The Project Sustainability Reporting Guide 

Connecting Project Delivery to Sustainability Reporting and ESG Disclosures

Projects are where sustainability actually happens — where strategies turn into measurable outcomes. Yet most sustainability reports focus on the organization level and overlook where those impacts occur: in projects.

The Project Sustainability Reporting Guide, developed by the PMI GPM Sustainability Joint Venture, bridges that gap. It provides a practical roadmap for integrating sustainability directly into project management and linking project data to global reporting frameworks.

The guide is available for free download and is designed for project professionals, sustainability officers, and executives seeking to make their sustainability performance measurable, reportable, and auditable.

What’s Inside

A Practical Framework for Project Teams
Step-by-step guidance to align project delivery with sustainability goals using the Sustainability Management Plan (SMP) and P5 Standard for Sustainable Project Management.

Aligned with Global and Regional Frameworks

• GRI Standards (2021 series)

• ISSB / IFRS S1 & S2 (formerly SASB / TCFD)

• EU Directives – CSRD, CSDDD, and EU Taxonomy

• UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

• Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework

Context-Based Sustainability (CBS)
A methodology for measuring performance not just by improvement, but against science-based thresholds for what is truly sustainable.

Dual Materiality in Action
Learn how to assess both the impacts of the project on the world and the impacts of the world on the project — meeting GRI and ESRS double materiality requirements.

Sector-Specific Guidance
Detailed examples and best practices for over ten industries, each with tailored impacts, metrics, and disclosure mapping.

Tools and Templates
Ready-to-use resources including the Impact Register, Material Topics Table, Verification Checklist, Benefits Tracker, and EU Taxonomy evidence table.

Industries Covered

The guide provides sector-specific modules showing how sustainability principles apply across diverse industries.

1. IT and Digital Projects – energy, e-waste, data privacy, and accessibility.

2. Construction and Infrastructure – materials, safety, emissions, and community impacts.

3. Giga and Mega Projects – governance, biodiversity, livelihoods, and transparency.

4. Energy Projects – decarbonization, just transition, and biodiversity net-gain.

5. Mining and Extractives – water, tailings, Indigenous rights, and ecosystem restoration.

6. Transport and Mobility – emissions, accessibility, and equitable mobility.

7. Healthcare and Public Health – safety, equity, access, and resilience.

8. Public Sector and Development – governance, transparency, and institutional trust.

9. Manufacturing and Industrial – circular production, workforce safety, and fair labor.

10. Information, Media, and Telecommunications – energy, privacy, inclusion, and digital ethics.

Additional modules also explore Financial Services and Investment, and Digital Transformation and Artificial Intelligence.

Each module covers:

• Materiality hotspots — the issues that matter most.

• Lifecycle guidance — how to manage them through every project phase.

• Disclosure mapping — connecting impacts directly to GRI, ISSB, TCFD, SDGs, CSRD, and EU Taxonomy.

The Project Lifecycle

Every project follows a structured journey through six phases, guided by the Sustainability Management Plan (SMP).

1. Pre-Project / Initiation – identify early sustainability risks and opportunities.

2. Discovery / Planning – build the Impact Register and apply the Materiality Test.

3. Design / Planning – translate material issues into commitments, KPIs, and accountabilities in the Material Topics Management Table.

4. Delivery / Execution – track performance through the Implementation and Monitoring Section.

5. Closure – verify commitments with evidence using the Verification Checklist.

6. Post-Project Benefits Realization – confirm long-term outcomes through the Benefits Tracker and feed data into organizational ESG reporting.

This lifecycle ensures that sustainability is built into the project from the start — not added as an afterthought — and that results are auditable, verifiable, and report-ready.

Agile and Iterative Delivery

The Guide also supports Agile and Hybrid delivery approaches.

• Sustainability impacts identified in the P5 Impact Analysis are converted into backlog items or acceptance criteria.

• Progress is tracked during each sprint, and sustainability metrics are updated incrementally in the SMP.

• Sprint reviews include reporting on sustainability KPIs alongside functional demonstrations.

• Retrospectives capture lessons learned and feed them into the next sprint cycle.

• Program increments aggregate sustainability metrics into the Benefits Tracker.

This allows teams using Agile or hybrid methodologies to embed sustainability into their regular cadence — integrating it into every sprint, release, and backlog refinement process.

Why You Need this Guide

The Project Sustainability Reporting Guide is more than a framework — it’s the missing link between project delivery and sustainability reporting.

By connecting the data generated in projects to recognized ESG disclosure standards, organizations can:

• Strengthen the accuracy, traceability, and credibility of sustainability reports.

• Integrate ESG performance into every phase of project delivery.

• Demonstrate compliance with global and regional frameworks.

• Move beyond incremental improvement to authentic, context-based sustainability.

Download the Guide (note: pop-ups must be enabled)

The Project Sustainability Reporting Guide is available now as a free PDF download.

It’s time to turn sustainability strategy into project delivery — and project delivery into measurable, reportable impact.

Download your copy now and join project professionals worldwide who are making sustainability part of how every project is planned, managed, and reported.