ORGANIZING SUSTAINABLE PROJECTS
Instructional goals
1. Understand the principles of sustainable and responsible project management.
2. Apply sustainability frameworks (e.g., SDGs, ESG, PB) in project planning and execution.
3. Assess the impact of projects on society, environment, and economy.
4. Develop strategies to manage stakeholder engagement in sustainable projects.
5. Develop personal skills to deal with the complexity and ethical challenges of transformative projects
Intended learning outcomes
You will be able to evaluate to what extent a project that the proponents define responsible and sustainable is actually aimed at real and responsible sustainability.
Understand the interrelations between the different SDGs and their relationship with the earth system and planetary boundaries.
Learn and apply principles of project management.
Learn to negotiate solutions to grand societal challenges also in presence of diverging interests.
Learn about the governance of multistakeholder partnerships.
Reflect on your values regarding societal grand challenges.
Experience an introduction to mindfulness practices as applied in social movements and firms.
Experience and improve your skills in video and staged communication.
Course Contents
This course explores the principles, practices, and frameworks required to manage projects sustainably and responsibly. It emphasizes environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations while addressing the practical challenges of integrating sustainability into project management. Through lectures, testimonials from practice, role playing/simulations, discussions, and practical experiences and applications, students will gain the skills to plan, execute, and evaluate projects that align with sustainable development goals (SDGs) and planetary boundaries (PB). Students will be engaged in a project aimed at portraying or addressing issues of sustainable and responsible innovation through direct collaboration with for-profit or non-profit organizations, by preparing a mocktail, or by shooting and presenting a video on sustainability topics.
Reference Books
Course materials:
Chapters of book indicated each week below: Clegg, S.R., Skyttermoen, T., Vaagaasar, A.L. 2025. Project management. Creating Sustainable Value. Sage, 2nd edition; AND other readings indicated below.
Supplementary readings (mandatory only for non-attending students):
All chapters of book by Clegg, S.R., Skyttermoen, T., Vaagaasar, A.L. 2025. Project management. Creating Sustainable Value. Sage, 2nd edition
Additional resources (non required):
https://chrismarquis.substack.com
https://earth4all.life
Gray, B., & Purdy, J. (2018). Collaborating for our future: Multistakeholder partnerships for solving complex problems. Oxford University Press.
Teaching Methods
In this course you will experience:
Lectures
Reading
Roleplay simulations
Testimonials form practice
A Mock trial
Project work on a smartphone filmmaking OR a project stimulated by one of the testimonials
Assessment Method
66% Final Individual Written Exam
20% Group Project (Company project/mock trial/video)
10% Project management in groups (3 uploads, with a final reflection on how well it worked and challenges)
4% Questions for testimonials in groups (Upload week two)
Thesis assignment criteria
Theses should be problem based: address an issue involving sustainability or responsibility choosing a theoretical lens and hence attempt at contributing also to theory
Week 1
Session 1 Tuesday 3.2.26
• Presentation of the course
• Introduction to SMART continuous learning (group work components)
Session 2 Thursday 5.2.26
Simulation: The film production team project (materials distributed in class)
READINGS:
Clegg, Skyttermoen, & Vaagaasar (2025). Chapter 1: First section till Figure 1.6
- Clegg, Skyttermoen, & Vaagaasar (2025). Chapter 8
Week 2
Session 1 Tuesday 10.2.26
• Testimonial by Stefano Gardi, Chief Sustainability Officer, Italmobiliare Investment Holding S.p.A (https://www.italmobiliare.it/en)
Session 2 Wednesday 11.2.26
•Testimonial by Daniele Del Pesce, Head of Business Development & of BU E- Mobility @ Acea Innovation
Session 3 Thursday 12.2.26
• Introduction to mindfulness as a sustainability and management practice
• Brief theoretical and practical introduction by mindfulness-coach Barbara Antonie Delmestri
Session 4 Friday 13.2.26
• Testimonial by Edgar Hohnetschläger, artist, filmmaker and founder of GoBugsGo (https://gobugsgo.org)
READINGS:
- du Plessis, E. M., & Just, S. N. (2022). Mindfulness—it’s not what you think: Toward critical reconciliation with progressive self-development practices. Organization, 29(1), 209-221.
- Sage, D. J. (2025). Soil and organization studies: unearthing a ‘more-than-relational’ ethics towards non-humans. Organization Studies, 0(ja). https://doi.org/10.1177/01708406251317257
- Clegg, Skyttermoen, & Vaagaasar (2025). Chapter 2
Week 3
Session 1 Monday 16.2.26
• Climate Fresk simulation: understanding causes and consequences of climate change (based on the latest IPCC report) https://climatefresk.org/world/
Session 2 Tuesday 17.2.26
• Introduction to project management
• Introduction to the group assignment
• Project selection (in groups)
Session 3 Thursday 19.2.26
• The Friday Night at ER simulation: experiencing a complex organization
READINGS:
- Kanarp, G. C. S., Böhm, S., & Löf, A. (2025). Contested adaptation futures: the role of global imaginaries in climate adaptation governance. Sustainability Science, 1-21.
- A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK guide) - Fifth edition (2013). Project Management Institute, Inc., Newtown Square, PA. Chapters 5, 6 and 7. (Students are expected to skim through)
- Clegg, Skyttermoen, & Vaagaasar (2025). Chapter 2, 3, 4, and 8
Week 4
Session 1 Tuesday 24.2.26
• Discussion of Case Glencore (4.5 pages: prepare your thoughts to final questions)
https://casecent.re/p/187725
Session 2 Thursday 26.2.26
• Introduction to sustainable project management
• Principles to incorporate sustainability in project management
• Follow up on the projects
READINGS:
- Clegg, Skyttermoen, & Vaagaasar (2025). Chapter 1 and 10
- Silvius, A. J., & Schipper, R. P. (2014). Sustainability in project management: A literature review and impact analysis. Social Business, 4(1), 63–96.
Week 5
no sessions
Week 6
Session 1. Thursday 12.3.26
• Group coaching session: come to the coaching session with the state of the art of your project in order to receive feedback from professor and other students
Week 7
Session 1 & 2 Tuesday & Thursday 17&19.3
• EN-ROADS Climate Action Solution game: an engaging roleplaying game where participants are oil executives, activists, heads of state, and others
READINGS:
- Arjaliès, D. L., & Banerjee, S. B. (2024). ‘Let's Go to the Land Instead’: Indigenous Perspectives on Biodiversity and the Possibilities of Regenerative Capital. Journal of Management Studies.
- Clegg, Skyttermoen, & Vaagaasar (2025). Chapter 7
Week 8
Session 1 & 2 Tuesday & Thursday 24&26.3
• Planetary boundaries (PB), Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and Individual Development Goals (IDGs)
• Self-assessment of IDGs
• PRME and values: reflecting on the values supporting global responsibility of business and business school
READINGS:
- Audebrand, L. K., & Pepin, M. (2022). Principles for responsible management education: An axiological approach. Journal of Management Education, 46(5), 888-919.
- Katherine Richardson et al. Earth beyond six of nine planetary boundaries. Sci. adv.9, eadh2458(2023). DOI:10.1126/sciadv.adh2458
- Williams, A., Perego, P., & Whiteman, G. (2024). Boundary conditions for organizations in the Anthropocene: A review of the planetary boundaries framework 10 years on. Journal of Management Studies. (Students are expected to skim through and concentrate on Table I & Fig 7 and corresponding explanatory texts)
Week 9
Session 1 Tuesday 31.3.26
• Group coaching session: come to the coaching session with the state of the art of your project in order to receive feed back from professor and other students
Week 10
Jolly Session (if needed) Thursday 9.4.26
Week 11
Session 1 Tuesday 14.4.26
• First Mock Trial by two groups of students:
Budget overruns must be avoided at all costs in project management
BASIC READINGS FOR MOCK TRIAL:
- Kreiner, K. (2020). Conflicting notions of a project: The battle between Albert O. Hirschman and Bent Flyvbjerg. Project Management Journal, 51(4), 400-410.
Week 12
Session 1. Thursday 16.4.26
• Second Mock Trial by two groups of students:
Effective socio-economic transformation to remain within planetary boundaries must be gradual
BASIC READINGS FOR MOCK TRIAL:
- Comi, A., Lurati, F., & Zamparini, A. (2015). Green alliances: how does ecophilosophy shape the strategies of environmental organizations?. VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 26, 1288-1313.
- Kallis, G., Kostakis, V., Lange, S., Muraca, B., Paulson, S., & Schmelzer, M. (2018). Research on degrowth. Annual review of environment and resources, 43(1), 291-316.
Following sessions 21.4 & 28.4
• Group projects & videos presentation