From the course: Sustainable Project Management: Strategies to Boost Social, Economic, and Environmental Impact

Beyond green: A holistic approach to sustainability

From the course: Sustainable Project Management: Strategies to Boost Social, Economic, and Environmental Impact

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Beyond green: A holistic approach to sustainability

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- Imagine you are working on a project that is going to change your neighborhood. Your goal is to make it environmentally friendly, but have you consider how it'll impact people's lives or how it will affect the local economy? Sustainability isn't just about being green, it's about understanding the big picture. This broader approach is crucial because projects that only focus on one aspect of sustainability often miss the bigger picture. They may succeed in one area, but fail in others. And in this course, I'm going to teach you how to expand your view of sustainability and make sure your project is truly impactful. The first thing we need to know is that sustainability is multidimensional. When we talk about sustainability, we almost immediately think about the environment, but there are two other critical dimensions, social and economic. Social sustainability involves making sure that the products and services created by the project will improve people's lives and engage society as a whole. Economic sustainability means ensuring that projects are financially viable and contribute to long-term economic growth. Now, let's imagine a bridge that connects nothing to nowhere, but is built with the highest level of environmental sustainability on time and on budget. Is this sustainable? Balancing these three dimension is key to creating lasting value. For instance, a project that reduce carbon emissions but displaces local communities isn't truly sustainable. A holistic approach also means thinking about how today's decision will impact tomorrow's world. It's critical to consider the long-term impact far ahead of the project conclusion. This ensures that our projects are not only succeeded today, but continue to provide value long into the future.

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