The organization
What GPM is
GPM, Green Project Management®, is the organization that writes the standards, method and competence requirements for sustainability in project management and certifies people and organizations against them. It was founded in May 2009 in Fort Wayne, Indiana, as a think tank of practitioners, incorporated as GPM Ltd. in April 2011, and launched its certification program in June 2011. It joined the UN Global Compact in 2013, the first project management organization to do so.
GPM's position is simple and has not changed since 2009: projects are where an organization's sustainability commitments are either delivered or lost, so the project profession needs an impact standard, a method and a competence standard of its own, with evidence at every step. Everything GPM publishes serves that position. The standards and guides are free to download; the training, assessment and certification that apply them are what GPM sells.
Since 2023 GPM has worked with the Project Management Institute, and since April 2025 the PMI-GPM joint venture, led by Executive Director Lucila Dotto, publishes the P5 Standard and the practice guides and delivers the CSPP certification through PMI's global infrastructure. GPM remains independent, continues to publish under its own name, and runs its own competence-based certifications and organizational assessments.
The name and the marks
What the words mean here
GPM® and Green Project Management® are registered trademarks of GPM Ltd. and are the organization's name. When someone searches for green project management they usually mean reducing the environmental impact of projects. GPM's work has always been wider than that: the P5 Standard assesses People, Planet and Prosperity together, for the product a project delivers and the process that delivers it, and it has since 2014.
Sustainable Project Management® is GPM's registered service mark for its method, training, assessment and certifications (US Reg. No. 8,255,819, in commerce since July 12, 2011). The subject itself is called sustainability in project management on this site. The mark has its own page; the subject has a guide.
What GPM publishes
Standards, method, guides and research
Standard
The PMI GPM P5 Standard for Sustainability in Project Management
Version 4.0 (2026). 52 impact elements, five lenses, crosswalked to GRI, TCFD, ISSB and the SDGs. First published 2014. Free.
Method
PRiSM and the Sustainability Management Plan
Six-phase delivery method with the P5 Impact Analysis at Discovery and Delivery. Named 2011, published 2013, the basis of the Practice Guide.
Standard
The GPM Sustainability Competence Standard
Version 2.1. Ten competence units with evidence-based performance criteria, the basis of GPM's competence-based certifications.
Guides
The PMI GPM practice guides
The Practice Guide, Fourth Edition; the Guide to Responsible Project Sponsorship; the Project Sustainability Reporting Guide. All free.
Research
Insights into Sustainable Project Management®
With the Association for Project Management: more than 10,000 responses across 113 countries on what practitioners actually do.
Record
Provenance
The dated record of every edition, launch and recognition from 2008 to 2026, with where each can be checked.
What GPM offers
Training, certifications and assessment
Training
Sustainable Project Management® training
IACET-accredited courses on the P5 Impact Analysis, the Sustainability Management Plan and PRiSM, online and through Accredited Training Partners in 60 countries.
Certifications
CSPP, CSF, CSP, CSPMs, CSPMx
The exam-based CSPP (established 2013 as the GPM-b) and four competence-based certifications assessed on real results against the Competence Standard.
Assessment
PSM3, OSEM and GPM360°
Maturity assessment for portfolios, enterprise assessment against the P5 Standard for Business Practice, and single-project verification led by a Lead Assessor and validated by GPM.
Policies
Sixteen published policies
Ethics and conduct, environment and AI, privacy and data, intellectual property, each published in full and dated.
Questions
Frequently asked
What does GPM stand for?
Green Project Management®. GPM® and Green Project Management® are registered trademarks of GPM Ltd., and GPM is the name the organization uses. The legal entity is GPM Ltd., an Indiana corporation.
When was GPM founded?
In May 2009, as a think tank of practitioners in Fort Wayne, Indiana, working from the P5 framework and the Sustainability Management Plan toolkit. GPM was incorporated in April 2011 and launched certification in June 2011.
Is GPM part of PMI?
No. GPM is an independent organization. Since 2023 it has partnered with the Project Management Institute, and since April 2025 the PMI-GPM joint venture publishes the P5 Standard and the practice guides and delivers the CSPP certification. GPM continues to publish its own standards and to certify against them.
Is Green Project Management only about the environment?
No. The name dates from 2009, when the environmental impact of projects was the visible gap. GPM's P5 Standard has always assessed People, Planet and Prosperity together, for both the product and the process. Environmental impact is one part of what GPM measures.
What is the difference between GPM and Sustainable Project Management®?
GPM is the organization. Sustainable Project Management® is one of its registered service marks, used for its method, training, assessment and certifications. Green Project Management® is the organization's own registered name.
Who founded GPM?
Joel Carboni, who wrote the first Project Sustainability Management Plan in 2008, founded GPM in 2009 and remains its CEO. He is the author of the P5 Standard, PRiSM and the reference guides.
Author
Dr. Joel Carboni is the founder and president of GPM and the architect of the standards, methods, and certifications behind Sustainable Project Management®, delivered through the PMI-GPM joint venture. He created the P5 Standard, the Sustainability Competence Standard, the Sustainable Project Management® Practice Guide, the Project Sustainability Reporting Guide and the PMI GPM Guide to Responsible Project Sponsorship. For over 30 years, his work has moved the profession in a different direction. A Forbes Business Council member and Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) contributor, he was shortlisted for Thinkers50's inaugural regenerative business award in 2025 for his book Becoming Regenerative.
Published 4 September 2026. Corrections through the contact page.
Also on this site
What is GPM: purpose and structure. Timeline: the story since 2009. Strategic alliances: the PMI-GPM joint venture and other partners. UN engagement: Global Compact participation since 2013.