About this episode
More and more businesses are realizing that sustainability projects are not just good for the environment—they also can boost an organization’s bottom line. But project managers need the right skills to get organizational support to deliver successful initiatives. We discuss this with: Brittany Brama, principal sustainability program manager, C.H. Robinson, Eden Prairie, Minnesota, USA: Brama discusses how she prioritizes sustainability-focused projects, how a passion project became a tool that helped customers reduce carbon emissions by 350,000 metric tons in its pilot phase, and ways project managers can build support and a collaborative environment for sustainability projects—plus the different ways her teams measure the impact of these projects. Oladele Iyiola, PMP, program manager for strategic programs, sustainability and ESG, Tawal, Riyadh: Iyiola discusses how his passion drove him to lead sustainability projects, how a recycling and waste management project helped his company re-use assets and better recycle operational waste, and his top advice to other project professionals leading sustainability projects. Key themes [02:01] Prioritizing sustainability projects that share value across an enterprise [02:41] Delivering value to customers through a carbon emissions monitoring tool [05:20] Building collaboration and buy-in for sustainability projects with the C-suite and customers [06:58] Ways to measure a project’s impact: sustainability pledges met, CO2 reduced and stakeholder feedback [08:54] A passion for sustainability: balancing telecom’s energy needs and environmental impact [11:43] Launching a recycling and waste management project to boost the recycling of operational waste [14:28] Must-have skills for sustainability projects: technical skills, collaboration and stakeholder management [15:18] Looking to lead sustainability projects? Be a change agent and increase awareness