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INTEGRATING MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS: A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH FOR AMALGAMATING THE ENVIRONMENTAL & PROJECT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS JACOB H. DORNBOS KAREN L. WALSHE DEGREE OF MASTER THESIS (1YR), STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN 2013

Dornbos & Walshe 2013

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ABSTRACT Current business thinking dictates the need to move away from segregated management systems and towards a more assimilative style of management. The concept of an integrated management system is gaining substantial popularity and is being applied extensively across industries. This thesis investigates an under-examined subsection of the integrated management system: The intersection of the organization’s environmental management system and its project management system. Industry standards, professional organizations’ documentation and academic literature are analysed and recommendations are aimed at the integration of these areas. Concurrently several case studies of industry leaders are carried out in order to evaluate this area of integration in business practices. This assessment is focused on a systems level and is structured around the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle, alongside the common components of management systems. Under this framework we attempt to gather the best practices for integrating environmental management with project management in order to achieve optimum efficiency and goal achievement for both systems.


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We thank the people at Atlas Copco and AbbVie for allowing us to interview and analyse their organisations. Additional thanks go to our supervisor Rolland Langhè for a wonderful year at KTH. l

- Jacob H. Dornbos & Karen L. Walshe


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I 1. INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 SITUATION GLOBALLY 2 1.2 TARGET GROUP & ADVANTAGES 3 1.3 EXPAND PRESENT KNOWLEDGE 3

2. GOALS & SCOPE 3 2.1 GOALS & EXPECTED RESULTS 3 2.2 SCOPE 4 2.3 SCOPE EXCLUSIONS, CONSTRAINTS & ASSUMPTIONS 6

3. METHODOLOGY 6

3.1 RESEARCH QUESTION 6 3.2 TYPE OF STUDY: INDUCTIVE 7 3.3 MENTAL MODEL 7 3.4 STUDY TECHNIQUE: HYBRID CASE STUDY/INTERVIEW 7 3.5 KEY TOOLS TO BE USED 8

PART II 4. MANAGEMENT SYSTEM 9

4.1 INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE 9 4.2 THE EMS PERSPECTIVE 10 4.2.1 ISO 14000:2004 10 4.2.2 THE EUROPEAN ECO-‐MANAGEMENT AND AUDIT SCHEME 13 4.3 THE PMS PERSPECTIVE 14 4.3.1 PMBOK® -‐ 5TH EDITION 15 4.3.2 ISO 21500:2012 & ISO 10006:2003 15 4.3.3 OTHER TRADITIONAL APPROACHES 16 4.4 REFLECTION 17

5. LITERATURE STUDY 17

5.1 INTRODUCTION 17 5.2 LEADING AUTHORS 18 5.3 LEADING PUBLICATIONS 18

6. CASE STUDIES 22

6.1 ABBVIE 22 6.2 ATLAS COPCO 25 6.3 REFLECTION 27


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PART III 7. ANALYSIS & EVALUATION 28

7.1 QUALITATIVE EVALUATION 28 7.2 PDCA FRAMEWORK 30

8. DEDUCTIONS & CONCLUSIONS 39

8.1 RECOMMENDATIONS 39

9. FUTURE RESEARCH 40

10. REFERENCES 41

11. APPENDIX 44 APPENDIX A: PMI 42 PROJECT MANAGEMENT PROCESSES 44 APPENDIX B: P5 FULL APPROACH TO SUSTAINABILITY 45 APPENDIX C: FULL FRAMEWORK OVERVIEW 46


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TABLE OF FIGURES

FIGURE 1: INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL STAKEHOLDER PRESSURES TO ACT RESPONSIBLY ...................... 2 FIGURE 2: THESIS PROJECT METHODOLOGY OVERVIEW ........................................................................ 8 FIGURE 3: MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS FRAMEWORK BASED ON BSI & ISO STANDARDS ......................... 10 FIGURE 4: THE EMAS FRAMEWORK AS AN EXTENSION OF THE ISO14001 EMS ................................ 13 FIGURE 5: FRAMEWORK FOR THE PMI PMBOK® PROJECT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM ........................... 14 FIGURE 6: TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE VENN DIAGRAM ............................................................................. 19 FIGURE 7: PRISM METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................................... 21 FIGURE 8: IMMATURE & MATURE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS .............................................................. 30

TABLE OF TABLES TABLE 1: TEMPLATE TO BE FILLED IN ONCE COMPANIES ARE CONFIRMED ........................................... 6 TABLE 2: OVERVIEW OF THE ISO14000 SERIES STANDARDS STUDIED IN THIS THESIS PROJECT .......... 11 TABLE 3: COMPONENTS OF THE ISO 14001 FRAMEWORK FOR AN EMS ............................................. 11 TABLE 4: THE ICB® PROCESS STEPS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATION IN PROJECTS .................. 17 TABLE 5: INTEGRATING SUSTAINABILITY PRINCIPLES WITH PROJECT MANAGEMENT .......................... 19 TABLE 6: EXCERPT FROM GPM® 5P™ APPROACH TO SUSTAINABLE INTEGRATION ............................ 20


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DESCRIPTION OF TERMS For the purpose of this report the following terms, definition and abbreviations apply. Where applicable they have been kept consistent with ISO descriptions. British Standards Institute A national standards body based in the UK NOTE 1 abbr. BSI Environment Surroundings in which an organisation operates, including air, water, land, natural resources, flora, fauna, humans, and their interaction NOTE 1 Adapted from ISO 14001:2004, 3.5 Environmental Impact Elements of an organisation's activities or products or services that can interact with the environment to cause adverse or beneficial change to the environment NOTE 1 Adapted from ISO 14001:2004, 3.6 & 3.7 Environmental Management System Part of an organisation's management system used to develop and implement its environmental policy and manage its environmental impact NOTE 1 Adapted from ISO 14001:2004, 3.8 NOTE 2 abbr. EMS Green Being “green” is a universal cultural term interchangeable with the term “environmentally friendly”. It is used to describe anyone or anything supporting, advocating, or in activism in mitigating the impact of human industrial development and the damage of previous degradation of the environment NOTE 1 Adapted from urbandictionary.com, fifth entry for “green” Greenwashing A term describing a misleading or deceptive practice of putting an angle on activities to make them appear environmentally beneficial when they are not and are instead motivated by the potential to increase profit NOTE 1 Derived from Maltzman & Shirley Green Project Management Is an emerging style of project management that aims to incorporate environmental thinking across the project management lifecycle International Organisation for Standardisation A global leader in developing standards NOTE 1 abbr. ISO Life Cycle Assessment An assessment of the environmental impact a product will have throughout its entire duration; from raw materials to disposal


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Management System A set of interrelated elements used to establish policy and objectives and to achieve those objectives. Includes organisational structure, planning, activities, responsibilities, practices, procedures, processes and resources NOTE 1 Adapted from ISO 14001:2004, 3.8 Procedure Specified way to carry out an activity or a process, documented or not NOTE 1 Adapted from ISO 9000:2005, 3.4.5 Process Set of interrelated or interacting activities that transforms inputs into outputs NOTE 1 Adapted from ISO 9000:2005, 3.4.1 Project A unique set of processes consisting of coordinated and controlled activities with start and finish dates, undertaken to achieve an objective accomplished through processes NOTE 1 Adapted from ISO21500:2012 3.2 Project Management The application of methods, tools, techniques and competencies to a project NOTE 1 Adapted from ISO21500:2012 3.3 Project Management Institute Global Leader in project management, not-for-profit professional membership association NOTE 1 abbr. PMI Project Management System The framework an organisation uses to control projects, individually or as part of programmes. The PMS includes the methodology for execution of projects as well as procedures for their selection, monitoring and interaction with the rest of the business operations NOTE 1 abbr. PMS Social Responsibility The responsibility of an organisation for the impacts of its decisions and activities on society and the environment, through transparent and ethical behaviour that contributes to sustainable developments, including health and the welfare of society NOTE 1 Adapted from ISO 26000:2010 Sustainability The balance between economic growth and social wellbeing; often expressed through the triple bottom line (people, planet and profit) Sustainable Development Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs NOTE 1 ISO 26000:2010 2.1.23


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PART I Comprise the thesis project’s context and process of development details

1. INTRODUCTION Maximising efficiency within organisational operations through integrating management systems is an active research area and a task many organisations are continuously striving to improve upon (Chartered Quality Institute CQI). Management systems should support the strategy of an organisation and their processes aligned such that they drive organisational goals (BSI PAS 99). The interfaces between the different management systems are losing their sharp boundaries and an integrated approach to management has come to be seen as best practice. Environmental management is becoming an imperative aspect of an organisations overall business activities (LaBrosse 2010). No longer are companies only responsible for their immediate processes, they are being held accountable to take the whole supply chain under consideration (Esty & Winston 2006). This is the “cradle to grave” approach, considering both contractors/suppliers as well as product end users: to buy, be and sell green (as stated by Maltzman & Shirley 2012). Environmental strategy is becoming increasing prevalent for sustainable business continuity and the majority of organisations, have or are building, a formal or informal environmental management system (EMS) (Hortensius 2013). Several international standards for an EMS are available and discussed in detail in Section 4. Project management is a methodology used across almost all industries for achieving unique goals or endeavours, yet is complementary to “business as usual” operations (PMI PMBOK®). Companies have

come to tailor the available project management methodologies to fit their organisational needs and to form their own project management system (PMS). As of 2012 an international standard for the project management methodology has been developed by ISO. However as of yet, there exists no international standard for a project management system. This is postulated to be due to the fact that the nature of project management needs to involve tailoring to the organisation in question. However, individual organisations do have a project management system once they start to apply a standardized approach to projects. The common concept of a project management office (PMO) often exists to standardise the PMS (PMI PMBOK® Guide) as well as to handle cross project issues. Currently it is the case that the EMS sits very much separately to an organisation’s PMS with corporate social responsibility efforts isolated from operations. (Porter & Kramer, 2006). This is reminiscent of how quality work used to be 50 years ago until it was recognised, during the quality revolution, that quality only comes to its maximum efficiency and effectiveness when it’s integrated and inbuilt across the organisations entire operation. Thus total quality management (TQM) was born (Kanji 1995). We propose the same for environmental sustainability work: which is that it needs to be further integrated with daily project methodology and inbuilt in processes across the organisation. We propose that this is best achieved by integrating the environmental management system with the project management system


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such that they are linked in the formal framework of the organisation for the most effective interface between the two working areas. To paraphrase the title of a 2012 PMI conference: “Sustainability and Project Management: The Future is Now.” The trend for going green is here to stay. 1.1 Situation Globally

Environmental risks are tangible, consistently increasing and widespread across all business areas. By environmental risk, we refer to both threats and opportunities, and in this paper will use the terms stated by Esty & Winston (Green to Gold, 2006) that business’ must act to both: • Manage the downside: Those threats and

costs from regulatory control, competitor advancement, resource use and eco-efficiency in value chain etc.

• Build the upside: Intangible value through

corporate reputation and customer loyalty. Capitalise on revenues from the green market space and promote innovation and eco-design.

In terms of stakeholders, the eye of the public now demands corporate responsibility, regulators demand adherence to ever growing legislation, and green smart competitors are getting ahead of the pack with proactive rather than reactive eco-policies (LaBrosse 2010). Organisations have slowly moved from primarily managing the downsides of their environmental impact to now understanding the opportunities that exist through proactively managing the upsides also. The drivers and pressure for change comes from all sides of the organisation and this paper will not argue the justification behind the attempt to control the organisations environmental impact. We make the assumption that today’s business leaders understand the importance of sustainability and even if they don’t feel compelled to act of their own accord, that the pressure of stakeholders who do, is enough to move any business to action. Figure 1 shows a sample environmental stakeholder map of which the modern business has to contend with regarding how green their organisation is.

Figure 1: Internal and External stakeholder pressures to act responsibly (adapted from Esty & Winston)


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Green Project Management (GPM) is a relatively new term coined by Maltzman and Shirley in their 2010 book by the same name. It was the first of its kind to link green initiatives to project management for projects that cross the so-called “rainbow of green” spectrum (Maltzman & Shirley 2010) and it is a concept that is gaining momentum. That is to say that all projects, from those that are outwardly green with a environmental product such as installing a wind farm to those that are not in any way connected to a green initiative, can still adopt and execute a green project management approach in the project methodology (Maltzman & Shirley 2010). A global certification possibility exists from the NGO accreditation body GPM Global who are partnered with the International Society of Sustainability Professionals. Established in 2009, they developed a methodology entitled: PRojects integrating Sustainable Methods (PRiSM™), which incorporates process based project activities with the ISO 14000:2004 series on sustainability amongst other ISO standards. The PRiSM project methodology uses a so-called P5™ approach to view and evaluate the project: People-Planet-Profit-Process-Product (further discussed in Section 5). 1.2 Target Group & Advantages The intended audience for this thesis is professionals for whom the knowledge created in this report can be used and applied in business. This is a subject that is widely applicable and nearly all organisations need to consider environmental ramifications on one level or another. The target group is as such any organisation looking to improve in terms of business continuity, risk management, environmental strategy, management systems efficiency or corporate responsibility.

The possible advantages include: • Increase exposure to upside opportunities-

cut costs, enhance value • Mitigate or eliminate downside threats-stay

ahead of regulations & competitors • Environmental stewardship - advantageous

public relations, loyalty, brand image • Increased efficiency of management

systems and operations • Long term planning in business continuity

and risk management 1.3 Expand Present Knowledge This thesis can expand present knowledge by addressing the under-examined interface between Environmental Management and Project Management at a systems level. The thesis will bring to light the best practices from a number of leading sources in one place to provide an applicable framework for integrating these two systems effectively. (See Expected Results, Section 2.1)

2. GOALS & SCOPE

2.1 Goals & Expected Results The goals of this degree project are twofold:

Primary Goal Analyse present knowledge with regards to the compatibility of integrating the Environmental Management System advocated by the ISO 14000:2004 series with the Project Management System represented by the PMI in PMBOK® Guide. Secondary Goal Develop a framework to aid in achieving the primary goal’s topic of integration by identifying and amalgamating theoretical and professional practices for consolidation and unification of the management systems in question.


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Expected Results We expect to produce a model of how the EMS and PMS can be integrated from both perspectives. That is to say, what should be included in the EMS to enable further integration with projects and also what should be included in the PMS to further incorporate the EMS. This model or framework is expected to be restricted to the level of the management system rather than in depth at processes and procedure detail level. 2.2 Scope

Business Case An organisation’s operations typically consist of several systems overlapping to different degrees of integration. The ideal organisation has tailored their separate systems to work together in an aligned framework in order to achieve the greatest efficiency and productivity to fulfil superordinate company goals and strategy. Integrated Management Systems is currently an active research area with many components and advocates of different methodologies. We propose to study the integration of two specific management systems that have not been at the focus of integration until the 21st century. The Environmental Management System (EMS) and the Project Management System (PMS) are two systems that are most often executed in partial or total isolation of each other. Due to pressures from government, stakeholders, shareholders and the public, the majority of organisations have now become obliged to take corporate social responsibility to further heights. This includes efforts to manage environmental sustainability, and the practice of “Greenwashing” is being exposed and is no longer acceptable (Maltzman & Shirley).

Up until recently it appears that the EMS, while positive in its efforts has been driven separately to the PMS. An analogy can be drawn with the way quality was handled in the past, as a separate side of the business. With the concepts of total quality management alongside the pioneering work of Shewhart, Deming and Toyota quality has evolved to its current successful status as inbuilt within all levels and operations of the business (Kanji 1995). In recent years the case for the same approach for environmental strategy has been highlighted and development is being made to drive sustainability practices through the ground processes of an organisation and now through its projects. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a collective term for an organisations attitude and actions contributing to sustainable development. The core subjects that CSR focus on are identified by ISO 26000:2010 (Guidance on Social Responsibility) as; Human Rights, Labour Practices, The Environment, Fair Operating Practices, Consumer Issues and Community Involvement and Development. As such an organisations Environmental Management System is one aspect of its CSR role. ISO 26000:2010 provides some reasoning and guidance for the integration of these CSR core subjects across the organisations operations. Integration of social responsibility is considered the most important behaviour to be addressed and should not be substituted with philanthropy (ISO26000: 2010). “Because social responsibility concerns the potential and actual impacts of an organisation’s decisions and activities, the on-going, regular daily activities of the organisation constitute the most important behaviour to be addressed. Social responsibility should be an integral part of


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core organizational strategy with assigned responsibilities and accountability at all appropriate levels of the organisation. It should be reflected in decision making and considered in implementing activities.” - ISO 26000:2010, 3.3.4 Integrating Social Responsibility. As such, our thesis project’s business case lies both in the aspects of integrated management systems as well as the realm of heightened focus on corporate social responsibility. Scope Description In this research paper we intend to investigate both the theoretical and practical attempts developed in line with integration of the EMS with the PMS. We will survey the current academic and professional theoretical situation and perform in depth case studies on several organisations practical efforts at integration. Through comparison of literature and real life examples we intend to evaluate the best practices for integration that are business applicable. We take the perspective of the overall management systems and focus on the areas that lend themselves to integration of EMS and the PMS to the greatest possible efficiency and performance. Scope Deliverables (i) Analysis of leading project management

methodologies for the components of management systems integration and environmental references. To include: • The PMI Project Management Body of

Knowledge (PMBOK® 5th Edition) • The IPMA Competence Baseline • The APM Body of Knowledge.

(ii) Analysis of leading international

standards for management systems integration, environmental management and project management. To include:

• BS PAS 99:2012 Integrated Management Systems

• ISO 14000:2004 series on Environmental Management

• ISO 21500:2012 series on Project Management

• ISO 9000:2008 series on Quality Management

• EMAS III:2009 Eco-Management Auditing Scheme

(iii) Analysis of the fields of Sustainability

in Business and Green Project Management (GPM). To include: • GPM Global: PRojects integrating

Sustainable Methods (PRiSM) • Leading authors and researchers in the

field of GPM • ISO 26000: 2010 Guidance on Social

Responsibility

(iv) Analysis of current organisational practices in the field on integration of the EMS and PMS. This is to be conducted through data collection by way of interviews at the organisations chosen as well as study of any literature or documentation that they may provide on their project methodology. (See Table 1)

(v) Evaluation of theoretical knowledge and data gathered from activities (i)-(iv). The evaluation of the analysis undertaken will pertain to best practices, methods and tools for integrating the EMS and PMS.

(vi) Qualitative modelling of resulting best

practices under the management system framework.

(vii) Deductions and conclusions based on the evaluation are to be presented.


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Case Companies AbbVie Atlas Copco

Size 21 000 Employees 39 800 Employees

Sector Biopharmaceutical Industrial Manufacturing

Location Cork Ireland

Nacka Sweden

Market 170 Countries

170 Countries

Persons Interviewed Michael Touhy

Mark Phelan

Anna Haesert Anna Sjören Hanna Lindh

Table 1: Overview of the organisations that will be visited 2.3 Scope Exclusions, Constraints & Assumptions

Scope Exclusions The study focuses of the methods and tools for integration of the EMS and PMS in particular and as such may exclude tools used within general systems integration. Neither does the study attempt any detailed description of particular processes, regulations or laws, which while relevant, are not the focus of this investigation. Scope Constraints This MSc Thesis project is constrained to the requirements as stipulated by KTH Royal Institute of Technology for a Masters Thesis of 15hp to be completed within the suggested time frame of 10 weeks. Reference will be made to further areas of research possible outside the scope possibilities of this project. Scope Assumptions This study does not argue the case for environmental management by organisations and includes no reference to the validity of opposition to climate change. This project

assumes the organisation’s understanding of the importance and benefits awarded by a mature and proactive environmental management programme.

3. METHODOLOGY

3.1 Research Question

What is the optimal framework for integrating the Environmental Management System with the Project Management System? Using a qualitative approach this project aims to improve the process of systems integration in order to aid organisations efforts specifically in the areas of environmental management and project management. The validity of the present level of knowledge is not under analysis in this report. That is to say, we are not challenging conventional wisdom or methodology, but aim to add to and expand upon it.


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3.2 Type of Study: Inductive

The research question is intending to explore a new angle of research on a current area of business interest. Hence the overall approach to this project will be that of an inductive study. This will entail developing structured recommendations for the integration of the EMS and the PMS. As an inductive study we do not enter this thesis with any hypothesis. It is by way of data gathering and analysis that we will come forward to a hypothesis. That is to say that the data gathered provides a premise to which a conclusion is induced that is probabilistic. The strength of the induced hypothesis (higher likelihood of truth) is dependent on extent of the data collected. In this sense the limitations to this study are (i) the amount of data gathering possible in the time allowed as well as (ii) the availability of data ascertaining to the specifics of the research question. The later is partially overcome by use of both primary and secondary data collection sources. 3.3 Mental Model

The methodology of this study will be two-part, and as such we will have a two stage mental model in our investigation. See Figure 2 for a graphical overview. (i) Data Collection I - Secondary Sources: A

systems approach is taken for investigation of the theoretical knowledge available. The systems approach is appropriate due to the objective reality nature of management systems procedures and requirements. The subjective recommendations of researchers and business professionals in peer-reviewed articles are considered objective reality for the purpose of this investigation. No perspective from a hypothesis is held during the data collection phase from

literature. The resulting data will lead to the formation of a hypothesis in the data analysis phase of the project.

(ii) Data Collection II - Primary Sources:

Empirical data gathering is conducted though a participative observational standpoint. This is appropriate for the interview style of knowledge gathering that we will conduct at the case companies. Reality in this case will be a manifestation of human subjectivity on the objective reality. As interviewers we participate in the knowledge gathering and are as such embedded in the object.

(iii) Data Analysis: This is the interpretative stage of the project and as such is hermeneutical in nature. As an inductive study, it is at this point that the hypothesis is developed. In this case the best practices for integration of the EMS and the PMS are induced from a foundation in the literature and methods of execution utilised by companies. At participant observant mental model is also adopted during this phase of the study.

3.4 Study Technique: Hybrid Case Study/Interview Case Study We will analyse two organisations and investigate their methods for integration. We selected a case study technique so that we may obtain an in-depth visual of how theories are executed in practice. We intend to achieve this through several interviews and document analysis in each organisation. The level and methods for integration of the EMS and PMS are likely to depend on the industry area and size of the organisation. We have thus chosen to deal with organisations that both have a manufacturing component to their operations


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yet with different specialisations in the market. This is to have a broaden knowledge base for analysis. Subsequently the organisations chosen are all are considered as large on the scale of number of employees. This is due to the assumption that larger organisations are more likely to have had the need for formal standardised management systems. Comparative Analysis We will be comparing the different companies effectiveness with regards to integration. We decided to assess more than one company to increase our understanding and aid our goal to create an applicable structure for EMS and PMS integration.

3.5 Key tools to be used: • Literature: Academic & Professional • International Standards • Case Study • Interviews • Qualitative evaluation Additional Notes Alternative research methods could have been adopted given a greater scope. This could have involved conducting questionnaires and surveys to reach a larger number of organisations. Also varied industries could have been analysed. A quantitative analyse based on financial ramifications of different practices could also have been investigated.

Figure 2: Thesis project methodology overview


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PART II This section comprises the research from the observation stage in the project methodology, encompassing both the primary and secondary data collection. 4. MANAGEMENT SYSTEM A management system is defined by ISO as describing the set of procedures an organisation follows in order to meet its objectives. When an organisation systemises their approach to how things are done in an area they have created a management system for that area (ISO.org). Examples include quality, health and safety, risk and environmental management systems. ISO management systems are created to be compatible and so follow the same structure and contain many of the same elements and terms in order to make integration more efficient and less time-consuming in an organisation (ISO.org). Many other management systems exist in organisations that are self-created and maintained or derived from standards. ISO standards are in focus in this investigation as they are globally accredited systems that more and more organisations are choosing to abide by and seek certification to. While management systems can rest on a spectrum of complexity, most can be said to adhere in a simplified way to the iterative approach of the Shewhart-Deming Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle. All ISO management systems are based on this cycle. 4.1 Integrated Management Perspective

The British Standards Institute (BSI) developed the first global standard for the integration of management systems in 2006. Integration of management systems enables organisations to have one framework for common management system elements

(BSPAS99). PAS 99:2012 Integrated Management Systems is the current version as of spring 2013 and is the only one of its kind. The framework for a management system contains certain common components. Each of these components is a point of interaction between management systems. Quality management presented as a system in ISO 9000 series is an example of how the common components of a management system are targeted in order to integrate quality into the roots of the organization. Figure 3 shows graphically the common components of a management system. This figure is an amalgamation of the BS PAS 99:2012 components with various ISO standards components to form a common structure. These six categories of Policy, Planning, Implementation and Operation, Performance Assessment, Improvement and finally Management Review are agents for change in the organization and aid to underpin the workplace culture. Each common component has associated sub-components. Standardization of these elements across functions and operations are the key to efficiency and strategy effectiveness. The structure as laid out in Figure 3 will form the basis for our evaluation (Section 7). This management system framework may of course differ within individual organizations, however, we validate our adherence to it by the widespread acceptance of ISO management standards as recognized best practice, outweighing any limited research we could achieve independently as a scope limited research investigation.


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Figure 3: The management systems framework based on a collaboration of BSI & ISO standards 4.2 The EMS perspective

The Framework The environmental management system (EMS) is a structured framework for managing an organisation's environmental impact. Environmental impact can be expressed as any part of the business operations that cause adverse or beneficial impact to the environment. This covers everything from the obvious categories of energy use, waste, raw materials and resources in production to the more obscure topics in total life cycle assessment of products such as supplier and contractor environmental ethics or product-end user considerations. The majority of organisations implementing an EMS follow the structure as laid out in national or international standards. The first standardised EMS was developed by the British Standards Institute (BSI) as BS 7750 (1994) and formed the foundation for

the two leading standards today. They are the ISO 14000:2004 series and the EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme 2009 (EMAS), of which the later is built upon the ISO 14001 series. Each will be discussed in turn and references made to their implicit or explicit connections drawn to a PMS. 4.2.1 ISO 14000:2004 This series consists of a set of standards to cover all identified aspects of the EMS. As of 2009 there are over 233,000 companies worldwide with ISO 14001 certification alone (ISO Survey). A summary of the prominent standards from the series relevant to this thesis is shown in Table 2. And is a subset of the numerous standards that exist in the series. ISO groups the standards under the PDCA headings where the core standard ISO 14001:2004 is part of the “Plan” stage in the cycle.


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Table 2: Overview of the ISO14000 series standards studied in this thesis project. The ISO 14001:2004 EMS framework consists of five core components plus a further continual improvement requirement. The extended management system framework with sub-requirements is tabulated in Table 3. The management system is very similarly categorised to the BSI components of a

management system discussed in section 4.1. These management level components along with any associated requirements are at the centre for integration efforts with another management system and form the basis for our analysis.

ISO 14001:2004 Framework for an Environmental Management System Component Sub Requirements

Component Sub Requirements General Requirements

4.1 Checking

Monitoring and measurement

4.5.1

Environmental Policy

4.2 Evaluation of Compliance

4.5.2

Planning

Environmental Aspects

4.3.1 Nonconformity, corrective action and preventive action

4.5.3

Legal and other requirements

4.3.2 Control of records

4.5.4

Objectives, targets and program(s)

4.3.3 Internal Audit 4.5.5

Implementation and Operation

Resources, roles, responsibilities and authority

4.4.1 Management Review

4.6

Competence, training and awareness

4.4.2 Continual Improvement

Communication 4.4.3 Documentation 4.4.4 Control of Documents

4.4.5

Operations Control 4.4.6 Emergency preparedness and response

4.4.7

Table 3: Components of the ISO 14001 framework for an Environmental Management System

Standard Title PDCA ISO 14001:2004 (Core Standard) Environmental management systems-

Requirements with guidance for use Plan

ISO 14004:2004 (Core Standard) Environmental management systems- General guidelines on principles, systems and support techniques Plan

ISO 14040:2006 Environmental management-Life Cycle Assessment-Principles and framework Do

ISO 14031:1999 Environmental management-Environmental performance evaluation-guidelines Check

ISO 14063:2006 Environmental management-Environmental communication-guidelines Act


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The EMS framework specified by ISO does make reference to integration into the rest of the organisations operations. However, this is never explicitly related to the project management system but can be interpreted as inclusive to that. The following integration points are included as noteworthy from the series: Core Standards ISO 14001, ISO 14004 • The EMS shall establish, implement and

maintain a procedure for internal communication among the various levels and functions of the organisation. (ISO 14001, 4.4.3) The PMS could be considered here to be a function. From this perspective the Setting of Objectives and Targets sub-requirement includes also the PMS when advocating that environmental objectives be integrated into the overall management objectives (ISO 14004, 4.3.3.1). An explicit reference is made that by integrating the EMS objectives; value can be added to the other management systems.

• Under Operational Control reference is made to controlling operations by identifying those associated with EMS aspects and controlling them through implementing procedures and requirements for operation and their associated suppliers and contractors. (ISO 14001, 4.4.6)

• The Roles and Responsibilities requirement recommends that environmental roles and responsibilities should not be limited to the environmental management but also cover areas such as operational management or staff functions. (ISO14001, A.4.1)

• Repeated referral is given to the environmental impact of the organisation's “activities, products and services” when referencing the planning components sub requirement of identifying environmental aspects (ISO14004,4.3.1.3). The definitions of these terms can by extension be

interpreted as implicitly including project activities as laid out in the PMS framework. The same situation applies to legal and other requirements (ISO14004,4.3.2) where the applications of the sub-requirements are directed towards the “activities, products and services” of the organisation.

• The Implementation and Operation component also makes explicit reference to integration of management systems, stating that the EMS “can be designed or revised so that it is effectively aligned and integrate with existing management system processes” (ISO14004, 4.4). Furthermore a list of EMS elements for potential integration is listed, and while project management is not referenced, some common elements of the PMS are. This includes communication, resource allocation, accountability structures and documentation.

• PMS project terms are directly referred to in an example activity. Project Plan Milestones are specified as an indicator while reviews of the Project Plan are mentioned as a point for monitoring and measurement. (ISO 14004, A.2) Projects are mentioned only one other time in the requirement for a Programme(s) for achieving objectives and targets. Here it is stipulated that such a programme should address actions necessary for achieving environmental objectives and targets where. “These actions may deal with individual processes, projects, products, services, sites or facilities.” (ISO 14004, 4.3.3.2).

ISO 14040: Life Cycle Assessment ISO 14040:2006 describes an environmental management technique called Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and its intended application is for products (ISO 14040 intro). In 14040’s appendix a list of further applications is provided and the application to projects is embedded in the final suggestion


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(ISO 14004, A.1.1 (f)). It could be argued that the ISO EMS contains a ready-made template for a tool aiding the integrating the EMS across the PMS lifecycle. The four main phases in the LCA are as follows:

I. The goal and scope definition of the LCA II. Life cycle inventory analysis (LCI) phase III. Life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) phase IV. Life cycle interpretation phase

The LCA tool is described in detail with further supporting standards in the ISO 14000 series and will not be described for the purposes of the project as they explicitly state the application itself of the LCA is outside the scope of the standard. We are placing weight here on the fact that ISO have made the connection explicit, albeit obscure, to projects. LCA is an analytical tool that can be used to assess both the projects process as well as the product of the project. Typically, it would be carried out complementary to the normal work of the project, potentially carried out as a project in itself. (Maltzman&Shirley) Other ISO 14000 standards The other standards give comprehensive advice on performance indicators for monitoring compliance and adherence to the EMS. Many of these indicators could be transferable to become project environmental performance indicators. It is as the discretion of the companies EMS to decide which are the most appropriate for their operations and as such their descriptions lie outside the focus of this study. However, the communication and application of performance indicators is of interest as a general component of the management system. (ISO 14031) 4.2.2 The European Eco-Management and Audit Scheme 2009 (EMAS III)

Developed by the European commission with the ISO 14001 standard as an integral foundation, EMAS accreditation is a non-

compulsory EU initiative operative since 1995 but developed to its current form, EMAS III, since 2009 (EU-EMAS III). As of mid-2012, there were 8174 sites and 4581 organisations certified by EMAS (EU-EMAS III). The scheme is global and open to states other that EU members as of 2010. The framework of the EMAS EMS is also based on the PDCA cycle and has three core elements of: Performance, Credibility and Transparency. These core elements are embedded in the framework. Further components, in addition to the ISO 14001 EMS are summarised in Figure 4. EMAS III Regulation was found to contain no explicit references to integration with any other management systems or to projects. In summary, standardised EMSs that currently exist do not actively point the way to integration with PMS. However, they lend themselves to integration through their framework and the principles they advocate.

Figure 4: The EMAS framework as an extension of the ISO14001 EMS (EU-EMAS presentation 2012)


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4.3 The PMS perspective

The project management discipline has been evolving steadily from its classical waterfall style origins in the construction industry to include now a variety of tailored styles to suit diverse industry needs. The primary adaptation has been AGILE project management for the software development industry and since then a multitude of hybrid styles. Examples include Extreme and Lean Project Management. As the classical approach is still the most common and the cornerstone of project management, we restrict our discussion to a project management system primarily described by the Project Management Institution (PMI). Reference is also made to the new ISO 21500:2012 standard on project management, the IPMA Competency Baseline-ICB, and the APM Body of Knowledge. The PMI is the leading provider of a global framework for traditional project management. Their principle publication: A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) is now in its

5th edition and is the most recognised standard for project management worldwide. Its principles form the basis of many organisation's PMS and the PMBOK® Guide is recognised by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). While the framework does not explicitly advise on how the PMS should integrate with other management systems, the PMBOK® framework itself does lend to a flexible interpretation and can be tailored for integration. Here we analyse the points of integration explicitly mentioned in the different project management frameworks to the Environmental Management System. *To be clear, a project management methodology can be considered a project management system if the same methodology is standardised across an organisations operations. Through standardising the procedures and process it becomes a system that requires management to align them with the organisations overall system. (Supported by ISO 10006:2003 5.2.6)

Figure 5: Framework for the PMI PMBOK® project management system


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4.3.1 PMBOK® - 5th Edition

The framework for project management is laid out in PMBOK® as lifecycle stages each interacting with ten so-called knowledge areas or areas of operation. Within each knowledge area there are a number of processes, which cover the different lifecycle stages. The interactions between these processes are linked through a system of inputs and outputs for each process. The framework is visualised in its basic characteristics in Figure 5. While very different from the standard management system framework discussed in Section 4.1 there are some comparatives. The process groups are similar to the PDCA cycle in effect. Especially if repeated through various projects while improvements to the method are continuously made through lessons learned activities etc. Also many of the processes contained within the knowledge area do tie into the standard components of a management system. This includes, communication, documentation, performance indicators etc. A full list of processes is included in Appendix A. The introductory section to the PMI’s PMBOK®, advocates the alignment of project goals to organisational strategy, stating, “Organizational strategy should provide guidance and direction to project management”. They suggest that it is the project manager’s responsibility to document and identify any misalignment or conflict of the project goals with the established organisational strategy (PMBOK® 5thed. 1.5.2.3). Additionally, the project manager should be aware of the link between the project and any organisational policies and procedures (PMBOK® 5thed. 1.5.2.2). Thus from the outset, the entire framework is founded upon connecting to the higher strategic mind-set of the organisation, of

which the environmental agenda is a high priority for the majority in todays arena. Organisational Process Assets (OPA) is a PMBOK® term used to describe the processes, procedures and corporate knowledge base of an organisation (PMBOK® 5thed. 2.1.4). OPA are utilised as an input into the majority of the lifecycle processes. Though not specifically stated, there is a tentative link here to the EMS in that the OPA includes company standards and policies, of which any environmental policy would be included. This is however only explicitly connected to the initiating and planning stages of the lifecycle. (PMBOK® 5thed. 2.1.4.1) Enterprise Environmental Factors (EEF) is a second broad group of inputs to many of the lifecycle planning processes, which are described as those factors not under the control of the project team (PMBOK® 5thed. 2.1.5). The inclusion of government and industry standards, marketplace conditions and political climate are of note here, all of which can be said to pertain to the Environmental management System. This is the extent of any reference to a connection to an EMS from the project management perspective in PMBOK. 4.3.2 ISO 21500:2012 & ISO 10006:2003

ISO has published the first global standard for project management entitled ISO 21500:2012 Guidance on Project Management. Partially due to ISO’s collaboration with ANSI, it bares a remarkable similarity to the PMBOK® framework and upholds much of the same terminology. Moreover, it includes the same 5 process groups and the same knowledge areas (called subject areas by ISO) as PMBOK® 5th edition. The primary difference is that ISO presents 39 processes as a rearranged version


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of the PMBOK® 42 processes (Labriet 2013). The fact that this global standard creates a framework for the project management system based on the classical waterfall approach gives further weight to our restriction on this study’s scope; the traditional project management style. It does not offer anything of further value towards integration efforts. ISO 10006:2003 is a standard specifically targeting quality management in projects. Here components of the PMS that correspond to the general management system components are brought to light. Attention is drawn to the need to have processes in place for the continual improvement of the PMS through audits and self-assessment alongside management reviews (ISO 10006, 5.3.2). Quality in resource planning highlights the need to take into account the constraint of impact of the project on the environment and the documentation of this. (ISO 10006, 6.1.2) Another quality aspect relating to the project and the EMS is the need for inclusion of a description of the organisational interfaces the project will connect with in the project management plan. (ISO 10006, 7.2.2) 4.3.3 Other Traditional Approaches

The International Project Management Association (IPMA), provides an accreditation known as the IPMA Competence Baseline (ICB®). As opposed to the PMI system, a lot more focus is placed upon the proficiencies of the project manager. Connections are then made to the ethics and responsibility of the role by way of a list of competencies under the three categories of technical, behavioural and contextual (ICB®). Environmental management is directly advocated within “Contextual Competences”, specifically the element is included of “3.09 Health, Security, Safety & Environment”. Most importantly they advocate specifically

that, “[Environmental] factors need to be taken into account in all the project phases, in the use of the product and in its decommissioning and disposal” (ICB® 3.09). For this they suggest a sequence of possible process steps (Table 4) that appear to be based on the Shewhart-Deming PDCA cycle. Furthermore ICB® promotes the creation of an Environmental Impact Plan but does not elaborate on its components. The ICB® references the environment impacts and issues of the project as something the project manager should have an awareness of (2.08 Results Orientation). The ICB® also connects to the environmental perspective when it comes to efficiency (ICB® 2.09), ethics (ICB® 2.15), legal (ICB® 3.11), procurement (ICB® 1.14), risk and opportunity (ICB® 1.04) quality (ICB® 1.05). The UK Association for Project Management (APM) also follows this accreditation system. The APM Body of Knowledge follows a broadly similar framework to PMBOK®. It consists of seven sections (lifecycle phases), each of which contains several processes. Unlike PMBOK® it does in fact contain some explicit references to environmental impact: • Lists the environment as a constraint to the

project (APM BOK 1.1) • Environmental considerations are a part of

the project’s contextual analysis using the PESTLE thinking tool. (APM BOK 1.4)

• Health, safety and environmental management make up a full process in the strategy planning section. “…To minimise environmental impact both during the project and during the operation of its deliverables.” (APM BOK 2.7) Legislation and regulatory control are addressed here.


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ICB® 3.09 Health, Security, Safety and Environment (HSSE) Process Steps 1 Identify applicable laws and regulations. 2 Identify HSSE risks, requirements and existing responsibilities. 3 Evaluate the actual situation. 4 Develop plans and processes for HSSE protection. 5 Monitor and control the effectiveness of the plans. 6 Report issues and risks. 7 Document lessons learned: apply to future projects, phases or elsewhere in the organization.

Table 4: The ICB® process steps for environmental consideration in projects 4.4 Reflection

In reflection it is apparent that on the surface the common EM and PM systems have very few connections to one another. For being the most widely used methodology, PMBOK® bares the least interaction with the environmental aspects of the project with very little contextual setting embedded in the project processes. Few cross-references are made and undeveloped suggestions are seemingly the extent of the interaction of these two areas of business. However, reading between the objectives of these systems it becomes clear that they have a number of similar components. Both are essentially working towards company strategy, meaning, they have the opportunity to further integration and enhance cooperation to operate at heightened efficiency.

5. LITERATURE STUDY

5.1 Introduction

In the field of project management there is a lack of consistency and continuity when it comes to management and sustainability. Prior research indicates that the level of integration of the EMS is not as advanced as other systems of management with the PMS. There is little discussion about the interactions of ISO 14001 and PMBOK®. A 2009 article, “Green Project Management

Using ISO 14000 and the Project Management Body of Knowledge”, addresses possible points of convergence betwixt the two. However, there is little depth to the article with the overarching point being that the processes and activities within each knowledge area support ISO 14001 integration (Schmidt, 2009). Current trends are closely related to green supply chain management and sustainability as there have been several new EU directives coupled with the recent introduction of the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act*. Additionally, the focus is often industry specific or pertaining to a certain aspect within suitability/projects. For example, organisations are integrating environmental indicators that can be used as key performance indicators (KPIs). This means that there is considerable diversity in organisational approaches to sustainability reporting and decision making that impact sustainability (Adams, Frost, 2008). Overall there has been a relatively small amount of researched performed with regards to a framework for sustainability, necessary for s “benchmarking performance against sustainability principles” (Talbot, Venkataraman, 2011) *The Dodd–Frank Act took effect January 1 2013 and includes clause 1502 that states that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will closely monitor the supply chain of listed companies to address the use of “conflict minerals”. This is expected to impact hundreds of thousands of companies globally. (SEC)


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5.2 Leading Authors

Two prominent publications have come to the forefront as the go-to guides for sustainability and environmental integration for business and projects. The earlier of the two “Green to Gold”, published in 2006 by Esty & Winston is seen as a leading guide to environmental thinking in business. Influenced by this work and market trends, Maltzman and Shirley’s 2010 work “Green Project Management”, was the first of its kind targeting directly project management, and its integration with environmental management issues The “Green to Gold” perspective is that of integrating environmental thinking into the core business strategy in order to drive advantages and build profits. The essential message is that all business facets should be looked at through what Esty & Winston call an “environmental lens”. They are advocating that environmental management is no longer an after thought or side matter to developments, but an integral aspect that should be handled simultaneously. Much of their discussion is concerned with arguing the case for a mature environmental management system and its advantages. Furthermore they discuss tactics and pitfalls when handling different areas of business from the environmental strategies. Several of these tactics are applicable also to projects and are analysed further in Section 7 (Analysis & Evaluation). Alternatively, “Green Project Management” focus is as declared, very much directed to the standard project management model. Integration of environmental thinking into the project management methodology is at the centre of attention. Maltzman and Shirley discuss each of the common lifecycle stages in turn and discuss the environmental thinking and management appropriate to these stages. Furthermore they advocate the use of lean

thinking in project management as an environmental thinking tool. Many points for interaction with an environmental management system are implicitly highlighted by way of their suggestions and arguments. Again these are evaluated in Section 7. While both argue for heightened integration on environmental thinking with business practices neither discuss this at a systems integration level. We in this thesis focus our analysis and evaluation at this systems level where standardization is key, but build our framework off of the project and strategy levels these authors are geared towards. 5.3 Leading Publications

As previously stated, there is a strong emphasis currently being placed on environmental issues within an organisation, however, little is done to integrate these practices into the management system. The EMS’s integration is often approached through the integration of a quality management system and parallels are often drawn between the two. One theory is that companies with a strong quality management system will be able to replicate or “spin off” tools used in quality into environmental management (Wiengarten, 2012). However, according to a 2007 study looking at the diffusion of ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 certificates at a global level, even in a country such as Sweden which is often considered one of the most influential in regards to ISO 14000 (Bronnenberg Corbett, 2007) there still is a gap in standardised methods.

“Organisations are faced with increasing pressure to engage in sustainable development and to integrate…”

(Hajmohammad et. all, 2013).


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While ISO 14000 is at the forefront, it does not address specific methods of execution for integration despite the fact that it plays a significant role in numerous organisations. It clearly states that they do not include requirements for management systems; however, the elements of ISO 14000 can be integrated or aligned with management systems (ISO 14000). Outside of the articles published by the PMI, little has been said about integrating the ISO 14000 within the PM framework. Due to this ambiguity, there is no general consensus on the best approach. In April of 2012 a model was presented for sustainability in projects at the EURAM11, conference in Tallinn (below).

Table 5: Integrating sustainability principles with project management (Gareis et. all, 2012) While this is a step in right direct, the table shown above does not incorporate framework already established in the project management industry. Moreover, the sustainable principles they intended to incorporate do not adhere to a stand such as ISO14001. Similarly, within peer-reviewed literature, little is said about utilising ISO 14000 as a cornerstone. When the 14000 series is discussed in relation to projects, it is often addressed in a simplistic way; only describing what is included in the

system and never presenting a comprehensive method for integration. Moreover, when sustainability is discussed in regards to projects it often comes from a CSR point of view where emphasis is placed on the triple bottom line (TBL). The TBL is comprised of 3 factors: social, economic and environment, sometimes referred to as the 3P’s: people, profit and planet. The Venn diagram below shows how they interact.

Figure 6: Triple Bottom Line Venn Diagram (Silvius, van den Brink 2011) This approach stresses the way environmental aspect within an organisation interact with social and economic issues, neglecting to specify how it interacts with the management system. The PRiSM™ methodology also asserts that the triple bottom line is not sufficient. Therefore, GPM® emphasises a 5P approach: people, planet, profit, product, and process (GPM Global). Based upon this philosophy and a checklist developed at the 2010 IPMA Expert Seminar “Survival and Sustainability as Challenges for Project” GPM® created a matrix for integrating sustainability; shown in Table 6. The checklist used in creating this table has been discussed in numerous articles and can be seen in its entirety in Appendix B.


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P5 Integrators Sustainability Categories Sub Categories Elements

Product Sustainability

Objectives & Efforts

Environmental Sustainability

Transport Local Procurement Digital Communication Traveling Transport Process

Sustainability Impacts >>

Energy Energy Used

Emissions

Waste Recycling

Disposal Reusability Incorporated Energy Waste

Table 6: Excerpt from GPM® 5P™ approach to sustainable integration

While strides have been taken, a 2012 paper presented at the 26th IPMA World Congress titled “Sustainability in Project Management: Reality Bites” captures the current sentiments within the field. The authors feel that “the relationship between sustainability and project management is still an emerging field” (Silvius et. all, 2012). They conclude that within projects, attention to sustainability will grow in the near future, meaning, there is a need for it to move towards being business operational.

Currently the GPM® organisation focuses on projects integrating sustainable methods (PRiSM™) and seeks to develop and incorporate tools and methods to bring about balance and integration. They focus heavily on integrating ISO standards, such as 14001 and 9001, into the project framework in attempt to apply sustainability in projects (GPM Global).


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Figure 7: PRiSM™ Methodology Figure 7 depicts how they have integrated several ISO standards into a 4-phase approach to project management. The processes that are yellow represent areas that the ISO standards may be applied. Their aim is to align an organisation's EMS with projects and serve “as a guide to tether all aspects of the project

plan towards environmental stewardship” (GPM Global). As we see it, a pivotal issue with PRiSM™ is that “the key points to PRiSM lie in a project manager’s personal values and ethics...” (GPM Global). We believe that a method of


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universal integration cannot solely rely upon the character of project manager; rather, the project manager’s actions should emanate the values and ethics of the organisation. It quickly becomes apparent that the literature directly discussing our objective is either dated or applied through a different framework. For example, much of the information GPM® and PRiSM™ utilises is beneficial, however, they structure their integration off of the IPMA competence baseline and stress 4-phases opposed to PMBOK®’s more structured approach. Furthermore, it’s more practical to apply ISO to the PMI’s framework since they are the worlds largest PM association with more than 700,000 members (PMI) where as IMPA has just over 150,000 (IMPA).

6. CASE STUDIES In order to further our understanding of the current situation, we visited two organizations and conducted analyses of their operations. 6.1 AbbVie

“AbbVie is a global, research-based biopharmaceutical company formed in 2013 following separation from Abbott. With its 125-year history, the company's mission is to use its expertise, dedicated people and unique approach to innovation to develop and market advanced therapies that address some of the world's most complex and serious diseases. In 2013, AbbVie employs approximately 21,000 people worldwide and markets medicines in more than 170 countries.” (AbbVie) The AbbVie plant in Cork, Ireland is a manufacturing plant for new product introduction (NPI); products transferred from the R&D function. The facility also operates

as a contract manufacture and runs projects as technology transfers, method transfers and validations. The case study at AbbVie consisted of conducting interviews with two senior employees: • Michael Touhy: Environmental, Health,

Safety & Energy Manger (EHS&E) • Mark Phelan: Site Technology Manager In 2009 the Belgian chemical group Solvay (founded 1863), sold its pharmaceutical division to Abbott Laboratories, an American pharmaceutical company founded 1888. Abbott then divided into two separate companies, Abbott and AbbVie as of 2013. The Cork manufacturing plant has been through each of these changes and mergers over the years. This has resulted in many changes in procedures and organizational structure. The approach to environmental management and integration in the plant reflects the changes in management. In 2008 the integrated management approach was started on the back of a complete audit prior to merging with Abbott. They initially had no management system but rather adherence to the 3 certifications of ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001 and ISO 50001. This was a risk-based approach and by 2012 all three where integrated and had one associated Environmental Manual, which became later the EHS manual. This covers all procedures across operations. Then when bought by Abbott they where required to operate according to a no-risk approach with technical standards for nearly every process. Here they had seven different management standards and 29 different technical standards. This was a completely different perspective form the previous


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system. As EHS&E manager during this change, Touhy made efforts to keep certifications while finding a balance between the risk based procedures and no risk procedures. Often they had to document and complete activities like Process Hazard Analysis (PHA) under their technical standards, however, this was not required from an OHSAS or certification viewpoint. This was also evident in vendor checks, which were previously undertaken every 2 to 3 years through audits but now are required separately on annual basis under the technical standards. Structurally, the EHS&E manager was previously on the senior management team. However, in the creation of AbbVie the EHS&E manager now reports to the Engineering Manager. This was described in the interview as the more European approach-that EHS would sit inside the engineering division or operations.

“EHS is so high on the agenda that it is integrating into the business and almost

disappearing as a function. That is the goal - to make me redundant”- Michael Tuohy,

EHS&E Manager Currently the PDCA flow is described as mostly instinctive as procedures are evolving again and up in the air. The only focus on ISO/OHSAS is when they have an audit on ISO/OHSAS. Previous internal audit non-conformities or opportunities for improvement are highlighted in the Annual Environmental Report (AER), which feeds into objectives and targets for the following year. “A lot is happening at the same time.” Aspects and impacts review is done as part of the AER, which concurrently looks at their policy.

Several communication breaks leading to misunderstandings were highlighted:

In terms of resources, at the local level resources are allocated on a volume based approached. However EHS is a frequency based operation: “[We] need to do the same amount of work if producing 5 batches or 500. We have to try

and explain this to the financial heads – hear ‘I don’t know, I’m just the finance person!’-

but they understand alright!” -Michael Touhy

In terms of technical transfers carried out as projects, EHS had been becoming involveed at the end of stage 3 (Feasibility Phase) where product is almost ready for manufacture. “It’s too late”. This is changing under AbbVie who are looking to integrate the process more and are reviewing and redesigning their NPI process procedures. Under the new process there will be an EHS checklist after the first phase, the quotation phase as well as EHS input to templates for planning (phase 2). For a tech transfer or NPI:

“There is a lot of information built up over the years from R&D labs and previous stages. There is a gap from the engineer looking for

the information and what is being sent forward. A template standard file should be

populated in readyness for the tech transfer” -Michael Touhy

A third misunderstanding was highlighted in the communication and feedback between the project and the EMS. From the EHS perspective it appears the PM calls for information and sign-offs from the EHS&E manager, however, when the EHS function asks for what the project requires, the PM says that this is the EHS’s job. The EHS feel that they should be first fed in the information from the project, upon which they can review and make recommendations before sending back to the project. This is not happening.


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From the PMS perspective the opposite is highlighted. They want the EMS to come to them and state what the requirements are upfront as well as MOP’s in order for preparation to occur at an earlier phase in project. From the project perspective they feel the supporting functions like IT, Quality, EHS should make their requirements known. In an industry that revolves around a fast paced first-to-market approach, “...the PM shouldn’t be chasing the support functions…the boat is leaving with or without you.”-Mark Phelan. The feeling is that the PMS should be able to operate independently from the EHS if they know the requirements –i.e. the EHS is integrated into the PMS in a standardized approach in advance.

“Everyone involved in operations is fully aware of the QA and safety expectations- I’m

not getting that for the environmental expectations.” -Mark Phelan

However, from the project side it is very clear that an extensive manual of requirements will not be taken up. These requirements need to be simplified and accessible in order to be integrated and be an actuality. At AbbVie, projects in pre-planning are carried out at a global level. In terms of planning it was suggested from the EMS that a high level person from EHS should get together with engineering in front end planning in avoid issues later on. This was agreed upon from the project management perspective. When they get the project from global level the other requirements are being fed down, however not the EHS requirements. Thus upon receiving the project at local level things are starting out on a misaligned footing between PMS and EMS. The difficulty lies within the unique nature of projects. Mark

paraphrases a military quote to “Planning is great until the first battle begins”. He stresses that planning can only do so much but that it must be flexible to the nature of the project, yet you must have a basis from which to manage deviations. He implies that it is this basis that has been lacking.

“Integration can either be more complex or even leaner than before” - Mark Phelan.

It is the second option that is effective. The integrated approach in projects is improving and they have top-management buy-in. As far as awareness of the need for consulting with EHS&E in projects, this is steadily improving. Engineers are understanding to come to EHS&E in advance instead of last minute. This is due to the fact that most of the project contingency was tending to be used up for last minute EHS validations and other activities. The more this is planned and accounted for; in the more it saves in the budget over the course of the project. Kaizen events focused on behaviour, risk and incident reporting have been carried out. This is in an attempt to “focus on people getting involved, integrating themselves and embracing, having a voice and outlet”. They have an electronic confidential system for reporting. Site directors support these Kaizen events as a previously used method which people are familiar with. Integration of the EHS within change management and process redesign is well established. People are well aware that if you want to change something, get EHS involvement as early as possible. Redesign and change are handled by Quality, which have blocking tasks for EHS from which you cannot move on from unless completed.


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Key Aspects Stressed • Auditing should be integrated: For Ev and

HS assessing risk is different, but the procedures for tracking, recording and monitoring are the same.

• Simplicity: For the business keep things as simple as possible. It is the fundamental characteristic of buy-in.

• Pre-Project Communication: Need more involvement upfront. Communication between those working in R&D for years and those taking the technology transfer through to manufacturing.

• Ownership: Project Engineer becoming more responsible, other functions need to understand the EHS role in their work. Ultimately it is the responsibility of the PM to get the EHS checklist signed off. But responsibility of the EHS to fulfil & take action on its goals.

• Standardization of templates: Increased inclusion of EHS factors in checklists. “It can be N/A but at least its there.”

• Processes: Inputs/outputs need to be understood by those carrying out the processes. EHS requirements being added to these inputs and outputs.

“You can use Plan-Do-Act-Check to a certain

extent…general operations take care of themselves through the IMS… but high

priority projects need to have more involvement upfront. PM should hire their own experts…an independent study by an

external expert.” -Michael Touhy

6.2 Atlas Copco

“Atlas Copco is an industrial group with world-leading positions in compressors, expanders and air treatment systems, construction and mining equipment, power tools and assembly systems. With innovative products and services, Atlas Copco delivers

solutions for sustainable productivity. The company was founded in 1873, is based in Stockholm, Sweden, and has a global reach spanning more than 170 countries. In 2012, Atlas Copco had 39 800 employees and revenues of BSEK 90.5” (Atlas Copco) In March of 2013 Atlas Copco was recognised as one of the most ethical companies (Ethisphere Institute) and has appeared seven times on the Global100 list of the world’s top sustainable companies (Atlas Copco). During our time at Atlas Copco we met with three employees: • Anna Haesert, Environmental Manager of

Business Area Industrial Technique • Hanna Lindh, Manager Product

Development Processes • Anna Sjören, Environmental Engineer Key Aspects Stressed • Ownership: it’s the process owner that is

responsible for their respective area. This ensures requirements are fulfilled because they have the mandate.

• Be aware of different cultures and mind-sets as they create challenges within a global corporation.

• The system needs to be linked upwards through the hierarchy of the organization.

• Standardize all possible processes and continually check through milestones.

• Goals go to each business area and then down, allowing for specific aspects of the goal to be dispersed to the proper division.

• Knowledge transfer through internal communication is essential.

• Environmental Risks are to be assessed at the same time as other risks.

• Internal consultants: a person who you can go to who is a SHE specialist.

• Feedback from employees.


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“Integrate as much as possible or else it wont happen”

– Anna Sjören There were also several other areas of interest that we took into consideration while making our framework. For example, Atlas Copco takes several steps to ensure compliance throughout the organization. In regards to training there is no group set up, however, new employees get a packet with basic information about their environmental procedures and policies. Moreover, every third year the whole organization participates in a half day focused on SHE (Safety, Health, & Environment). To make it relevant and keep interest up, the activities are tailored to each business area. Currently Atlas Copco is working to develop specific e-learning training that is directly relevant to the employee’s task rather than group goals and mission. Atlas Copco also utilizes a 10-point criterion template for suppliers. Currently this is followed up annually, however, they are beginning a new policy that will drastically increase reporting. They are also beginning to follow up with customers to ensure their product is being used in an environmentally friendly way. Before they come to an agreement, they place extra focus on understanding the customer and the associated risks. If necessary they will either try to develop them or chose not to go forward with the transaction. This is a new procedure that they are working with and training employees in the customer center. It is not fully used, as this is their new area of development.

“You need to address these issues with customers in a nice and polite way, as they

are rather important.” – Anna Haesert

The management system in which this operates has requirements coming in all directions and someone has to take responsibility. This is when they rely on the structure to incorporate the needed aspects so it can continue to function. According Anna Haesert the core to success when it comes to environment is to have the PDCA cycle really working. “If you have that, the new things that come up can flow through the rest. Getting the [ISO] certificates basically is used to communicate

to the customers and stakeholders that we have these plans, but to get them working and

living is a whole other thing.” Moreover, the way the resources come in was also stressed. At Atlas Copco they do not have an environmental or a sustainability department at group level. There is a communication department with a CSR representative but within each business area there is a SHE manager who is responsible for resources allocation. This allows recourses to be where you need it and go directly where the operations are done. “You don’t want a sustainability department on group level. CSR yes, you need a person

talking to stakeholders and dealing with external communication but not

environmental aspects.” – Anna Sjören

Atlas Copco has strong support from top management and is continually trying to further integrate. Currently, they have annual audits, both group and ISO. They are looking to combine them by growing their group audit system. As of recent, they are able to highlight an area of concern within their system and audit will be conducted. They rely heavily on audits and follow up; if something does arise it goes directly to the process


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owner since they are the ones with authority over the matter. This is further supported by their operational structure since each division has the possibility to escalate an issue through the structure; making its way up if need be. The way in which Atlas Copco is organized appears to be beneficial for integration. They have four different business areas and each has an IMS, which is linked into the group IMS. However, the group IMS is more of a description of what procedures to follow. Then it is implemented into each business area and from there, moves onto a divisional level. Currently Atlas is placing a lot of focus on the structure to ensure that all the parts are integrated and linked where they should be. “It’s so important to get everything together

in one place” – Anna Haesert

6.3 Reflection

The information collected by conducting case studies was essential for advancing the task at hand. We were able to not only understand the concerns of multinational corporations, but were able to gain essential insight as to what works in the real world. Simultaneously, opinions became apparent revealing areas/aspects that need to be improved upon. Atlas Copco allowed us to meet with someone on the project and environmental side, both together as well as separate. This allowed us to hear how each side discusses and perceives the same event when in the company of others and alone. While meeting AbbVie employees on an individual basis gave a blatant picture of the interaction between the two departments. Further reflections and insight obtained from the case studies are evident in the following section.


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PART III Contains the analytical portion of the thesis project. Here qualitative evaluation of the observation stage results in our model hypothesis and associated recommendations. 7. ANALYSIS & EVALUATION 7.1 Qualitative Evaluation

Partial Versus Total Integration Maltzman & Shirley make a strong case for environmental management to be handled through learning from quality, even to the point of adopting their own buzzword, “Greenality”; used to describe the maturity of the treatment of the project’s green aspects. The authors draw a comparison between the 14-point Toyota Way, Deming’s quality points and the author’s self-created green equivalents. Of particular note are Deming’s points: “Eliminate slogans, exhortations and targets for the workforce” as well as “Eliminate numerical quotas”. The environmental equivalent to these is stated, as “Green should be in the mind-set of the project team, not a quota to be accomplished” (Maltzman & Shirley, 2010). This is the idea that the EMS aspects of a project should be worked into the other functions rather than as a separate checklist or quota. This sets a trend for our evaluation of the best practices from the professional standards, literature and case study interview findings. However this is a trend that has seemed somewhat contradictory depending on the approach of the organisation’s integration. That is the difference between partial integration and total integration. Partial integration could be considered to be an alignment of EMS processes alongside other MS processes. Whereas total integration is when a coherent embeddedness exists within procedures flowing from strategic interaction. (Hines, 2002)

From speaking to both AbbVie and Atlas Copco it appears that certain aspects of the EMS are totally integrated and others partially integrated. For example at Atlas Copco environmental reporting is executed and reported simultaneously and in conjunction with financial reporting for total integration. Another total integration move on their behalf was to have no Environmental or SHE division at group level but choose instead rather that it is based at a local level. However they do have partial integration in other areas where for example EHS checklists are carried out as separate activities at certain process gates. Also an eco-audit is carried out separately to other audits. It seems the goal is total integration yet many partially integrated processes are evident. Our evaluation is that total integration is a phase, which must be achieved by passing through the partial stage. For example they have an eco-engineer on the team of design engineers for new product design-this is a partial measure. Nevertheless, they are aware and the goal is that all design engineers would incorporate ecodesign into their work processes; eventually leading to total integration in the design phase. The case is similar at AbbVie, Cork. A total integration example is that their KPIs are grouped together effectively in one place and forwarding to management on a monthly and even weekly basis. Thus no separate reporting of environmental KPIs is taking place. However they are most definitely engaged in partial integration when it comes to their planning phase. This is evident in that large parts of the project contingency fund are used up by last minute EHS validations and other


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activities. A totally integrated project process would not result in this. AbbVie are taking steps to address this in a review of the new product process methodology. Efforts such as moving away from an EHS checklist to using EHS aspects as inputs to process checklists is helping towards total integration. Looking at the literature it has been clear that the goal is total integration, however, even here it is clear that measures and tools suggested are interchanging between both partial and total integration. It seems illogical that key aspects such as these varying levels of integration are not highlighted in their business advice. Maltzman & Shirley advocate the partial measures of adding a green statement to the scope in the project charter. This would be considered aligning the EMS with the PMS. However totally integrating would be to have the green issues incorporated in the existing scope statement. This is exactly what they do when handling

the integration with the project’s work breakdown structure (WBS): to create “a WBS with green intent threaded throughout, rather than glued on at the end”. They make the case that the individual items in the WBS should have the EMS agenda embedded within their description rather than as separate work packages. This is total integration. The same is arguable for scheduling. Subsequently, we perform our evaluation of best practices by recognizing this difference in approach between partial alignment and totally integrated. The structure of our evaluation will adhere to the PDCA cycle and the common management system components as described in Section 4. Drawing from the management standards, current literature and the professional experience of our case study companies we present the best practices for the total integration of the EMS with the PMS.


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7.2 PDCA Framework

PLAN The overriding best practice is that it should fall with the EMS to provide the generic baseline to the PMS on environmental aspects. It is the PMS and therefore the project team and manager that have the responsibility to adopt the environmental baseline and act upon it to fulfil requirements. This is only achieved by upfront pre-planning and planning processes all of which have inbuilt environmental considerations. The second is that lean management and environmental management go hand-in-hand; eco - efficiency is a lean-mind-set for planning/resourcing a project. POLICY (i) Management System Policy

E1. Where the EMS policy stipulates its application it should specifically include projects within the organisation -both to the project’s process and the project’s product.

E2. The EMS policy should demonstrate a commitment to integration of the EMS across the organisations operations.

E3. The EMS policy should make explicit its links to the organisational strategy and goals. P1. The PMS policy should make clear that wherever constraints are listed (such as time, cost,

scope) that environmental constraints are included as an item in the list. P2. The PMS policy should make a commitment to integration of the PMS with the organisations

other operations. PLANNING (ii) Legal & Other Requirements

E1. Maintained and updated details and guidance on legal, company and certification requirements -should be openly accessible to projects at all stages in the project lifecycle.

E2. Maintained and updated details and guidance on a “watchlist” of beyond compliance activities -should be openly accessible to projects at all stages in the project lifecycle.

E3. The EMS should set a baseline for environmental requirements for the project’s product and process.

E4. The EMS should set a baseline for environmental requirements for suppliers and other contractors -to be included in contracts covering amongst other issues; responsibility, accountability and supplier performance indicators.

P1. The PMS should require all processes for project planning activities to have “environmental

aspects” as an input. P2. The PMS should require projects to adopt the EMS baseline for the project’s product and

process -adapting it to the project at hand. P3. The PMS should advocate that all project plans and activities aim to comply with the

compliance list and beyond compliance “watchlist” activities. P4. Any contracts officiated through the project should be required by the PMS to comply with the

EMS baseline for contract requirements and adapt it as necessary.


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(iii) Resource Allocation

E1. The EMS should not require separate financial resourcing for project involvement if integrated totally.

E2. The EMS should provide descriptions and standardised categories of physical resources and associated data on their energy consumption and their contribution to environmental aspects.

E3. The EMS should provide guidance on the best practice on use of physical resources. E4. The EMS should provide impact assessment templates for decision-making on physical

resource actions. P1. The PMS should require that a project’s WBS have inbuilt environmental aspects which are

reflected in the description of activities as well as their associated time and cost estimates. When planned in, it is effectively free instead of requiring separate resources (GPM 47+) Thereby the project baselines will have inbuilt EMS activities.

P2. The PMS should advocate a procedure for procurement in projects that favours, in order to reduce, redesign, reuse or recycle both input and outputs before any new purchasing or acquisitions are considered. (ISO10006:2003 6.1.2)

P3.The totally integrated PMS should not require allocation of separate resources for the project environmental management. The PMS for a partially integrated should require that a budget be set aside for checking and monitoring of environmental aspects.

P4. The PMS should allow and provide assistance for the exploration and use of resources cross-project in order to fulfil efficiency goals and lessening Environmental impacts.

P5. If a PMO exists it should have the allocated financial resources to explore and develop cross-project environmental issues and initiatives.

(iv) Objectives

E1. The EMS objectives should integrate with overall organisation objectives. Conversely EMS objectives should permeate other organisations operations.

E2. The EMS should assure no “greenwashing” of objectives across other functions of the organisation. That is, all references to environmental aspects across the organisation should be validated by transparent sources and reliable data.

E4. The EMS should provide guidance in the setting of lifecycle boundaries for the organisations operations, activities and projects- also to include contextual boundaries.

P1. The PMS should orientate itself around organisational strategy that should provide guidance

and direction to project management objectives. P2.The PMS should require that all project objectives comply and support the EMS objectives. For

total integration there should be no separate green goals but green integrated into the other goals (Esty & Winston).

P3. The PMS should advocate the use of the SMARTER objectives thinking tool. That is that goals are “Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timelimited, Environmental, Responsible” (Maltzman & Shirley)

P4. The PMS should require that scoping activities set the appropriate boundaries for the project such that they are sufficiently wide to account for the entire project products lifecycle. Guidelines for boundary assessment should be followed from the EMS.


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(v) Risk Evaluation

E1. The EMS develops and maintains a full description on the environmental aspects applicable to the organisation and should have a standardized method of categorization. This should include both threats and opportunities.

E2. The EMS should provide guidance on a Life Cycle Assessment execution method that can be applied across the organisation, and to risk management for projects.

E3. The EMS should be able to access and assess the project risks relevant to the EMS and have an established process for feedback to the project.

P1. The PMS should compel projects to adhere to the EMS standardized categories for

environmental aspects during the risk identification process in the project. If a risk management system (RMS) exists separately, then the PMS should also be linked to the EMS by way of the RMS.

P2. The PMS should avail of the EMS Life Cycle Assessment guidance and advocate their use in project planning and connected with the risk activities of the project. This is essential for assessing risks within the full boundaries of the project.

P3. The PMS should treat environmental risks and other risks simultaneously in order to facilitate total integration. Resourcing for risk treatment should reflect this.

P4. The PMS in partial integration would advocate the establishment of a separate Environmental Management Plan (EMP), which would cover amongst other things risk assessment (Maltzman& Shirley).

(vi) Organisational Structure

E1. The EMS should layout the proper organisational channels for escalation of an environmental aspect of operation from within the different areas of the organisation.

E2. The EMS should not be a separate division at group or corporate level. Rather the EMS should be immersed in the standard and local divisions, yet reporting to a high level. (For example: embedded in the engineering function yet reporting still to head of this level.)

E3. The EMS should clearly describe its interface with the different management systems of the organisation.

P1. The PMS should establish the channels that an environmental aspect of a project should be

escalated from within the project to general operations.


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DO The key practice for total integration at the execution stage of the project is the thorough integration of environmental aspects in the processes instead of having separate environmental processes within the project methodology. The standard process model has inputs, tools, and outputs and it is under ‘input’ to the process where environmental considerations are most readily integrated. Whether they are submerged in PMBOK Style “Environmental Environment Factors” and “Organizational Process Assets” or as stand-alone inputs is not considered here. It is their inclusion that is the key point. This is in line with the quality mindset. “So like quality, greenality must be designed in - not inspected in to the processes of the project and its outcome should serve sustainability”-Maltzman & Shirley. IMPLEMENTATION & OPERATION (vii) Communication

E1. The EMS should set out guidelines to best practices for communicating environmental aspects internally at all levels.

E2. The EMS should set out guidelines for communication on environmental aspects with supplier, contractors, and buyers and other stakeholders.

E3. The EMS should indicate what types of communication channels are most preferred in line with EMS goals and provide guidelines for greening communication in general. (Eg: Electronic over hardcopy documents, virtual over physical meetings.)

P1. The PMS should advocate that project follow the guidelines set out in the EMS regarding

communication of environmental aspects of the project both internally and externally. P2. The PMS should advocate the greening of the projects communication plan in line with the

EMS guidance. P3. The PMS should establish standardised points in the project where environmental aspects are to

be communicated. -Including kick-off meetings, milestone meetings, periodic reporting. (viii) Operations

E1. The EMS owned processes should state clearly the procedures that interfaces with the PMS, to projects, or the PMO where any such connections are in existent.

E2. The EMS should have an official involvement up front in any major changes in organisational operations.

E3. The EMS should make available a list of considerations for the processes where “environmental aspects” are listed as an input to a process.

P1. The PMS should make clear any procedural interfaces with the EMS in operations of the

project. P2. The PMS processes that have “environmental aspects” as an input should be addressed in line

with the EMS provided considerations. P3. The PMS should require that wherever quality is addressed in the project methodology, that

environmental quality be addressed in conjunction. P4. The PMS should advocate that in projects that operate with an action register should have

environmental aspects listed as a category.


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(ix) Documentation

E1. Where the EMS requires data from projects for regularly produced EMS documentation, it lies with the EMS to go about retrieving the data from the PMS.

E2. The EMS has the obligation to have provided the templates, procedures, instructions and implementation upfront to the project for any data it may require.

E3. The EMS has the responsibility to include in its documentation for staff (manuals etc.) where it is applicable to projects.

P1. The PMS should require that the project charter include either an environmental statement

(partial) or have the environmental commitment inbuilt in the other scope statements. P2. The PMS that is partially integrated should require an Environmental Management Plan (EMP)

be drawn up during the planning stage of the project and maintained throughout the life of the project. Upon achieving total integration across all areas of the PMS a EMP will no longer be necessary but inbuilt in the other project plans.

P3. The PMS should stipulate how and when project performance on environmental aspects be documented.

P4. The PMS should promote the documentation of environmental lessons learned alongside general lessons learned.

(x) Competence & Training

E1. The EMS should provide training to other areas of the organisation driven by that particular areas function as well as linking to the company strategy.

E2. The EMS should provide internal consulting to projects on their environmental work when requested.

E3. The EMS process of implementation should have employee involvement as a part of its core. Employees are engaged by facilitating access to information, existing supporting funds and by establishing technical assistance measures (EMAS (10))

P1. The PMS should advocate participation in any training provided by the EMS. P2. The PMS should ensure new project members have been briefed on the environmental agenda

of the project in any orientation training that exists. P3. The PMS should promote a no blame culture and encourage engagement of all employees

within the environmental aspects of the project. (xi) Roles & Responsibilities

E1. The EMS agenda should be supported by a member of top management who is accountable for the EMS maintenance and continual improvement in integration.

E2. The EMS roles at local level should be integrated into the other staff functions. If done correctly, the fewer separate roles in existence the more total integration is occurring.

E3. The EMS should advocate the role of internal Environmental Consultants available to projects. E4. The EMS should have the role of signing off on environmental checklists or compliances in

projects. Moreover, they are accountable for the consequences but should not have the responsibility for getting them signed off; this lies within the project.


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E5. The EMS should not be responsible for monitoring and controlling the environmental impact of a project but does have a role in guiding the PMS in this.

P1. The PMS should promote Project Manager commitment to Environmental considerations. P2. The PMS should promote project team member commitment to Environmental considerations. P3. The PMS should advocate the contracting of an independent environmental expert for projects

with a significant environmental aspect(s). P4. The PMS should stipulate the responsible person in the project for any environmental checklists

or compliances, be it the project manager of otherwise. P5. The PMS will have achieved total integration with the EMS when all project team members are

aware of the aspects of the EMS that are part of their job role and no separate roles for environmental officers exist.

P6. The PMS is responsible for implementing the monitoring and controlling of the environmental aspects of the projects in the organisation.

CHECK The partially and totally integrated systems will have very apparent differences in monitoring and controlling the project. The partial system will have environmental reports, KPI’s, validation documentation and environmental change control. In the integrated system, environmental aspects should not be apparent from the outside. Rather they should be embedded in the financial reporting, the scheduling, the performance evaluations and all other project generated assessments. The best practice here appears to be the existence of thorough templates and checklists across processes -the opinion that it is better to have an item in a list and it receive the status “N/A” than it not to be included at all. PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT (xii) Monitoring & Measurement

E1. The EMS should stipulate a systematic approach to what and how data is collected for the standard environmental aspects measured (carbon emissions, water use, energy use etc).

E2. The EMS should stipulate how supplies/buyers should be monitored for their environmental performance and provide guidance on their monitoring and controlling.

P1. The PMS should advocate adherence to EMS stipulated approach to data collection for

environmental aspects. P2. The PMS should implement procedures for monitoring and controlling the environmental

aspects of projects in the organisation under guidance of the EMS. These procedures include where, when and what environmental reporting is to be integrated in standard project reporting.

P3. The PMS should stipulate when, how and what suppliers and other value chain stakeholders should be monitored for.

P4. The PMS should aim to have an integrated list of KPI’s that are inclusive of environmental KPI’s.


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(xiii) Evaluation of Compliance

E1. The EMS should provide guidance on what constitutes compliance for supply chain parties. E2. The EMS should provide checklists on what constitutes project process compliance. E3. The EMS should provide checklists on what constitutes project product compliance. P1. The PMS should require projects to comply with EMS provided checklists for project and

product compliance requirements. The PMS is responsible for getting these signed off. P2. The PMS should advocate the carrying out of procurement with consideration of compliance to

EMS guidelines on contracting and the frequency of their follow up. Vendor and supplier compliance evaluation should be separate to certification audits and instead a part of the technical process procedures.

(xiv) Performance Indicators

E1. The EMS should provide baselines on performance for identified environmental aspects. E2. The EMS should provide industry-benchmarking goals for environmental aspects. E3. The EMS should provide guidance on the use of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for

environmental aspects. These may include Non-Product Output (NPO), and resource productivity indicators, as well as consumption and waste values.

P1. The PMS should adapt as fit the KPIs as described in the EMS into the projects performance

indicators, all of which should be reported together and fed to management. P2. The PMS should require projects to utilize the EMS baselines and benchmarking goals in

evaluating the project performance. P3. The PMS should require projects to have established success criteria for their environmental

goals that are measurable. (xv) Control of Records

E1. The EMS should ensure updates to its records and templates are appropriately forwarded to the other management systems as fit and relevant.

E2. The EMS should ensure its records are accessible to the other management systems as required. P1. The PMS should ensure that the projects reporting and data collection is completed on schedule

and accessible to the other management systems as required. The EMS should be able to access the required information from the project without needing to search for it.

(xvi) Analysis of Data

E1. The EMS should provide guidance on best practice for analysis tools such as Earned Environmental Value Management (EEVM) or resource productivity analysis such that relevance and comparability of information are maintained to appropriate benchmarks and scales.

E2. The EMS should be able to access and analyse project environmental data if required for the organisational environmental analysis.


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P1. The PMS should ensure projects follow best practice from the EMS on use of data analysis tools for environmental performance indicators.

P2. The PMS should have environmental data collection inbuilt it its procedures and complete environmental data analysis as an integrated part of its process and product analysis. This analysis should be made available to the EMS.

ACT Acting for change and to continually improve and implement solutions appears to be driven primarily through people. According to EMAS Annex II: B.4 (1) “…active employee involvement is a driving force and a prerequisite for continuous and successful environmental improvements as well as being a key resource…” [employee involvement] is the right method to anchor the environmental management and audit system in the organization in a successful way.” For employee engagement, it is simplicity and consideration of the culture that is central. Working through partial integration towards total integrative measures must be undertaken from the perspective of the employee in order to increase buy-in and ownership. The same is true for handling stakeholders and environmental opponents. Another essential practice is the avoidance of Silo or short term thinking. Any redesign of processes must have a long-term viewpoint. IMPROVEMENT (xvii) Non-Conformity & Correction

E1. Where the EMS is to sign off on project environmental compliance any non-conformities and guidance for correction should be fed back to the project. It is then at the discretion of the project to act upon this.

E2. The EMS should provide the other management systems with guidance on decision-making allowance that allows for environmental intangibles.

P1. The PMS should require projects to act upon requirements made the EMS on issues of

compliance and conformity. P2. The PMS should require projects to treat environmental threats on a short-term basis by treating

the symptoms of the environmental threat. This is a temporary solution. P3. The PMS should require projects to treat environmental threats on a mid-term basis through

corrective action, to treat the problem causing the symptoms. P4. The PMS should require projects to treat environmental threats on a long-term basis through

preventative action, to treat the source of the problem. P5. The PMS should recognise change procedures for environmental aspects of the project on the

same terms as other change requests. (xviii) Internal Audit

E1. The EMS internal audit should include its application and integration across all areas of the organisation. These separate internal audits should only be required for certification renewal. (Partially integrated audit)


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E2. The EMS aspects, which are a part of integrated processes of the integrated management system or another management system, are audited according to the process standards and procedures. (Totally integrated audit)

P1. The PMS audit should include environmental aspects in terms of the project processes and

project products. That is that operations and their associated EMS aspects are audited as one. (xix) Continual Improvements

E1. The EMS should develop a channel through which contributions from all employees are registered and handled for any improvement ideas. This program should be marketed throughout the organization and in projects where ideas can be developed outside of the confines of the project scope.

E2. The EMS should promote and facilitate the flow of lessons learned across the organisation regarding environmental aspects from projects.

P1. The PMS should promote the flow of lessons learned on relevant environmental aspects to the

EMS for distribution to the organisation. P2. The PMS should have procedures in place for continually improving the project process in

which input from the EMS is stipulated as integral to the redesign. P3. The PMS should promote the exchange of knowledge and its best practices to external parties

and act to influence those under organisational control and its sphere of influence. MANAGEMENT REVIEW (xx) Management Audit

E1. The management audit of the EMS should look to improve integration with the other management systems. In conjunction with this it should look to wherever possible to simplify the EMS inclusion in procedures and processes.

P1. The management audit of the PMS should look to improve integration with the other

management systems and to move as much as possible from partial integration towards total integration.


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8. DEDUCTIONS & CONCLUSIONS

The information obtained has highlighted the need for further integration as external requirements placed on an organization continue to grow in terms of environmental regulation. Therefore, there is a need for a reduction in cost and improvements in effectiveness. Through the act of integration an organization can avoid conflicting elements and make strides to reducing redundancy. The aim is that by following the outlined framework for integration there can be increased performance while obtaining environmental objectives. This would incorporate a balanced, focused approach to the way environmental issues are addressed within projects. Furthermore, this would lead to a reduction in documentation needs across projects, meaning, there are fewer to update and keep track of. The end result would be a better clarity and common procedures. Most importantly, there will be in increase in accountability and ownership as the integrated management system transitions from immature to mature. See Figure 8 for a graphical explanation.

Figure 8: Immature & Mature Management Systems

8.1 Recommendations

As with any framework or best practice, it serves as a general guide that will need to be tailored to the individual organization. However, the topic no longer revolves around the argument for integration but what is the best way of going about doing it. Based upon the information obtained through research and case studies, our framework identifies where aspects from project management and environmental standards should be aligned. Integration is the future and we believe that our approach provides a sound base for improvement guidance. Key Considerations Several overriding messages emerged through our case study interviews in regards implementation of integration activities: • Simplicity should be favoured at all times.

Integration inevitably results in processes either becoming more complex, or leaner than before. Simplicity is a key success factor for effective integration. • The responsibility should always rest with

the person of function that has the authority to act.


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• Silo thinking should be avoided. Planning in all aspects of improvement in this area should ensure to think to long term and look to widen boundaries. • Improvement initiatives should identify

themselves as either a partial or a total integrative effort and where feasible always strive to tend towards total integration.

9. FUTURE RESEARCH

As previously stated this is an emerging field and there remains areas in which further depth would be desirable. Moreover, it would be of interest to see if it is necessary for an organisation to move through the different phases of integration, that is to say, must an organisation have an immature system before it can be mature, must partial integration steps

occur before evolving towards total integration. Additionally, both companies studied for this thesis are involved in manufacturing in one way or another. It could be beneficial to conduct a similar analysis to see how these elements interact within serviced based organisation. Lastly, it quickly becomes apparent that the integration of these systems will initially lead to an increase in the complexity of the audits required to assess the integrated system. This is an important aspect that most certainly requires attention and, as previously mentioned, companies are beginning to work towards achieving.


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11. APPENDIX

Appendix A: PMI 42 Project Management Processes (PMI PMBOK® Guide 5th Edition)


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Appendix B: P5 Full Approach to Sustainability


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Appendix C: Full Framework Overview


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