendi

Pamplona, Spain

Abstract

Creating, fostering and communicating sustainability: the virtuous relationship between your projects’ benefits and the Sustainable Development Goals⁽¹⁾. In this article, the author explores five impactful steps to:

visually connect the projects’ benefits with the Sustainable Development Goals set by United Nations.
communicate the positive value created and the contribution to improving the world we live in to internal and external stakeholders.

Introduction

Are you looking for a creative idea to give visibility to and engage your external and internal stakeholders on the way your projects’ benefits improve the world we live in?

Visibility is usually very linked to communication and awareness; a visual way to communicate is to show to what extent your projects’ benefits and deliverables contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by United Nations (UN).

There are seventeen SDGs and each of them is connected with thousands of projects around the world: from the construction of wells in remote areas, infrastructure, digital transformation to develop smart cities, renewable energies that change the energy mix towards a greener sustainable one, quality education for all, etc.; these projects are part of the solution for a better world as they are the necessary link to transform the SDGs into concrete, measurable results that really add value to citizens, communities and the environment.

Public-private collaboration is a key element of the United Nations strategy; in this sense, in recent years, many companies have been explicitly linking and connecting the lines of their strategic plans and their projects’ benefits with the SDGs in order to (among others):

Give visibility to their stakeholders and society of their commitment to sustainability as socially responsible companies.
Inspire their employees and attract new talent at the same time, showing the relationship between day-to-day activities and the SDGs; working in companies and projects that aim to improve the world as part of their activity is important for many people (including myself), gives meaning to their work and reinforces their involvement with the organization.
Be included in indices of sustainable companies (such us Dow Jones Sustainability Index⁽²⁾, for example), increasing their visibility and opening up new financing (accessing international funds that only invest in companies classified as sustainable) and commercial possibilities (being able to participate in international tenders where sustainability is a core value in the specifications).

More…

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How to cite this article: Ancizu Beramendi, M. M. (2021). Creating, fostering and communicating sustainability: the virtuous relationship between your projects’ benefits and the Sustainable Development Goals, PM World Journal, Vol. X, Issue XII, December. Available online at https://pmworldlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/pmwj112-Dec2021-Ancizu-creating-fostering-communicating-sustainability.pdf

About the Author

Manuel Ancizu

Pamplona, Spain

Human leadership, Global Sustainable Projects, Renewable energy, Story-teller, Keynote speaker, Lifetime learner, Risk management, Standardization

Manuel Ancizu is passionate about human leadership, sustainable projects and people’s motivations. Enjoys working in international multicultural environments and wants to have a positive impact in society.

Manuel graduated in Economics from University of Navarra and obtained an MBA from IESE Business School (Spain); he has also studied in CEIBS (China) and University Anahuac del Sur (Mexico). He holds a number of professional certificates such as the PMP by Project Management Institute, Lead Auditor in ISO 9001:2015 by IRCA Association and has also received training in Management of Development Projects and Risk Management by Interamerican Development Bank (IDB).

Manuel has lived in Spain, France, UK and Mexico; he currently works in the wind energy sector leading the quality management of Offshore projects. Manuel has been involved in wind energy renewable projects developed in different parts of the globe with external customers, as well as in internal projects of cultural transformation, IT and global processes.

Thanks to his experience, he has delivered training sessions, lectures and keynotes to a different number of institutions.

Manuel is a qualified member of the Spanish Standardization Body (UNE) and has been involved in the development of Standards and Norms in Projects, Programs and Portfolios; he has also participated in the translation of different ISO 21500 to Spanish language.

Manuel loves smiling, storytelling, dreaming and making ideas come true in a sustainable manner.

Manuel lives in Pamplona, Spain and can be contacted at manuel@manuelancizu.com