Green engineering projects: The role of project management in achieving environmental sustainability goals

Abstract

The growing emphasis on environmental sustainability in engineering projects has highlighted the need to embed sustainability principles within project management. Nonetheless, there exist deficits of robust empirical data that can have the direct impact of those practices on environmental outcomes. This paper examines how some of the most important aspects of green engineering projects, which include project planning, risk management, and stakeholder engagement, affect environmental sustainability performance in green engineering projects. A quantitative, cross-sectional survey was designed, where 250 respondents (project managers, engineers, and environmental professionals) participated in the survey. The analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics, reliability test, correlation, and multiple regression analysis. The findings show that the three factors significantly and positively affect sustainability performance, with stakeholder engagement being the most significant predictor. The results also show that properly organized project management leads to improved environmental performance, such as increased energy efficiency, less waste, and improved emission control. In general, this research provides empirical data that can support the incorporation of sustainability values into the engineering project management practices.