FEATURED PAPER
By Antonioa Bassi, Jonathan Bertossa, Simone Cirelli,
Katiuscya Gianini-Cusumano, Michela Manini Mondia,
Cendresa Rexha, Juri Rodoni, Simona Sala Tesciat,
Christian Sefrin, Raffaele Scarinzi, Malcolm Tunzi
Department of Innovative Technology
University of Applied Science and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI)
Lugano-Viganello, Switzerland
Short Abstract
Very often, sustainability is rooted in the genes of companies, establishing in-house programmes and projects that aim to achieve a level of sustainability over time that is integrated into corporate strategies.
The concept of sustainability initially originated in relation to the environment but recently it has been also implemented in other areas such as social impact and good governance. These three macro aspects are recognised by the acronym E.S.G – Environmental, Social, Governance – and are also indicators that allow to analyse the activity of a company, not only on financial aspects, but also from an environmental, social, and good governance perspective.
Companies will have to move from a model in which they simply consume materials, energy, time, and human resources skills to one in which they instead manage a responsible relationship with materials, energy, and people values. It will be necessary to go through a very important transition to prepare their organisation, their production infrastructure, their people, and their governance to support this new model.
The role of the PM in these transitions is of fundamental and absolute importance.
The research will focus on the following topics:
- Identification.
- PM & Sustainability.
- Environmental.
- Social.
- Governance.
The purpose of the entire research is to analyse the current situation and to assess the maturity of project managers and organisations with regards to the topic of sustainability, measuring in particular ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) aspects and establishing whether these criteria are used within the project management context.
With this data and information, it will be possible to identify which components have the greatest potential for improvement, and it will be possible to make project managers and organisations aware of project sustainability aspects.
The Department of Innovative Technologies (DTI) of the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI), as a training and research institute, will therefore be able, on one hand, to define courses or study programmes to fill these gaps; on the other hand, to continue to disseminate useful information and content on the subject and to raise awareness in organisations of the importance of sustainability in project management.
Keywords: sustainability, project manager, role, ESG, sustainability project
Paper type: Academic Research Paper
1 Introduction
Very often, sustainability is rooted in the genes of companies, establishing in-house programmes and projects that aim to achieve a level of sustainability over time that is integrated into corporate strategies.
The concept of sustainability initially originated in relation to the environment but recently it has been also implemented in other areas such as social impact and good governance. These three macro aspects are recognised by the acronym E.S.G – Environmental, Social, Governance – and are also indicators that allow to analyse the activity of a company, not only on financial aspects, but also from an environmental, social, and good governance perspective.
Companies that choose to adhere to the E.S.G. protocol with international standards (e.g., the UN Sustainable Development Goals) are going to focus on these three macro aspects, guaranteeing the compliance with certain measures and setting goals to be pursued in the medium and long term.
Companies will have to move from a model in which they simply consume materials, energy, time, and human resources skills to one in which they instead manage a responsible relationship with materials, energy, and people values. It will be necessary to go through a very important transition to prepare their organisation, their production infrastructure, their people, and their governance to support this new model.
The role of the PM in these transitions is of fundamental and absolute importance, and for this reason, the Department of Innovative Technologies (DTI) of University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI), launched this study in September 2022, focusing on how the role of the PM can be a key player in corporate sustainability goals.
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How to cite this paper: Bassi, A., Bertossa, J., Cirelli, S., Gianini-Cusumano, K., Mondia, M. M., Rexha, C., Rodoni, J., Tesciat, S. S., Sefrin, C., Scarinzi, R., Tunzi, M. (2023). PM Role on Sustainability Objectives; PM World Journal, Vol. XII, Issue XI, November. Available online at https://pmworldlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/pmwj135-Nov2023-Bassi-et-al-project-management-role-on-sustainability-objectives-2.pdf
About the Authors
Antonio Bassi, graduated in Electronic Engineering, certified Project Management Professional (PMP), member of the Steering Committee of the Project Management Institute – Northern-Italy-Chapter (PMI-NIC) 2004-2008, Lecturer in Project Management at SUPSI, member of the UNI project team for the definition of the ISO21500 and ISO21505 the new norms for project Management, held for 20 years as Project/Program Manager in the context of innovative projects in different market sectors. Antonio is the corresponding author for this paper; he can be contacted at Antonio.bassi@supsi.ch
Jonathan Bertossa, graduated SSS. in Information Technology, master’s degree in project, Program and Portfolio Management (in progress), certified IT Lean Foundation, 18 years of working experience in Healthcare and Information Technology in the Public Hospitals based in Ticino. Since 2017 Project Management Officer and Project Manager into the IT Governance team.
Simone Cirelli, graduated in Electronic Engineering, CAS Project Management, CAS Advanced PM (in progress) 10 years of working experience in FTTx Rollout construction. Since 2020 Value owner at Swisscom (Schweiz) AG.
Katiuscya Gianini-Cusumano, Masters degree in Project, Program and Portfolio Management (in Progress), Certified Marketing Consultant, graduated Executive Trainer APF-FFA2, CAS Specialist RVAE (Recognition and Validation of Acquired Experience) and Balance of Competencies, CAS Soft Skills Development PM. Committee member of the APM Ticino (Association Project Management Ticino). Deep experience in executive coaching for the empowerment of human resources supporting innovative change processes enabling development of new business models.
Michela Manini Mondia, Masters degree in Business Administration; Agile Coach and Team facilitator certified. Lecturer and responsible at Supsi DTI – Certificate Advanced Studies “Develop adaptive, agile and sustainable organisations”. Strong experience in digital transformation driving companies to innovate by accomplishing emerging skills and modelling new agile processes based on collaboration, communication, and adaptive leadership.
Cendresa Rexha, graduated in business economics, Masters degree in Project, Program and Portfolio Management (in Progress) member of the APM Ticino (Association Project Management Ticino), 7 years of experience in Project Management and Controlling for a Multinational engineering Company. Since 2020 Portfolio Manager for infrastructure projects for the leading Swiss railway company.
Juri Rodoni Graduated SSS mechanics and electronics, CAS Project Management, CAS Advanced PM, CAS Senior PM. 17 years of working experience Research and development of new products for the food industry, avionics, and municipal vehicles. Since 2021 manager for technology and projects for the service centre in the Public Hospitals based in Ticino.
Simona Sala Tesciat, Master of Science in Architecture, Masters degree in Project, Program and Portfolio Management (in progress), more than 10 years of working experience as architect and project manager, projects located in Switzerland and worldwide, focus on food & life science projects, future cities and innovation.
Raffaele Scarinzi, Bachelor of Science HES-SO in electrical engineering. CAS HES-SO Genève in project management. 6 years of working experience in the international high voltage industry as project manager and technical office supervisor introducing new products in the worldwide market. 3 years of experience in Operating and safety equipment Engineering. Since 2022 responsible for the Electrical Substations and High Voltage lines in an energy provider based in Ticino, south Switzerland.
Cristian Sefrin, Masters degree in Project, Program and Portfolio Management (in Progress), bachelor of Management Engineering, 5 years’ experience in Terminal Operating System (TOS) as Senior consultant and Project Manager, automation expert.
Malcolm Tunzi graduated SSS. in Information Technology, Masters degree in Project, Program and Portfolio Management (in progress). 14 years of experience as Head of Information Technology in movie festivals and event management. IT Project Manager, for a world-leading non for profit medical research institute. Lecturer in Information Technology and Project Management at SPAI for the apprenticeship studying domotics. Member of the APM Ticino (Association Project Management Ticino).
