Integrating sustainability indicators into project management: The case of construction industry

Sustainability concepts showcase significant value in construction projects. The discipline of project management is also integrating sustainability issues into its approaches. Under this notion, this study explores the integration of sustainability indicators into project management practices of construction projects. Current literature discloses many indicators/key factors as contributing towards the sustainability success of construction projects. However, the lack of an all-encompassing categorization creates difficulties in directing project managers towards their proper utilization. This paper aims to contribute towards the holistic view of sustainability in project management, especially for construction projects. A systematic literature review was conducted towards the understanding of the key topics and the findings were validated through semi-structured interviews. Eighty-two (82) sustainability indicators related to project management practices in construction projects were finally identified. Their categorization into economic, environmental and social/management sustainability indicators was completed through semi-structured interviews with construction experts and via previous literature analysis. The economic related indicators finalized in 27; 18 for the environmental dimension and 37 indicators were included in the social/management dimension. This study contributes to research on sustainable project management for construction projects in two main ways: (1) it provides a holistic view of sustainable project management indicators, covering the full spectrum of the triple constraint (TBL); (2) it offers the possibility for practitioners to choose the right mix of indicators, depending on the sustainability focus they want to provide in their projects.