Report Reveals Widen Gap Between Sustainability Ambition and Delivery 

Emma Okonji

As organisations across Africa and the rest of the world seek to translate sustainability ambitions into business outcomes, new research from Project Management Institute (PMI) and Green Project Management, a global organisation advancing sustainable practices, has revealed a critical challenge where organisations are struggling to deliver measurable sustainability outcomes.

The report, themed: ‘Executing Sustainability Strategy: When Ambition Meets Reality’, surveyed nearly 1,600 professionals across 35 countries and found a significant disconnect between strategic confidence and execution readiness.

According to the report, while 85 per cent of sustainability executives believe their organisations will achieve their sustainability goals, only 43 per cent of Project Management Office (PMO) leaders share that confidence, adding that among project professionals responsible for implementation, just 20 per cent are extremely confident in their organisation’s ability to deliver.

The study also found that although 79 per cent of respondents believed sustainability remained important to long-term success, only 41 per cent said it had been fully integrated into projects and daily operations.

For Africa, where projects underpin everything from infrastructure and energy development to healthcare, mining, agriculture, and digital transformation, the research findings pointed to a challenge that is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.

Analysing the report, Managing Director, PMI sub-Saharan Africa, George Asamani, said: “Sustainability is no longer a separate conversation from business performance. Across the continent, governments and businesses have set bold targets and made significant commitments. The real challenge is delivery. A strategy does not build a power station, expand broadband access, or improve water security – projects do. If sustainability is not embedded into project delivery, organisations will struggle to achieve the outcomes they are aiming for.”