Paradigm Shift l Project Management Magazine Autumn 2023

PARADIGM SHIFT

Why ESG expertise is no longer optional

The rise of ESG and why it’s essential for success

Planning for drought amidst

flooding: a story of resilience

How the team’s determination earned them three PMAA awards

How projects can change our planet

Paradigm Shift, Autumn 2023

Editor/Content Marketing Manager

Helen O’Neill

Designer

Gray Design Group

Contributors

Andrew Divitaris

Andrew Fox FAIPM CPPD

Michael Young FAIPM CPPE

Richard Hughes MAIPM CPPM

Emma Dade

Janine Barrow

Dr Angela Lecomber FAIPM CPPD

Geoff Rankins FAIPM

Alexander Knight MAIPM CPPM

Nisha Singh MAIPM

Alison Knoblauch

Desmond Chin FAIPM CPPD

communications@aipm.com.au

Interested in contributing to the next edition?

Calls for articles for the next edition will be made approximately 45 days before publication. Please see the back page for more details on how you can feature in our next edition.

© Australian Institute of Project Management

Source: Josh Withers via Unsplash

Are you a thought leader in project management?

Do you have a big idea that you want to get out there?

Does your organisation have a case study worth sharing?

Call for abstracts are now open and close 21 May 2023.

Message from the Acting CEO

Simon Kaleski

Sustainability has become a top priority for businesses and organisations across Australia and the world, and project management plays a critical role in ensuring that sustainability objectives are met efficiently and effectively. In this issue, we delve into the topic of sustainability management in project delivery and showcase case studies of organisations who are navigating their climate action within the project management context.

There are also persistent challenges of labour shortages, compounded by the pressures of an inflationary environment. We explored many of these topics and potential solutions at the 2023 National Summit in Sydney on Friday, 24 March. It was wonderful to come together in person and exchange ideas, insights, and best practices with colleagues and peers from around Australia, as well as celebrate outstanding achievements in project management at the PMAA Dinner. We would like to express our gratitude to all the attendees, sponsors, and partners who contributed to its success, and a huge congratulations to the 2022 award winners.

In March, we also saw the Australian project community celebrating International Women’s Day. In this edition, we invited project professionals to share their experiences and insights on the challenges and opportunities that women face in project management. It is worth noting that female membership accounts for less than 25% of the current membership of the AIPM. However, we are proud to announce that the AIPM Board is leading the way in this regard, with a historic 50% female representation.

We trust that this issue will prove to be informative, engaging, and thoughtprovoking, and that it will inspires you on your own project management journey

Simon Kaleski Acting CEO, Australian Institute of Project Management

In the news

AI chatbots and effects for project managers

The proliferation of AI tools, such as ChatGPT, has led project professionals worldwide to explore the potential of this exciting technology. By leveraging its capability to generate automated responses through natural language processing, ChatGPT can aid project managers in providing realtime communication, identifying potential risks, monitoring progress, and even recommending solutions to problems. We are only at the top of the iceberg as to what this technology means for the profession at large. We invite members of the AIPM Community to share their experiences and insights on how they are incorporating this technology into their professional roles. Keep an eye out for our webinar, Organisational futures: effects of AI for project managers, coming to AIPM OnDemand soon.

2023 National Summit

On 24 March, we held the 2023 National Conference in Sydney, focused on Leading through Disruption, with speakers offering insights on how the project community could manage in the face of disruption. It was truly wonderful to finally come together in person and exchange ideas, insights, and best practices with over 350 colleagues and peers from around Australia. We are grateful to all of our attendees, sponsors, and partners for making it happen. The AIPM is also excited to announce our next conference taking place on the Gold Coast on 29-31 October 2023, and we’re currently accepting abstracts from those wishing to present.

Project professionals, in demand

According to The 2023 LinkedIn Jobs on the Rise list, technical program managers currently top the list of jobs experiencing a surge in demand in Australia, with delivery consultants ranking at 21 and technology project managers at 25. The need for project managers is being felt across all industries, indicating that the current trend of high demand for such positions shows no sign of abating.

Announcing the 2022 Project Management Achievement Award winners

One of the highlights of the National Summit was the national 2022 Project Management Achievement Awards ceremony, which celebrated the outstanding work of project professionals in delivering excellence in project management. Congratulations to all the 2022 winners and finalists. Your hard work, dedication and achievements serve as an inspiration to the project management community and demonstrates the impact of effective project management. Well done! Click here to see the full list of state and national winners for 2022.

Welcome to our 2023 chapter councillors

The AIPM is delighted to announce the appointment of our 2023 chapter councillors, including Fiona MacTavish MAIPM CPPP (NSW) and Toby George MAIPM CPPD (NT) as new chapter presidents. We encourage you to visit the AIPM website to access further details about your local chapter council or to reach out to your respective chapter president.

AuKus deal

In a recent announcement, Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom revealed plans to establish a new fleet of nuclear-powered submarines. The complex nature of the project is anticipated to stimulate the creation of additional project management jobs within the Australian economy, with a significant number of project managers required to oversee various aspects of the venture. This development is expected to result in more job opportunities for project managers in an already high-demand labour market, as well as a heightened emphasis on project management as a critical skillset.

In vale

We would like to pay tribute to two esteemed members of AIPM who have recently passed away. Jim Johnson FAIPM CPPD became a member of AIPM in 1996 and made valuable contributions to the NSW chapter while also serving as a longstanding assessor for the organisation. Carl Miller MAIPM CPPM was an active member in South Australia for over a decade, having worked at Jacobs and formerly at Sinclair Knight Merz. The passing of Jim and Carl is a great loss to the AIPM and the wider project management community. Our heartfelt sympathies go out to their families, friends, and colleagues, and we extend our deepest condolences.

Latest read

How Big Things Get Done

by Bent Flyvbjerg and Dan Gardner Random House

How Big Things Get Done is a new release by

Bent Flyvbjerg and Dan Gardner

that critiques the conventional approach to planning and managing large projects, arguing that it focuses too heavily on technical solutions and neglects social and political factors. Through examples such as the Sydney Opera House and Boston Big Dig, the authors propose a new approach that combines technical expertise, social skills, and political acumen to navigate complex landscapes and overcome uncertainties. The book offers valuable insights for project managers and those interested in understanding the dynamics of large organisations.

Women in project management

In March, the Australian project community celebrated International Women’s Day with the theme, ‘Cracking the Code: Innovation for a gender equal future’. Three project leaders share their insights on the challenges and opportunities that women face in project management, and what needs to be done to ‘crack the code’.

Elena Zagorenko

FAIPM CPPE Chair of the Board, AIPM

As we see project management transitioning into project leadership, females are strategically positioned to influx different mindset, alternative viewpoints, and advanced soft skills into the traditionally male-dominated industries.

The percentage of female project leaders is growing at all levels year-on-year, and we are starting to see a shift across the industry, with more flexible ways of working being considered for all of those in the profession, whilst achieving the same strong performance outcomes.

Despite these very positive trends, there still more to be done to advocate for and support both aspiring young female project professionals and those returning into the project cohort after career breaks, by creating inclusive and flexible environments where everyone can thrive.

My best advice is to be ambitious in your goal setting and ensure you build up your confidence to put your career aspirations forward. By doing so, you will be able to build a strong support network of likeminded project professionals and to secure right advocates to help you overcome the challenges you might face.

Females are strategically positioned to influx different mindset, alternative viewpoints, and advanced soft skills into the traditionally male-dominated industries.

Jane Hatton MAIPM

Program Director, Department of Defence

As much as it pains me to say this in 2023, I think the greatest challenge facing women is unconscious bias – cognitive, personal and confirmation. Why does society continue to criticise the way women dress? Do men get called frumpy? Assertive conversations are perceived as shouting or being angry. Feedback takes the form of commentary on overall personality or disposition, rather than behaviours.

Everyone should take everyone seriously, regardless of gender, the way they dress, their intelligence, personality, or strength and courage to voice a passionate opinion. A ‘bloody difficult man’ could be described as determined, strong-willed, a brilliant strategist, passionate and assertive – he'd be a leader, never a difficult man. So, my challenge to you is to go forth and be ‘bloody difficult women’.

In business and in leadership, such women might be frustrating to some, but they're inspiring to others and transforming how things are done. I celebrate your choice to be project managers in a male dominated field – you are all champions, you ‘bloody difficult women’ you!

Everyone should take everyone seriously regardless of gender, the way they dress, their intelligence, personality, or strength and courage to voice a passionate opinion.

Maria Dalla-Fontana MAIPM

Manager – Space, Science and Technology, Tasmanian Department of State Growth

Women are still paid less compared to their male counterparts and are underrepresented in Australia’s highest paying growth industries.

Flexible work conditions are still regarded as ‘allowing mothers to work part-time’, but a flexible workplace enables all employees to work in a way that maximises organisational equity, diversity and inclusion, organisational performance and employee wellbeing to meet their specific needs (e.g. health issues, mental health needs, etc.) and/or any external responsibilities (e.g. caring for children, ageing relatives or significant others, sporting or community sector commitments etc.).

Lastly, women undervalue their own skills and experience. This should be addressed by providing mentoring and support programs, creating more diverse and inclusive work environments, and actively seeking out and promoting talented women within your organisation. By taking these steps, project managers can help ensure that women are able to fully contribute their skills and experience to the success of the project and the organisation as a whole.

Flexible work conditions are still regarded as ‘allowing mothers to work part-time’, but a flexible workplace enables all employees to work in a way that maximises organisational equity, diversity and inclusion, organisational performance and employee wellbeing.

The case for an enterprise PMO

A high-performing enterprise PMO (ePMO) is the connective tissue that helps organisations bridge the gap from its strategic vision to execution. So why are organisations still getting it wrong? Andrew Divitaris shares how organisations can set up an effective, well-run ePMO to boost efficiency and project delivery capability.

By Andrew Divitaris

Thought leadership

Status report: ePMOs in Australia

Research conducted by the AIPM and KPMG in The state of project management in Australia 2022 showed the trend towards using an ePMO to coordinate projects and programs has continued to grow. Conversely, confidence in their value has been variable, with a recent fall in the percentage of people who rated their ePMO as effective in supporting project planning and delivery.

In our work with ASX-listed entities and government organisations, we often see the ePMO as an under-resourced and misunderstood support function that can struggle to gain traction with executive stakeholders and demonstrate its business value.

Key benefits of an ePMO

There are three main benefits of an effective ePMO:

ePMOs link your enterprise strategy with the projects needed to deliver the strategy and the optimal allocation of resources.

By taking a structured approach to planning and prioritising initiatives, ePMOs can facilitate trade-off conversations with the executive, helping to make decisions that ensure the portfolio of projects is operating within its financial, resource, and capacity constraints. That is, are our project roadmaps and plans achievable, or are we trying to do too much based on the available money, people resources and our capacity to land and absorb the change?

ePMOs provide standardised project delivery methodologies, reporting, and governance models.

ePMOs reduce project delivery risk by adopting standards and repeatable

processes that increase the consistency in project delivery. This also helps to aggregate project information at the enterprise level.

Without the support and services provided by an ePMO, we see organisations committing to do too many things, not being able to foresee potential bottlenecks in resource capacity or capability and under-delivering on their annual business plans and customer outcomes.

ePMOs can contribute to project success

The improved alignment and executive involvement can enhance the performance of project, program, and portfolio management, delivering better project outcomes.

What ePMO challenges do we see?

There are many obstacles to establishing and embedding an effective ePMO. If the ePMO is to build trust with its stakeholders and receive the support it needs from the executive, it must overcome challenges and demonstrate the value generated by its services and role.

Too many rules: The most common theme we hear is that ePMOs are too rules and compliance-driven and not supportive of fast project delivery.

“Our ePMO is too governance-heavy, only cares about status reporting and just generally slows us down.” (IT Program Manager, Telecommunications)

Too inflexible: Almost as frequent is the claim that ePMOs only support management, only cares about reporting, and do not cater adequately to the different types of projects an organisation performs.

“There is no flexibility by the ePMO with our project funding requests – we are not a one size fits all organisation.” (Project Sponsor, Financial Services)

No demonstrated value: We often hear that there is no demonstrable or quantifiable value attached to the services provided by the ePMO.

“I can’t see the justification for keeping an ePMO when that money could be spent on project delivery.” (Retail Executive)

How to make your ePMO more effective

In our experience, there are five keys to success when implementing a new ePMO or re-structuring an underperforming one.

1. Decide on the right role and scope. There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach. Determining what type of ePMO (reporting, operational, strategic) is the first step in articulating its purpose and value and getting stakeholder buy-in.

2. Be clear about what services it offers. Avoid bureaucracy but be clear

that some services are non-negotiable. Integrated planning and road mapping, project reporting, supporting portfolio and program governance, and knowledge management are foundational elements.

3. End-to-end management. The function must enhance enterprisewide visibility of project performance. Understanding where time and resources are being spent is the first step to ensuring they are on track.

4. Start fast and mature with experience. Start with a ‘lite’ model of core enterprisewide PMO services. Additional services can be added over time. Such examples are quality assurance and benefits management, which are dependent on standardised project delivery frameworks and standards being established.

5. Reuse, don’t reinvent. Use standard industry phases for project frameworks and readily available documentation, looking at external and internal sources. An organisation often has ‘pockets of excellence,’ so leverage these areas and knowledge.

Would your organisation benefit from an ePMO?

Effective PMOs act as the critical link and alignment mechanism between business needs and drivers and the successful execution of your portfolio, program, and project plans. They clarify program and enterprise-wide risks, resource constraints, and potential bottlenecks and report on the progress of your critical projects and programs. If you need help setting up or improving your ePMO, consider seeking the assistance of a specialist consultant.

Andrew Divitaris is IDEE Group’s co-founder. They shape the way organisations deliver change. He has 15 years of experience in portfolio management, delivery capability uplift and the establishment of PMOs. Get in contact via info@ideegroup.com.au .

What about a vPMO?

Andrew Fox, Managing Director of The Project Bureau, throws another alternative into the ring – the virtual project management office or vPMO.

Implementation of an internal PMO governance model can be costly

Building the in-house expertise and implementing the required technology can become an expensive learning curve that delays and derails results. To meet these challenges, companies have turned to experienced PMO outsourcing.

vPMO goals

The goal of the outsourced PMO is to help companies improve the communication, control, execution, and ultimately the profitability of company projects by establishing a project framework that enables better decision-making.

vPMO activities

vPMO initiatives may include staff utilisation, onboarding and off-boarding employees and contractors, timesheet, process management, benefits management, project setup, and monitoring.

Benefits of a vPMO over an ePMO

A strategic vPMO can transform the PMO into a value-delivering function, reducing the total cost of the PMO function and adding strategic value to the organisation through the implementation of effective governance. It can help organisations reduce setup time and eliminate operational issues of running a standalone ePMO.

Why ESG expertise is no longer optional

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors like circular economies, zero carbon and diversity are business buzzwords. With investors and stakeholders increasingly demanding sustainable practices, ESG is a topic that can’t be ignored. Project managers must upskill in ESG to ensure their projects meet the highest sustainability and responsibility standards. Michael Young FAIPM CPPE delves into the rise of ESG and explores why ESG expertise is essential for project managers wanting to succeed in today's business landscape.

By Michael Young FAIPM CPPE

Thought leadership

What is ESG?

ESG focuses on environmental, social, and governance factors that can affect a company's financial performance and public perception.

With more organisations looking at ESG factors before they invest in a project or partner with a business, understanding what ESG entails has never been so crucial for project management professionals.

ESG is not sustainability

ESG is an investment framework that investors use to assess an organisation’s performance and risk. The term ‘ESG’ is often used as a substitute for ‘sustainability,’ but that’s incorrect. Capital investment companies use it as a framework to inform their investment decisions. Companies generally report using recognised international frameworks, such as the

ESG: How corporations...

United Nations Governance Reporting Initiative (GRI) or the recently recreated International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) framework.

ESG reporting focuses on financial and investment info for investors and must disclose ‘material’ matters, referred to as an outside-in perspective. Sustainability reporting focuses on company policies and goals to stakeholders, a voluntary, insideout approach. Combining both provides a 360° view of an organisation's risks and sustainable performance.

Much of the ESG and sustainability focus has been on the ‘operations’ side of the business, but this is rapidly changing. CEOs increasingly agree that ESG programs improve financial performance, sitting at 45%, an increase from 37% one year ago, according to the KPMG CEO Outlook Report 2022.

What is ESG? (source: Forbes)

Projects are significant investments that an organisation makes, and they are at the heart of what the organisations does.

Investors take into consideration the projects a company undertakes when making decisions about where to invest their money.

Why ESG can’t be ignored Projects are the delivery vehicles

As organisations set strategic sustainability goals including targets to achieve net zero carbon emissions, projects are the delivery vehicles to achieve those goals and deliver the ESG and sustainability reporting.

Project managers are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of ESG factors when managing projects.

62% of project professionals expect ESG requirements to influence their projects and programs in the future (AIPM and KPMG 2022 State of Project Management in Australia Report). Delivering a sustainable project involves assessing the social, environmental, and economic consequences of the project and the product being produced. By identifying the potential impacts, a project manager can look for alternative lower-impact approaches. Assessing and reducing sustainability impacts also provides a structured and reliable data source for the organisation’s ESG or sustainability reports.

Organisations are acutely aware of the importance of their ESG strategies.

As covered in the above report, Australian organisations have accepted the need for action on ESG issues, driving an increase in transformation projects. Organisations must recognise the need to put PMOs at

Projects are the way an organisation delivers its strategy, grows, achieves competitive advantages, and financial health.

Therefore, investors may consider projectrelated information to be material when deciding how to vote or make an investment decision.

the helm to get the best ESG outcomes. Similarly, project professionals must upskill to lead these projects to success.

How project managers can lead ESG strategy in their projects

Green Project Management, a global social enterprise, has a ‘P5™ Standard’ which guides project managers to ensure their project outcomes contribute to the organisation’s sustainability and ESG Reports.

When considering ESG in a project, a project manager must:

• Perform an impact analysis during the discovery phase of each project, and maintain it throughout the project’s lifecycle.

• Develop a sustainability management plan (SMP) based on the impact analysis and maintain it as part of the project plan.

• Using the impact analysis and SMP, work with the sustainability manager to determine what’s needed for the organisation’s sustainability report and ESG disclosure.

You can download the P5 standard Impact Assessment and SMP templates for free and learn more about undertaking a P5 Impact Assessment on the Green Project Manager website.

Spotlight on greenwashing

Greenwashing occurs when an organisation spends more time and money on marketing itself as environmentally friendly than on actually minimising its environmental impact.

The Australian Securities Investment Commission (ASIC) and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) have recently acted against organisations found to be greenwashing.

They are currently examining the annual reports published by ASX200 firms and fining them for alleged false or misleading statements. Companies must only make statements about their products that are ‘clear, defined, limited in their claims, and always have strong verification materials.’

ASIC Deputy Chair Sarah Court said, ‘ASIC issued eight infringement notices for alleged greenwashing in late 2022 and has started the year with further action against a listed company. ASIC will continue to closely monitor sustainability claims and take action where we consider representations cannot be substantiated or are factually incorrect.’

Avoid greenwashing by:

• Being accurate, specific, clear and honest

• Having reliable data to back up your claims

• Getting a third party to verify your data to prove your claims

• Check your supply chain to ensure they uphold your values.

Adapt to thrive in an ESG-centric future

As society's expectations continue to evolve, government bodies are taking legal and regulatory action that places a greater emphasis on ESG disclosures and sustainability reporting. As a profession that accounts for nearly 30% of Australia's GDP, project managers play a crucial role in meeting these expectations.

Project managers need to understand ESG impacts and support their organisations' ESG objectives. They must be skilled in identifying which aspects of their projects must be reported through ESG disclosures and hone project elements for optimal ESG outcomes.

If you don’t feel comfortable leading the ESG charge, plenty of professional development options are available through the AIPM.

Michael Young FAIPM CPPE is Vice President of GPM Global, the world’s leading authority on sustainable project management. He has extensive experience as a Board Chair and member and is the co-author of an Amazon best-selling book, Sustainable Project Management.

Climate and sustainability

How projects can change our planet

What kind of future should we be leaving for the next generation?

Unprecedented environmental challenges require urgent action, and projects are a powerful tool for change. Richard Hughes MAIPM CPPM examines how projects can improve our planet for the better, with project managers driving the transformation.

By Richard Hughes MAIPM CPPM

What is sustainability?

Sustainability was defined in 1987 by the United Nations Brundtland Commission and means ‘meeting our own needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs’. It is more than being green. Sustainability is often broken down into three pillars: environmentalism, social equity, and economic development.

• Environmental: Balancing earth’s environmental systems so we don’t harm the planet and what we consume can be replenished.

• Social: Ensuring all people have access to enough resources to keep their families and communities healthy and secure.

• Economic: Ensuring communities everywhere have access to enough financial or other resources to meet their needs.

The link between sustainability and project management

Past projects have created factories, societies, technologies, and wealth that impact the planet and all life on it. While great for some, the resulting economic growth has created many inequalities. To address this, we need change, and projects make change happen. This puts projects, and project managers, at the forefront of efforts to repair past damage.

We should be using projects to create products and technologies that support a better future for the next generation. If this sounds like a big ask from project managers, it is. But we’re not expected to do this by ourselves.

Sustainability is of global and national importance. Recognising this, the United Nations agreed 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) with 193 countries in 2015. While the SDGs may look random, they are interconnected and can be combined into three logical layers.

Considering the SDGs as three layers makes it easier to see what could happen if the foundation environmental layer fails. For example, we can only achieve decent economic growth or food security by first caring for our oceans. And to use the more recent example of the pandemic, we can only have everybody in good health and achieve no poverty if we look after our land, forests, and our greenhouse gas emissions.

Layers of sustainability of the UN sustainable development goals

While Australia is doing well in addressing poverty, health, and education, we still have one of the most destructive ecological footprints per capita of anywhere in the world.

Australia’s Climate Act came into effect

In September 2022. The Act operates as umbrella legislation to implement Australia's net-zero commitments and codifies Australia's global greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. This is to be welcomed as our country has, for decades, been regarded as a perpetual laggard on climate change, and our economy is still reliant on coal and gas extraction. But the Act is only part of the solution.

I believe projects are essential to how we plan for and adapt to a changing climate risk both now and in the decades ahead, but projects won’t do this heavy lifting alone. Action is needed to address the emissions from the products we mine and sell to others. We need commitment, dedication, innovation, and schemes to support sustainable initiatives on many different project types. As an example, many initiatives are already in place in the construction industry (see graph below). The message is that if projects and project managers can’t be sustainable, they’ll become obsolete.

How project managers can build sustainability into projects

Academic researchers are exposing problems with how mainstream project management deals with sustainability. If you think about it, many projects and project managers rarely worry about how natural resources are being exploited.

Our project management methods often focus on maximising stakeholder benefits. In doing so, we, as project managers, tend to want to balance the performance of our project's budget, schedule, and quality. This is a reductionist view that associates project success with project efficiency. It doesn’t address the more holistic and ethical perspectives we need if we are to manage sustainability issues. From now on, we should be thinking about how our projects and the resources they use help or hinder the environmental foundation layer of sustainability.

Growing public and commercial pressure to be sustainable

Building owner’s want green certification

The Green Building Council of Australia’s Green Star building standard and rating tool

Future tenants want healthier communities, workplaces, and less building obsolescence

Our immediate emphasis should be climate change and life on land or below water. Have you ever considered whether the sand we use for construction has been dredged from areas that have worsened local ecologies? How is the transport of materials for our projects impacting global carbon emissions? Are the products we use contributing to slavery and poverty?

We need to start challenging what we are being asked to do. Are we prepared to tell our project clients that their dream project won’t help the environment or society, even if it might make a lot of money? Would our ethical values make us walk away from such projects? As professionals, it’s sensible to ask whether our professional organisations can influence our values for sustainable projects.

There is more to be done. Sustainability features in AIPM’s advocacy programs and some blog posts, but we could be doing much more. The AIPM is a collaborative organisation, so we can all promote, discuss and shape sustainable behaviour among our peers.

Sustainability is entering into methodologies and guidance. In the 7th edition of PMI’s PMBOK® Guide, the stewardship principle connects organisations, projects, and sustainability. It asks us to think about our projects' financial, social, technical, and sustainable environmental issues.

PMBOK 7 extends our professional stewardship responsibilities outside our own organisations and asks us to collaborate, consider environmental sustainability, and think carefully about how we use project materials and natural resources no matter where the external stakeholders are.

Such concepts are far broader than our tried and tested understanding of what project management has always been. Remember when we thought project management was only about applying knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet the project requirements? No longer is this the case.

PMBOK 7 is shaping a global ethical definition of Sustainability Portfolio Management (SPM) using the stewardship principle. I guess we’ll start to see this being developed by other project management organisations, government bodies and commercial organisations. It will only strengthen links between our work and Australia’s contribution to SDGs.

Together we can leave a positive legacy

We are starting to see important aspects of sustainability woven into project management, and we are increasingly aware of why this is needed. Project managers and professional organisations must now pivot towards sustainability, SPM principles, ethical values, and behaviours. The more we know about sustainability, the better our project outcomes can be, so one day we can look back and be proud of the future we left for the next generation.

Richard Hughes MAIPM CPPM is the Course Coordinator for Project Management and a researcher and lecturer in the School of Business and Law at Edith Cowan University. He is an experienced program and project manager with a background predominantly in the central and local government sectors.

Climate and sustainability

Sustainability managers: the key to going green for medium to large projects

Have you ever started on a project with great intentions but later realised its potential was never achieved? Delivering sustainable, innovative outcomes on projects and a positive legacy that goes beyond business as usual (BAU) doesn’t just happen. It needs someone to facilitate, champion and coach the whole project team to deliver benefits across the triple bottom line. Emma Dade and Janine Barrow explain how having an embedded sustainability manager is just the ticket.

By Emma Dade and Janine Barrow

There is growing interest in environmental, social and governance (ESG) frameworks in the infrastructure sector, particularly in projects funded by institutional and private sector investors undergoing shareholder and investor scrutiny.

At an organisational level, ESG factors can be a useful driver for realising sustainable outcomes. Translating corporate intent into outcomes at a project level requires proactive leadership on sustainability management and integration. Success relies on having people focused on leading teams to deliver on sustainability commitments, thereby realising long-term value for investors, people and the planet.

Embedding an innovation, integration and sustainability manager on a project team can help to bridge this gap. Their understanding of stakeholder and corporate ESG drivers at an organisational level and their connectedness across project functions enables a clear ‘line of sight’ between project objectives, global priorities, client corporate policies, and relevant industry or finance standards and policies.

Greater integration at the project and organisational level can also strengthen the reporting of project outcomes against organisational ESG goals.

What is a sustainability manager?

Innovation, integration and sustainability managers drive and implement smart, sustainable approaches throughout the project lifecycle and a clear framework to guide all aspects of whole-of-life project delivery.

In recent years, the responsibility for delivering sustainability outcomes in the planning, design and construction of infrastructure projects has moved away from environment or stakeholder teams to a defined role within the engineering and design team. We’re now seeing it emerge as a critical leadership role within the project integration or innovation team, with oversight and insight into all project functions.

Positioning the role at this level can facilitate value creation across all disciplines and integration into risk and opportunity management, procurement, community and stakeholder processes, social value creation and decisionmaking frameworks. Working closely with the project manager, this role navigates project complexity to achieve positive outcomes. It spans multiple disciplines to translate and implement the project’s sustainability vision and objectives throughout all project functions and outcomes.

Execution and delivery of sustainability management plan/system (source: Jacobs)

Sustainability manager

Environment

Engineering Construction Stakeholder engagement

Procurement

Design

The benefits of embedding a sustainability manager on your project team

Regardless of whether the role is mandated by a client or project owner, there are significant benefits to having a sustainability manager:

1. Saving time and money by developing smart solutions across the project lifecycle which can lead to cost savings in energy, water, materials and resources.

2. Putting policy into practice and making corporate policy and sustainability commitments real by implementing them into major projects.

3. Adopting a proactive approach to issues that are often considered as externalities, but which are often the most complex challenges on a project, such as carbon emissions impacts and reduction.

4. Achieving linked key performance indicators for innovation and sustainability.

5. Inspiring and engaging the project team encourages enthusiasm for innovation and sustainable outcomes.

6. Delivering better documentation and improved measurability for key successes, cost savings and greater transparency for auditing and external communications, particularly where public transparency for major capital expenditure is required.

7. Fostering lessons learned and knowledge sharing to realise more effective, innovative sustainable solutions.

8. Driving improved stakeholder and community engagement and effective participation to inform project outcomes.

Here is a representation of the impact of the sustainability role across project phases. Of course, there could also be a rapid gain in value at the start, with the line then starting to plateau.

The role is relevant for all project phases from concept to delivery, although its focus and tasks will vary.

A successful and empowered sustainability manager provides inspirational leadership, prompts and challenges the team, builds the business case for sustainable outcomes and reports achievements and benefits.

The impact of the role across project phases (source: Jacobs)

What to do if you don’t have a sustainability manager on your project team

If you are running medium to large projects, consider if an embedded sustainability manager would work for your team. Not every project can afford an embedded innovation, integration and sustainability manager, and of course there will be projects focused solely on sustainability where everyone is a sustainability manager.

Having clear sustainability responsibilities and KPIs within the senior leadership team is critical for building the case and gaining buy-in for a dedicated, embedded role. This can be supported by a clear framework and management system for embedding sustainability and by incorporating sustainability coordination and facilitation into existing project coordination roles (for example, design coordination).

To help build the case and momentum, clear communication of the risks and unrealised opportunities is required. Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Benchmark demonstrated achievements

• Gain government and stakeholder support

• Give clarity and structure to teams about their contribution to specific sustainable project outcomes

A case study from Jacobs

Establishing and embedding the sustainability manager role early in project planning phases can maximise sustainability impact. We recently implemented this

approach on a major road upgrade project in rural Australia. Incorporating sustainability principles into the project vision, charter and objectives ensured the whole project team was on the same page from the start and encouraged innovative thinking.

Having a sustainability manager optimised the project's sustainable outcomes, which will progress in the next project phase.

These outcomes included:

• Setting the strategic direction for the project

• Designing a management system that integrated sustainability into everyday work and fostered a strong sustainability culture throughout the project

• Facilitating sustainability, materiality and resource efficiency workshops

• Supporting the early work of stakeholder identification, issues and solutions that will go beyond BAU

• Identifying the important sustainability issues and opportunities for the project

BAU won’t move the needle on the climate crisis

Doing what we’ve always done won’t be sufficient to achieve the step change needed to deliver the sustainability outcomes stakeholders and shareholders expect.

Embedding an innovation, integration and sustainability manager as a key project team member can facilitate value creation beyond BAU and drive project teams to deliver more sustainable outcomes across all project functions.

Emma Dade is a recognised and trusted sustainability leader across the Australia and New Zealand regions. She has been with Jacobs for over a decade and is the Technical Director – Sustainability and Climate Response. Janine Barrow is Jacobs’ Global Technology Leader - Sustainability and Climate Action APAC. She is charged with coordinating their sustainability, ESG and climate action practice.

Climate and sustainability

Planning for drought amidst flooding: A story of resilience

The Regional Drought Resilience Planning (RDRP) project is helping Queensland communities be better prepared for future droughts. Ironically, just two days after kick-off of the pilot program, the first of nine major flooding events hit the state. The project team’s sheer determination to successfully deliver their project in the face of personal disaster (and COVID-19 restrictions) has earned them three 2022 Project Management Achievement Awards (PMAAs).

Sunset over the Burdekin Bridge (source: Burdekin Shire Council)

Regional Drought Resilience Planning program

Project purpose: improving regional drought resilience

• Customised regional drought resilience plans were created for five pilot regions.

• Deep collaboration between local government, regional organisations, community organisations and industry informed the plans.

PMAAs won: National Government Project, Queensland Project of the Year, and Queensland Government Project

Project funding Project players

Department of Agriculture & Fisheries (DAF)

Rural Economics Centre of Excellence (RECoE)

Lead agency for Queensland drought resilience policy

A research collaboration

University of Queensland

Jointly funded by the Australian and Queensland Governments

The Yellow Company

Regional, community and industry stakeholders

First Nations traditional stories of drought date back thousands of years, and the first official declaration of drought was made in 1897. The devastating economic, social and environmental toll on communities can linger for decades, so federal and state governments banded together to help communities be better prepared.

James Cook University

Central Queensland University

University of South Queensland

External project management support

350 engagement activities delivered with over 190 unique organisations

Julia Spicer – Community Engagement Manager, RDRP project commented, “I was keen to be part of the project because we were taking a long-term view of how to prepare our communities. And not doing it on the eve of another drought was a better time to make good long-term decisions. This project could have been simpler in its design with fewer people involved, but that would have missed a lot of the richness that's come from it.”

Roma Cattle Saleyards (source: Adobe)

Julia Spicer presenting at the RDRP Engagement Workshop (source: The Yellow Company)

Project management highlights

The team’s approach to these core project management knowledge areas contributed to the project’s success and were wellregarded by the AIPM’s judging panel.

• Robust governance: Monthly board meetings ensured effective collaboration between multiple geographically dispersed organisations.

• Stakeholder management: A detailed five-stage engagement model gave stakeholders multiple opportunities to collaborate and contribute.

• Schedule management: A target schedule was adjusted in consultation with stakeholders to achieve maximum engagement.

A double-pronged disaster: navigating pandemics and floods

COVID-19 interruptions and natural disasters featured on the risk register, but nobody predicted the scale of their eventual impact. During project initiation in July 2021, COVID-19 lockdowns were re-introduced in southeast Queensland, disrupting early planning activities. “The threat of COVID-19 remained a key challenge to engagement throughout the project as regions experienced waves of infection and restrictions,” said Ben Lyons. “So, we changed tack and relied on alternative approaches, including online surveys and virtual engagement forums.”

On top of pandemic-related challenges and, ironically for a project about drought resilience, Queensland experienced a severe wet season in 2021-22. Nine major flooding events impacted communities in each of the project’s pilot regions, with team members’ homes at risk during the project.

“The double-disaster of pandemic and flooding was a massive challenge for the project. It was sometimes hard to

get people to focus on future drought resilience planning when disaster response activities had to take priority,” said Ben. “With so much rain, drought wasn’t the number one concern, so we had to work much harder to get the stakeholder engagement that was so critical to the project’s success.

Champions of resilience

Delivering the drought resilience project during severe flooding only reinforced the need for better climate emergency recovery planning. It required extraordinary resilience, determination and adaptability from the project team.

According to Ben Lyons, Director, Rural Economies Centre of Excellence, this is just the beginning. “We’re now in the process of prioritising actions and securing funding to bring our resilience plans to fruition. It’ll be rewarding to see it all come to life.”

Ben Norling, Managing Director from The Yellow Company, was thrilled to learn the project had been awarded three Project Management Achievement Awards. “We’re extremely proud of this project, which demonstrated a successful partnership between all levels of government, multiple universities, the private sector and community stakeholders. Receiving these awards is well-deserved recognition for the entire team.”

Congratulations from the AIPM to everyone who worked so hard to ensure Queensland is better prepared to deal with future drought events.

Meet Julia Spicer, Community Engagement Manager

Julia’s home was cut off by floodwaters, but she kept working on the drought resilience project. We asked her to share her experience.

What role did you play in the RDRP project?

My role was community engagement. I got people involved in the project at a local level. The team in Brisbane took the feedback and outcomes from my engagement work and put that into the final drought plans.

How did the floods impact your ability to engage with the community?

At some points it was a calamity of Fawlty Towers moments, where we were trying to bring communities together to talk about droughts, but it was too wet to get to events. I live about 15km east of Goondiwindi, and it became a bit of an island. The highways were all closed, so I couldn’t get to events, and out west, people were stuck on their farms. For a few days, I couldn’t leave my place because the road was cut to the highway. But it turned out to be a good time to do some drought planning, because a lot of people couldn't do anything or go anywhere else anyway.

How did the team adapt to the everchanging conditions?

We had to rejig things fast. Instead of us physically meeting in a town hall, we met virtually. Sometimes some of the community could meet in town, so we'd do a hybrid session with three or four people in a room and a few of us on Zoom because we couldn't physically get there.

What was key in making that work?

I think engaging local people to deliver the project played a big part. This was originally driven by the project team genuinely wanting to get the best community engagement. And kudos to them. It probably would have been a lot easier to run this project from their own office in Brisbane, because the more people are involved the more complicated it gets.

But I think it was great they did, because when we hit this massive obstacle in a key, pointy bit of the project where we needed to be getting

a lot of stuff done, we could flip that and go online. It wasn't the first time anybody was meeting me; I knew them and what they were dealing with because I live in the region. We could be efficient and quick to change things. I could make lots of phone calls and because people knew me and could understand what was going on, it all worked out.

Do you think the project outcomes suffered because of the trying circumstances you found yourselves in?

Not at all. It was a little bit wild at the beginning, just trying to reach milestone dates when there was so much going on. But in terms of the conversations, the engagement and the way the community was part of the project, I think people said what they were going to say whether we were in a room together or on Zoom.

What did this project teach you about managing projects amidst change?

It reminded me to always consider the purpose of every project activity. What is the outcome we’re looking for? And once we were clear on why we were doing an engagement piece, then where and how we’d do it would fall out from there.

What did winning the awards mean to the team?

There was a lot of pride across all of Queensland when we won the awards. We dealt with adversity and planned for a natural disaster during a natural disaster. I’m proud to have been part of that. We all feel a bit of ownership of that of that award, and it's been a really fantastic thing.

Julia Spicer on her flooded street in Goondiwindi (source: Julia Spicer)

Climate and sustainability

A reimagined approach to disaster management

COVID-19 stretched global disaster management resources to the limit and the world continues to grapple with the devastating effects of climate change. The need for effective disaster management has never been greater. AIPM fellows Dr Angela Lecomber FAIPM CPPD and Geoff Rankins FAIPM CPPD discuss how project management could be the key to transforming disaster management practices and improving recovery outcomes.

By Dr Angela Lecomber FAIPM CPPD and Geoff Rankins FAIPM CPPD

The disaster event occurs

Early warning

Investing in resilience

• Every US$1 invested in risk reduction and prevention can save up to US$15 in postdisaster recovery.

• Every US$1 invested in making infrastructure disaster-resilient saves US$4 in reconstruction.

• The cost benefits of investing in prevention and resilience are clear, yet for every US$100 of disaster-related official development assistance, only 50c is invested in protecting development from the impact of disasters.

Source: United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction

Geoff: Angela, with your understanding of project management methods used in disaster situations, you are the perfect person to describe the range of methods used to manage emergency and climaterelated projects. What’s the usual approach?

Angela: Emergency projects focus on preparedness for an emergency, emergency response and longer-term recovery. The generally accepted phases of disaster management are mitigation, preparation, response and recovery.

Terminology does vary though. For example, some agencies split response into ‘emergency management’ and ‘disaster relief,’ while others split recovery into ‘rehabilitation’ and ‘reconstruction.’ The graph on the previous page shows how the approaches fit together.

The role of risk management

Geoff: Disaster management has a strong relationship with risk management. How can the principles of risk management improve disaster outcomes?

Angela: The G20 recently established a disaster risk reduction working group because they recognised that reducing the likelihood and impact of a disaster are risk management activities. Undertaking risk management helps communities and economies to be resilient when shocks occur.

Australia has also recognised the link, establishing the National Disaster Risk Reduction Framework (informed by the Sendai Framework). It sets out the foundational work to proactively reduce risk now and into the future. It guides national, whole-of-society efforts to proactively reduce disaster risk to minimise the loss and suffering caused by disasters.

Geoff: Mitigation is a risk management concept, and risk management is an ongoing activity, so I don’t understand why mitigation occurs in just one phase. What are your thoughts on this?

Angela: You’re correct. Risk management underpins disaster management. The mitigation phase could probably be replaced by a parallel and ongoing risk management process because risk management repeatedly iterates throughout the preparation, response, and recovery phases.

Project management to the rescue

Geoff: Where do you see project management supporting disaster management?

Angela: Early warning systems trigger emergency management and disaster relief agencies. Both will have standard processes, but their activities are more operational. Agencies might manage preparedness for a disaster using projects,

but projects and project management usually kick in during rehabilitation and reconstruction. The project management methods used vary depending on the agency.

Some develop their own in-house method based on the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) and/or Projects in Controlled Environments V2 (PRINCE2). The Logical Framework (LogFrame) is one of the principal tools used to establish the logic of projects in the field of International Development. LogFrame is akin to a benefits map as described in Managing Successful Programmes (MSP) which links activities via outputs and outcomes to benefits or goals. PSA ProFrame was developed to address some of the deficiencies associated with LogFrame.

Geoff: Where do you think the biggest opportunities are for improving disaster management?

Angela: I don’t think we’re effectively using project management methods and governance approaches to build back better or build in resilience for the next disaster.

I often notice response activities commencing before the disaster, then overlapping with recovery activities later. There needs to be a clear demarcation.

A body of research (Next Generation Disaster and Security Management, Chapter 6: Project Management Training to Improve Disaster Management in the Next Decade, Steinfort and Lecomber, 2012) also demonstrated that politics, confusion and a lack of trust and communication often dog reconstruction. There is a need to demonstrate that something is being done for the money poured in by donors. Combined with the media spotlight, kneejerk decisions can be made. This happened after the 2004 tsunami in Aceh, and we’ve seen it in several disasters since.

If reconstruction work is not properly managed using robust project, program and portfolio management methods, it can further exacerbate vulnerabilities in affected communities introducing a human disaster following a natural disaster.

To satisfy donors, reconstruction becomes a focus of demonstrating quick wins rather than taking the time to consult and adopt a broader perspective, using new technology in a smart way coupled with extensive consultation and the collective knowledge, resources and cohesiveness of the community that has been affected.

Case study: Aceh tsunami disaster

Problems were identified regarding the response to the Aceh tsunami disaster, including the lack of stakeholder engagement and long-term planning for sustainability. Many of the recovery efforts focussed on short-term goals, such as providing immediate relief to affected communities, rebuilding infrastructure, and restoring basic services. While these were important steps, they didn’t take the needs and fears of those most impacted by the disaster into account, nor did they provide sustainable solutions that could prevent or mitigate future disaster. For example, in many instances, people did not want to return to the location where most of their families had died. And rebuilding homes in the same vulnerable locations without proper disaster-resistant design exposed these communities to risk again in the future.

Geoff: How could more effective use of project management principles help?

Angela: Whatever descriptors you use for project management stages (like identify, define, deliver and close or similar), neither PRINCE2 nor PMBOK can offer anything in the early work of the rehabilitation and reconstruction phases. In other words, the ‘identify’ stage may not be set up using formal project management methods because of the urgency of the situation. Program management is not generally used. Projects may have been set up using approaches such as LogFrame, but this is primarily a communication tool. It is not sufficient to properly prioritise and manage projects.

We need a method at the front end of reconstruction, wrapped in formal portfolio, program and project (P3) management practices, which provides the flexibility of governance and management required in a disaster. PSA ProFrame was developed to address this deficiency, but this approach is yet to be widely adopted.

Geoff: The Praxis Framework could be helpful as it can be scaled up and down in the fluid environments found post-disaster.

Angela: I don’t know much about Praxis. What makes it a good fit?

Geoff: Praxis is built on a philosophy that the differences between portfolio, program and project management practices are relatively minor. An enormous and growing body of knowledge from P3 practice supports it. Using Praxis, something that started as a broad idea or portfolio view could later be refined into one or more programs, each of which in turn could be elaborated as a group of projects. There is no need to change terminology or redevelop documents in each refinement.

Reimagining disaster management

Angela: With your impressive knowledge of formal project management and P3 practices, do you see opportunities to improve the disaster management framework?

Reimagined approach to disaster management (source: Geoff Rankins)

Risk management (ongoing)

Projectised (managed using formal P3M practices) Projectise (introduce formal P3 management practices)

Geoff: I think we need to re-imagine disaster management. It needs to be underpinned by sound risk management and P3 management practices. The diagram on the left is a condensed version of my thoughts.

I’ve converted the commonly used cyclical model of disaster management into a linear timeline model. The mitigation phase in the cyclical model is replaced with a concurrent series of risk management activities in the timeline model.

Risk analysis after a disaster should identify three types of responses:

1. responses to implement during the recovery phase for the current disaster (shown in the graph as reactive responses during recovery)

2. responses to implement during the preparation phase before the next disaster (shown here as proactive responses during preparation)

3. responses developed in advance to implement during response stage after the next disaster has occurred (shown here as reactive responses during recovery, but for the next disaster rather than the current disaster).

Using a timeline is also helpful, as there are no clear boundaries between activities in the response and recovery phases. For example, Emergency Services and Disaster

Relief agencies would commence response activities after receiving an early warning. They would not wait until after the disaster had occurred.

We know that activities in the rehabilitation and reconstruction aspects of the recovery phase may overlap in time. Using a timeline allows for the possibility that a second disaster might need dealing with while the response and recovery phases for a first disaster are still underway.

I’ve also shown a ‘Disaster Retrospective Review,’ which would use lessons from the current disaster to clarify what ‘resilience’ and ‘build back better’ mean in this context. It could recommend broad streams of work that could evolve via portfolios and programs into projects, as suggested by the Praxis Framework. This review would seek to establish, as early as practically possible, formal project management rigour around reconstruction initiatives that may be risky, expensive or contentious.

Finally, I think it could be useful to recognise that the reconstruction phase may include constructing better and more resilient infrastructure rather than solely reconstructing damaged infrastructure.

Angela: Thanks Geoff, that gives us lots of food for thought for improving disaster management.

Geoff: And thank you Angela.

Dr Angela Lecomber FAIPM CPPD is a consultant with significant experience delivering innovative outcomes in a wide range of sectors, including Federal and Victorian government departments, local government councils, the Catholic Church and many private companies. Geoff Rankins FAIPM CPPD is CEO and lead trainer at Inspiring Projects. He helps organisations improve the value realised from their project investments through professional development and governance support. To learn more about Geoff’s reimagined approach to disaster management, download his whitepaper on the Inspiring Projects website.

Source: Josh Withers via Unsplash

Climate and sustainability Case study: Bridge42’s road to net zero

Consulting firm Bridge42 rebranded during the pandemic with a bold, purpose-led vision. As part of their evolution, they placed sustainability at their core and achieved carbon neutral certification through Climate Active in 2021. Alexander Knight MAIPM CPPM shares their journey.

By Alexander Knight MAIPM CPPM

What is Climate Active?

It is a government-backed program that drives voluntary climate action by supporting Australian individuals, businesses and government to protect the climate.

How do you become carbon neutral?

To be carbon neutral, businesses and organisations calculate their greenhouse gas emissions, then they reduce their emissions by investing in new technology or changing the way they do business. Any remaining emissions are offset to achieve carbon-neutral status.

Sustainability leadership in project management

Addressing the impacts of climate change is undoubtedly one of the greatest challenges of our time and massive action is needed to realise the ambitious, but necessary, net zero emissions by 2050 target of the Paris Climate Agreement.

Bridge42 is a national consulting firm providing strategic, future-focused and vertically integrated property advisory, development and project management services for circa $10 billion in land, master planning and built form developments.

Our status as a Climate Active network member demonstrates that we are taking responsibility for our carbon emissions and aggressively seeking ways to reduce our carbon footprint. We chose not to rely solely on government policies to drive change or have a ‘someone else will fix it’ mindset. Instead of leaving our world in a far worse condition for generations to come we decided to do take action to address climate change.

We have evolved from an organisation which historically monitored and targeted the reduction of resource consumption, to one which leverages a 360-degree view to minimise the carbon footprint of our facilities and operations across Australia.

Initiatives

Bridge42 has undertaken to reduce their carbon footprint

Bridge42 has implemented a company-wide Emission Reduction Policy to establish high-level controls which has led to many initiatives, such as:

• Relocating the Perth headquarters into the CBD to reduce physical footprint, increase efficiency and provide better access to transport options

• Installing a 20kW solar power rooftop system with the goal of 100% renewable energy use

• Designing a bespoke office fit out which incorporates energy efficient appliances, passive and smart lighting, heating and cooling

• Enhancing waste management through separate food organics and garden organics (FOGO), recycling and general waste bins

• Encouraging staff to adjust office commute habits by walking, running, cycling or taking public transport

• Improving procurement practices for air travel, accommodation, services and products

Following our first year of certification, our target of a 5% carbon emissions reduction was easily surpassed with a 26% reduction for the following financial year. We now have our sights set on achieving a further 25% reduction from the 2021-22 financial year by 2025.

We’ve developed, embedded and implemented an organisation-wide Emission Reduction Policy as part of our Safety, Health and Environment Management Systems (SHEMS) corporate portfolio. This will ensure that we achieve our carbon reduction commitment.

Lessons from our carbon assessment journey

Bridge42’s journey through the comprehensive Climate Active certification and recertification processes has provided invaluable first-hand knowledge and insights.

Our learnings identified four key steps for taking climate action:

1. Undertake a carbon neutral assessment – whether you encourage your own organisation or a client’s organisation to take this step, gaining first-hand experience is the most effective path to understand the ins and outs of carbon measurement, analysis and reduction. It is also an important way to provide transparency and a baseline ascertaining how much carbon is being produced and the key sources, as well as to identify opportunities for carbon reduction.

2. Focus on what you can control – set clear, measurable goals in the first instance by identifying the quick wins and low-hanging fruit to kickstart momentum and allow for a targeted approach in reducing carbon emissions. Other areas for reduction

can be subsequently prioritised and addressed as you glean more knowledge and learnings.

3. Create the right structure for impact – implementing and communicating high-level policies, led by a top-down management approach, is by far the most effective process for organisations to achieve the greatest impact. Relying on individual staff to change their habits and choices in relation to consumption, waste and more is the least reliable method to curb an organisation’s carbon emissions.

4. A continuous commitment to climate action – true climate action should not be taken to simply tick a box or to greenwash an organisation’s reputation. The intention must be to proactively undertake regular measurement and analysis and set and reset reduction targets with the ultimate end goal of net zero emissions.

Scaling our impact in the built environment

Bridge42 recognises the built environment sector is a key contributor of carbon emissions. The construction, operation and maintenance of buildings accounts for almost 25% of greenhouse gas emissions in Australia (source: The Conversation).

We have the responsibility to play a key role in managing the impacts of our industry. We are collectively accountable to act now,

take up the challenge, and facilitate change. Equipped with an intimate knowledge of carbon assessment and certification, we are well-placed to share our lived-knowledge and assist other organisations with the planning and development of responsible, futureproofed assets.

We are contributing to Australia’s net zero commitment through working with likeminded clients on projects which include establishing carbon assessments to report on carbon generation and modelling the long-term year-on-year carbon footprints of structures. This enables the application of a directed approach at a building’s business case to discover the true future cost of assets.

The buildings we construct today will soon be measured by the annual cost of carbon neutrality and refit costs to reduce the building’s footprint to meet the Australian Government’s 2030 and 2050 emissions reduction targets.

In working with our clients and partners to better understand their carbon footprint and empower them to commence their respective climate action journeys, we seek to achieve a greater impact across the property and construction industry in support of Australia’s net zero commitment.

Alexander Knight MAIPM CPPM is a Project Manager and the Sustainability Lead at Bridge42. He has championed Bridge42’s Climate Active journey and certification as a carbon neutral organisation and service. He is currently working with several clients to achieve their respective strategic sustainability ambitions.

How Telstra uses technology to address climate change (source: Telstra)

Climate and sustainability Case study: Climate action at Telstra

Project management professionals have a critical role in executing sustainability strategies and incorporating sustainable practices in all projects. Nisha Singh MAIPM and Alison Knoblauch give insight into the sustainability focus at Telstra and share lessons from a recent environment project.

By Nisha Singh MAIPM and Alison Knoblauch

Telstra’s environment strategy is crucial to achieving its vision of building a connected future where everyone thrives. It also focuses on helping suppliers and customers to reduce their carbon footprints.

An example of how Telstra uses technology to address climate change (source: Telstra)

Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030

(from an FY19 baseline)

Invest in renewable energy generation equivalent to 100% of its consumption by 2025

Achieving such bold targets requires a complex and interwoven strategy, spanning business units from network operations to sales.

• Product owners are looking at how Telstra’s technology can help customers reduce emissions (such as digitising processes or using Internet of Thing devices to monitor and more effectively use resources).

• Finance teams have applied a shadow carbon price and established an emissions reduction fund.

• Engineers are delivering energy efficiency programs to reduce emissions from our network operations and infrastructure, decommissioning legacy equipment, and cleverly designing the network to use less power.

• Supplier management teams collaborate with suppliers and partners to reduce emissions through the technology, products, and services they provide the business.

How project management helps

With a complex, multi-faceted strategy, strong project management is critical to success. From the outset there needs to be support from decision makers, clear accountability, defined tangible and achievable outcomes, agreed delivery pathways, and coordinated

Maintain carbon neutral status for operations

(first achieved in 2020)

project oversight.

Project management processes (like defining business value and clarifying the benefits and risks involved) help with effective communication across many stakeholders.

During the execution phase strong governance to oversee and guide progress, accurate and transparent tracking, and modelling meaningful and consistent engagement has proved crucial. This is where project management professionals have led the way.

A carbon farm trials new technology to support Telstra’s environment strategy

In 2022 Telstra acquired a farm in Northern NSW as our first carbon farm. The project involves purchasing land, clearing, and managing weeds on the property, planting over 150,000 trees to store carbon from the atmosphere, and using experimental technology to test new and innovative ways of managing land.

A methodical approach to project planning and delivery tracking was central to the project’s success. The project benefited greatly from project management support. It was the first project of its kind for Telstra, so there was no blueprint to draw upon.

Telstra’s ambitious sustainability targets (source: Telstra)

Project reflections from Nisha Singh, Project Manager Tailoring the approach

Tailoring the approach, processes, and governance according to the project context was particularly important. The PMBOK guide says, “tailoring aims to maximize value, manage constraints, and improve performance by using ‘just enough’ processes, methods, templates, and artifacts to achieve the desired outcome from the project.”

One of my key learnings on tailoring the approach was in the project planning stage. I was 100% allocated to this project and my goal was to set up project processes, artefacts, and templates that could be easily scalable for similar future largerscale projects. My ideal scenario ended up

requiring too much time and effort from the project team. This did not align with their goals and understanding of the business value of the current project. Considering not only the context of the project but also the resources and team dynamics helped me adapt the approach to get the ‘just enough’ balance right.

Stakeholder management

Equally important is understanding and managing your stakeholders, their ‘stakes’ in the project and their drivers. Different executives have different drivers and hence different approaches to risk. It is imperative to understand and manage these complexities by applying systems thinking and systems interactions analysis. Getting it right can help create advocates and ensure concerns are heard and addressed so they do not negatively impact the project.

Bringing the team together to develop a project charter and business case provided structure across delivery streams and developed a sense of ownership and belonging among team members. Similarly, getting all the great ideas for the project translated into a value delivery model set expectations and enabled more effective ongoing communication.

Collaboration is the key to achieving climate action

Organisations can execute bold, complex strategies to take meaningful climate action by partnering project management expertise with technical experts and business leaders. It has never been more critical to act, and it’s only by bringing together experts from across these domains that change can happen.

Nisha Singh MAIPM is a Project Manager at Telstra with over ten years of experience in telecommunication operations and construction. Alison Knoblauch is a Senior Sustainability Specialist at Telstra specialising in resource efficiency. Disclaimer: any views, opinions and project learnings shared in this article are the professional reflections of the contributors of this article, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Telstra.

Leadership

Surviving change management by being smarter than a frog

What can project managers learn about change management from an old frog fable? Plenty, as it turns out. Desmond Chin FAIPM CPPD shares his perspective on managing project change, including tips on using a decision model called the OODA Loop as an adaptive framework.

By Desmond Chin FAIPM CPPD

There is a frog fable that says you can slowly boil a frog alive by gradually increasing the water temperature around it. The frog fails to detect and understand this change until it’s too late. The frog can’t or won’t get out of the steaming hot water, and alas, it dies.

This old tale, as gruesome as it is, interestingly has some lessons for project managers.

1. Pay attention: the frog may have failed to detect the temperature change in its environment because it was too distracted by other thoughts or responsibilities.

2. Understand risk: if the frog did notice the temperature change, it failed to realise it was becoming dangerous.

3. Consider contingencies: the frog hadn’t planned out escape routes.

4. Know when to react: unfortunately, the frog failed to identify the right temperature and time to jump, resulting in its untimely demise.

Scanning for change

Are you smarter than a frog?

Let’s now imagine you, a highly evolved and intelligent project manager, standing in your own murky pond called the project environment when you detect a change. Would you make better survival decisions and actions than our doomed frog? It might depend on whether you:

• Can detect and understand changes in the project environment

• Know which changes are the most dangerous to your project

• Have change response plans in place

• Know which plan will best mitigate the change

• Know the conditions to launch the revised plan

Perceiving and understanding change – how hard can it be?

Detecting change is only half the battle. You also need to understand change and how it impacts a project which can be complex. Just because you can see change doesn’t mean you understand it or know what to do about it.

Knowing where to look can help you discover changes. Here are some of the areas change can occur.

Social Project metrics

People, stakeholders, politics, organisations

Project execution

Scope, timeframe, milestones, productivity

Economics

Budgetary variations, cost increases, contingency

Product and technology

Development, change, integration

For example, some project teams have an overreliance on earned value data to forecast adverse changes. Getting alerts for a serious budget or schedule variance is one thing, but you also need to understand the causes, the impact and the best way to mitigate it. Follow-on analysis is required to get the complete picture.

Project managers need to be also aware that change can be missed through personal bias or blind spots that derive from being unable to detect changes due to societal aspects (such as people’s resistance to change, politics and internal and external influences), and personal biases and preferences (shaped by our personality, professional background, experience, and relationships).

How to analyse changes

When changes are detected, further analysis is required to fully understand and inform decisions.

• Extrapolation: See how change can propagate itself using what-if and brainstorming techniques.

• Showstoppers: Identify changes that are project killers and need to be mitigated.

• Opportunities: Identify changes that could help enhance the success of a project and need to be embraced.

• Triage: Prioritise changes and focus on the top three using a triage system or the Pareto 80:20 rule.

OODA change management framework

For time-poor project managers trying to make sense of the myriad of changes in your project environment, below is a simple process that might help.

The suggestion is to adapt the OODA Loop (Observe, Orientate, Decide and Act) decision making model developed by Air Force Colonel John Boyd to help fighter pilots survive air-combat. Fighter pilots exist in an

extreme change management environment. Pilots must detect the enemy, analyse their actions, develop change response options, decide how and when to act and then action their new reaction plan, all within extremely short timeframes. Missteps can be fatal.

The OODA Loop is just as valuable for the more sedate world of project management. Here’s how to use it as a framework for managing project change.

1. Observe: Develop your situational awareness by looking outwards and into your project environment, detect changes, and discern its characteristics. Make use of project data, project risk assessments and engagement with stakeholders to get change warnings. Highlight project showstoppers. Prevent change blindness and do not become mesmerised and distracted with data. Triage the top 3 changes.

2. Orientate: Analyse the impact of changes to your current situation and identify what courses of action are now required for the project to continue to be successful. Extrapolate how changes will impact the project, and what needs to happen to mitigate these changes. Develop change response options, review existing project plans for their suitability to mitigate showstopper changes and adapt or replace plans as required.

3. Decide: Evaluate your change response options and decide on your course of action and the right conditions to implement. Detail the selected course of action including its critical success factors so you can later verify if the selected course of action actually works.

4. Act: Implement the selected course of action, check if selected course of action is being successful. The OODA Loop is an agile decision making process so adapt the use of OODA as changing circumstances dictate.

Scan broadly for outside changes, check if current plans are working

A framework only goes so far

Change is ever-present in the project environment, so project managers need to be capable of dealing with it. The OODA model gives you an agile framework, but you need to adapt your use of OODA as changing circumstances dictate and be agile too. Even more importantly, you need

Project metrics

Project data needs to be critical and timely to inform and support the Project OODA process

Assess current situation and effect of changes on plans:

1. Project objective

2. Implementation assumptions

3. Strategies and plans

4. Threat/risk treatments

Mitigating Changes

1. Check if any changes are becoming showstoppers

2. Update assumptions, plans and strategies

3. Check if plans are still effective

Triaging Changes

80:20 rule (Pareto method) to filter out the top 20% of factors that generate the 80% of project issues. Mitigate the top 3 changes.

cognitive input, judgement, action, and personal agility to deal with change and help you and your project win and survive.

Notwithstanding all the above, using OODA is about giving you a framework to help you and your project win and survive – in doing so, then for another day you’re still smarter than the frog.

Desmond Chin FAIPM CPPD has worked in the private, government and military sectors on design, construction, consulting, and ICT projects. He has contributed to developing project management bodies of knowledge.

Change management survival with OODA (source: Desmond Chin)

Fellows forum

Connecting for success

Peter Tow FAIPM CPPD, Executive Director of Strategic Projects and Improvements at Western Sydney University and newly elected to the AIPM Board, reflects on his project management journey and why the best is still ahead.

What experiences and past roles have led you to where you are today?

Like many, I started in project management quite accidentally. I started in engineering and eventually started to appreciate how the smaller pieces of engineering work contributed to larger projects.

In terms of formational experiences, I spent a few years in Afghanistan working for a number of humanitarian aid and international development agencies, delivering a range of reconstruction programs, including water and sanitation, road, school, and clinic projects. These projects took me across many different parts of the country including some of the more remote areas of the region. I had learned a few of the basic principles of project management at university which provided a minimum foundation for what was a very steep learning curve.

How one gets to where one is, is a great question, and on reflection it becomes clear it’s not necessarily just the experiences or specific projects that stand out. It is the memories of some amazing people and relationships that have stayed with me. The opportunity to interact with such a range of fascinating people continues to be what makes life interesting.

What are you doing currently? Is there a particular project you’re working on right now?

I currently work for Western Sydney University, leading a portfolio that combines strategic projects and digital transformation, along with planning, risk, and assurance.

One of the things I

love about project management is that there’s always a new project on the horizon.

I’m currently enjoying leading a digital transformation program, which focuses on the digitalisation of how an internal services organisation works at an enterprise level. The key challenge is trying to bring together the overlapping spheres of people, process, and technology. The key to success is making the use of technology solutions real and practical for both our staff and customers. It’s big, bold, and aspirational, and it’s enabling a whole raft of exciting opportunities to emerge.

What is the biggest career challenge you’ve had to overcome?

For those familiar with projects, the biggest challenges are also known as the Monday morning to-do list!

I wouldn’t be alone in suggesting the professional experience through the pandemic was a significant career challenge for many. However, looking back it’s incredible how quickly everyone was able to change and adapt ways of working.

What has been your biggest professional achievement?

This is always a challenging question to answer without a long story, and sometimes it’s the small things rather than the big things, which often owe as much to a broader team than my own individual efforts.

We sometimes hear the phrase “you’re only as good as your last game”, or perhaps “what have you done for us recently”.

I’d like to think my biggest professional achievement is still in the future.

Each day, just being able to enjoy what I do, will always be what a win looks like. Every day that I have the chance to make a difference (big or small), I consider a privilege.

What do you love most about project management?

I really appreciate how good project management makes things better in general. While not everything is technically a project, the skills and structured approach make a positive difference across many different areas of life.

To a certain extent, everybody does a little day to day project management; but the best are worth their weight in gold.

When I ask people how they became project managers, I have yet to receive the same answer. Good project managers come from everywhere and anywhere and all seem to have a unique journey and collection of experiences.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to enter project management?

This is a question that I often ask in interviews for PMO roles as there are some interesting ways to answer this.

I would make three suggestions. One, seek practical experience in whatever areas you can find. Two, learn formally so that you have a clear framework to understand why project management ‘works’. Three, seek out people who can mentor and advise, to learn from many

others who have undertaken similar journeys (yes, this is the AIPM pitch).

Actually, there is a fourth step, which is to repeat steps 1 to 3. When it comes to project management, we are all always learning.

How do you define success?

Well clearly in the context of a project management conversation, the technically correct answer must be about the objectives of the project business case and the realisation of benefits!

But more seriously from a personal perspective, success can’t be about career and professional achievement. Any definition must include others: our friends, families, colleagues, and community; and those that we are connected to.

To put it another way; any day I can go to sleep with peace of mind is a good day.

What career advice do you live by? Who gave it to you?

During some of the more difficult days of the global financial crisis in 2008, I received some guidance from a mentor that has stuck with me since. It was that as long as you remain useful, flexible, and pleasant, then from a career perspective the rest would take care of itself.

You’ve recently joined the AIPM Board. Why did you want to join the board and what are you looking forward to?

AIPM is the voice of project leadership, whether for government, industry, or academia.

Recently at our university, a number of the top performing project management students were recognised and awarded

an AIPM membership. I was deeply moved by how much the students valued their opportunity to be recognised by the AIPM. The celebration, smiles, high fives, photos, and depth of appreciation really surprised me.

As a beneficiary of the AIPM and the often-unrecognised work that the AIPM does, I hope to contribute something back to the profession.

How has your career benefited from being an AIPM member and RegPM™ certified?

The biggest thing for me has been the people I’ve been able to connect with through the AIPM. As an up-and-coming project manager, the AIPM conferences were also a huge source of learning. Sometimes you don’t know how much you don’t know.

RegPM™ for me is all about confidence. It helped me understand the value of my experience and capability. In turn, RegPM™ also represents the confidence of the profession. Sometimes you don’t know how much you’re capable of.

Any tips or advice for new AIPM members?

Get involved, attend the conferences, and support those around you who in turn support you.

Connect with me on

Peter Tow presenting at the AIPM National Summit 2023’

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Learning and development

Upcoming AIPM events

Explore our upcoming educational webinars and leadership workshops, presented by leaders in the project management space. You can view more events, including our in-person offerings, on our website, and catch up on previous webinars on ondemand.aipm.com.au.

Maximising your project’s potential with generative AI

9 May l 12:00pm-1:00pm AEST

Virtual l Click here to register

3 CPD points

Explore the benefits of using AI, like ChatGPT, in project management.

Cyber security fundamentals for project management

10 May l 12:00pm-2:00pm AEST

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3 CPD points

Learn how to tackle spear phishing and ransomware threats.

Influencing in project leadership

16 & 23 June l 9:00am-5:00pm AEST

Virtual l Click here to register

20 CPD points

Gain the tools and knowledge to advance your communication and influencing skills.

Contribute to the Winter edition of Paradigm Shift

Next edition, we would like to cover topics such as digital business transformation, ChatGPT, cyber security, and how to deal with the pressure of inflation on budgets and other current challenges. We’d also like to continue looking at the ongoing important areas such as leadership and professional advancement, as well as large scale transformation. We would love to hear from you if you have an idea for an article that you would like to write.

Writing for Paradigm Shift is an unparalleled way to share your insights and learnings with your peers, showcasing your expertise and knowledge in project management. What’s more, all contributors get 10 CPD points, even if you co-author the article with a colleague.

Before submitting your idea, please consider:

• What will my peers learn from my article?

• Can I provide a well-rounded argument?

• Would I consider myself an expert on this topic?

• How can I make the article high level for my peers?

Article ideas for the next edition are due by Friday, 5 May 2023, and the edition will be out in July 2023.