Sustainable Construction Project Management – A Proposed Conceptual Framework from Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

The construction industry is estimated to contribute to huge stimulation to improve health, economy, and poverty with investment globally up to US$94 trillion by 2040. However, at the same time construction industry is also a huge risk to sustainability, where most of the activities are performed in form of projects. It causes an incredible threat to the environment and community, which leads to the new concept of sustainable project management. Regardless of the impact, the literature on the topic is still limited and is mostly a systematic review in nature. This study aims to review the currently available literature on sustainable project management, specifically in construction/infrastructure projects, and finally propose the conceptual framework of Sustainable Project Management. A literature review of fifty-eight full articles on sustainability project management especially in the construction industry was performed. The result of the study showed that apart from the limitation of its definition, it covered the importance of how the project management approach should be shifted from the traditional methods. It also showed that leadership, stakeholder engagement, organization policies and practices, technology innovation, and professional association are among the factors that influence the implementation of sustainability projects as new insights in project management research.