As organisations across Africa and the rest of the world seek to translate sustainability ambitions into business outcomes, new research from Project Management Institute (PMI) and Green Project Management, the world's leading organisation advancing sustainable practices within the profession, reveals a critical challenge - many are struggling to deliver measurable sustainability outcomes.

The findings come at a time when the world is running out of time to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). According to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Report 2025, only 35% of SDG targets are currently on track or making moderate progress, while nearly half are advancing too slowly, and 18% have regressed. Against this backdrop, PMI's latest research highlights a challenge that receives far less attention than policy or funding debates – execution.

The report, Executing Sustainability Strategy: When Ambition Meets Reality, surveyed nearly 1,600 professionals across 35 countries and found a significant disconnect between strategic confidence and execution readiness. While 85% of sustainability executives believe their organisations will achieve their sustainability goals, only 43% of Project Management Office (PMO) leaders share that confidence. Among project professionals responsible for implementation, just 20% are extremely confident in their organisation's ability to deliver.

The study also found that although 79% of respondents believe sustainability is important to long-term success, only 41% say it is fully integrated into projects and daily operations.

For Africa, where projects underpin everything from infrastructure and energy development to healthcare, mining, agriculture, and digital transformation, the findings point to a challenge that is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.

“Sustainability is no longer a separate conversation from business performance. Across the continent, governments and businesses have set bold targets and made significant commitments. The real challenge is delivery. A strategy does not build a power station, expand broadband access, or improve water security - projects do. If sustainability is not embedded into project delivery, organisations will struggle to achieve the outcomes they are aiming for," says George Asamani, Managing Director, PMI Sub-Saharan Africa.

The research identified sustainability as the strongest predictor of project success, ranking ahead of traditional delivery factors such as governance structures and project methodologies. Yet despite its demonstrated value, 59% of organisations have not fully integrated sustainability into project delivery and operational decision-making.

The report identified six recurring barriers that prevent organisations from successfully executing sustainability strategies. These include difficulty quantifying sustainability benefits in business terms, weak integration into decision-making processes, unclear goals, competing delivery priorities, limited visibility into outcomes and the challenge of working against longer-term outcome horizons.

For Sub-Saharan Africa, where sustainability outcomes directly determine access to international development finance, ESG-linked investment, and climate funding, this execution gap carries particular consequences. Organisations that cannot demonstrate measurable sustainability delivery risk being excluded from the investment flows that will define the continent's next decade of growth.

According to Asamani, many organisations continue to treat sustainability as a reporting exercise rather than a delivery discipline.

"Too often, sustainability lives in strategy documents and annual reports, but it is less visible where decisions are actually being made. The question is no longer whether sustainability matters. The question is whether organisations can deliver it consistently, project after project."

The research found that organisations most successful in delivering sustainability commitments typically share two characteristics: leadership alignment around a clear definition of success and strong organisational capability to translate sustainability priorities into project-level decisions and actions.

To help organisations strengthen this capability, PMI and GPM have launched the Certified Sustainable Project Professional (CSPP)™, a new certification and e-learning programme designed to equip project professionals with practical tools to integrate sustainability considerations throughout the project lifecycle.

Built around the PMI® GPM® P5™ Standard for Sustainability in Project Management and aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the certification helps practitioners integrate sustainability into project planning, delivery and decision-making. The P5 framework expands project success beyond time, cost and scope to include People, Planet, Prosperity, Process and Product.

"The next phase of sustainability leadership will be defined by execution," added Asamani.

"As Africa continues to invest in infrastructure, energy, industrialisation, and digital transformation, the demand for professionals who can balance economic, environmental, and social outcomes will only grow. Building that capability is not simply good for sustainability. It is good for business, competitiveness, and ultimately good for the region’s development."

About Project Management Institute (PMI): PMI is the leading authority in project management, dedicated to guiding the way to project success. Since 1969, PMI has shone a light on the power of project management and the people behind the projects. With a global community, gold-standard professional certifications, and career-long learning opportunities, PMI empowers current and aspiring project professionals, as well as organisations, with knowledge and resources to lead effectively and create an impact in the communities they serve. Join PMI in elevating our world – one project at a time. Connect with us at www.pmi.org, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and on X.