Perspectives · Leadership

What does it mean to be a sustainability champion?

Dr. Joel Carboni July 8, 2025

The PMI GPM joint venture will be launching a Sustainability Champions Program. It’s going to be exciting—yes, I am teasing something that is brewing and no, I can't say more than this: we will be looking for advocates who want to drive change in a big way. So... stay tuned for that.

In the meantime, I wanted to reflect on what it truly means to champion sustainability—because it’s more than a role or a title. It’s a way of showing up in the world. And as the pace of environmental and social disruption accelerates, our collective need for courageous, values-driven leadership has never been more urgent.

To be a sustainability champion is to carry the question: How can this project, this decision, this organization contribute to regeneration, not just reduction? It’s to believe that better is possible—and to work for it even when it’s inconvenient, unpopular, or unclear.

It’s not about perfection. It’s about presence.

To be a sustainability champion is to walk into rooms where business-as-usual still reigns and ask: What if we did this differently? It’s to believe that innovation and responsibility are not at odds, but inseparable. It’s to understand that “less harm” is not the same as “more healing.” And it’s to lead with the belief that every project, every process, every partnership is an opportunity to restore, not just reduce.

Sustainability champions don’t just talk about change. They embody it. They’re the ones who are just as fluent in GHG emissions as they are in human rights. Who know that climate justice and social equity are intertwined. Who recognize that inclusion isn’t just about who’s at the table, but who helped set it in the first place.

They also understand that this work is personal. Sustainability starts with self-awareness. If your nervous system is burned out, your calendar over-packed, and your values buried under deliverables, it’s nearly impossible to do transformative work. Regenerative leadership means cultivating your own inner ecology—because the system you are is the system you shape.

This isn’t just idealism. It’s strategic. According to research from GPM and other global frameworks, over 30% of global GDP flows through projects. That means the project economy holds a powerful lever for change. Every project can be a platform for biodiversity restoration, emissions reduction, inclusive hiring, ethical procurement, and community empowerment. But only if we design them that way. And only if someone champions that design.

Ask Yourself

So, what does this look like in practice? Here are some questions to ask—not once, but regularly—as a way to calibrate your leadership to the kind of future we all say we want:

  • Are we designing our projects to leave ecosystems, people, and cultures better off?

  • Are our metrics capturing what matters—or just what’s convenient to count?

  • Who benefits from this initiative? Who bears the risk? Who has no voice?

  • What legacy will this project leave in ten years? In one hundred?

  • How do I model the kind of leadership I wish was more common?

  • Am I using my influence to protect the status quo—or to invite the next evolution?

  • Is this “green” initiative rooted in real accountability, or is it a PR strategy in disguise?

  • What are the systems of power and privilege that shape how we define “success” here?

These are not easy questions. But sustainability champions aren’t looking for easy—they’re looking for real. They know that the discomfort of honest inquiry is far less dangerous than the comfort of silent complicity.

The Path Forward

As we prepare to launch the Sustainability Champions Program, we’re not just rolling out another initiative. We’re inviting a movement. A distributed network of bold professionals who are ready to be bridge-builders, question-askers, culture-shapers. People who know that sustainability isn’t a silo—it’s a story we write together.

You don’t need to have “Sustainability” in your job title to be part of this. You don’t need to be perfect, or even loud. You just need to be willing. Willing to align your values with your work. Willing to listen more deeply. To slow down when speed feels safer. To bring complexity into conversations that crave simplicity. To make decisions that prioritize the long arc over the quick win.

This is the leadership our world needs—not performative, but principled. Not reactive, but regenerative. Not top-down, but deeply relational.

Stay tuned. The program is coming. But the work? It’s already begun. And the invitation is open.

Are you ready to answer it?

Leadership PMI GPM Sustainability