African organisations are increasingly placing sustainability at the centre of corporate and development strategies, but a widening gap between executive ambition and project-level execution is raising questions about whether sustainability commitments can be translated into measurable outcomes. New research from the Project Management Institute (PMI) and Green Project Management (GPM) shows that while 85% of sustainability executives globally are confident their organisations can achieve their sustainability goals, only 43% of project management office leaders share that confidence and just 20% of project professionals are extremely confident.
The findings, drawn from a survey of nearly 1,600 professionals across 35 countries, point to a problem that extends beyond corporate reporting. Sustainability objectives are increasingly being incorporated into strategies, regulatory frameworks and investment plans, yet they are not consistently embedded in the projects and operational decisions through which those objectives are ultimately delivered. Only 41% of respondents said sustainability was fully integrated across projects and functions, despite 79% saying it positions their organisations for long-term success.
For Africa, the execution question is particularly significant because many of the continent’s sustainability priorities are inseparable from major infrastructure and development projects. Renewable-energy installations, resilient transport systems, water infrastructure, sustainable buildings, agricultural transformation and industrial decarbonisation all depend on projects being delivered within financial, technical and institutional constraints. A sustainability strategy that does not reach procurement decisions, project design, budgeting, construction and operations has limited capacity to change those outcomes.
The PMI research identifies six recurring points where sustainability objectives can weaken between strategy and delivery: organisations struggle to quantify sustainability benefits in business terms; sustainability is not consistently integrated into decision-making; objectives can be unclear; delivery pressures can push sustainability down the priority list; project teams may struggle to connect daily actions with long-term impacts; and sustainability outcomes often take longer to materialise than conventional project milestones.
These constraints have practical consequences for African economies, where infrastructure projects frequently involve public funds, development finance institutions and private investors operating across long investment cycles. If sustainability requirements are introduced primarily at the reporting stage rather than during project preparation, governments and businesses may face higher costs later to retrofit infrastructure, correct environmental shortcomings or address social risks that could have been identified during project design.
The issue is not entirely new to the continent. Earlier PMI research examining sustainability in Nigerian construction projects found that holistic sustainability practices had not been fully embraced among experienced project managers, highlighting the longstanding difficulty of translating sustainability concepts into project life-cycle decisions.
The newer research suggests that the challenge has become more systemic as sustainability has moved closer to the centre of corporate strategy. The question is no longer simply whether organisations recognise environmental, social and governance considerations. It is whether project teams have the authority, skills, data and processes required to incorporate them into decisions about cost, time, risk, procurement and performance.
This distinction matters as African governments and businesses face growing pressure to demonstrate that climate and sustainability commitments are producing tangible economic outcomes. International lenders and investors increasingly assess environmental and social risks when financing infrastructure and corporate expansion, while regulators are strengthening sustainability disclosure requirements. At the same time, businesses must contend with immediate pressures around inflation, financing costs, energy reliability, supply chains and market competitiveness.
For project managers, this creates a more demanding operating environment. Sustainability considerations can affect everything from the materials selected for a construction project to the energy source used by a facility, the resilience of infrastructure to extreme weather and the social impacts of development on surrounding communities. The project manager becomes an important link between strategic commitments and these operational choices.
The research also identifies a confidence problem within organisations. Around 40% of respondents were classified as sustainability sceptics, questioning its impact, feasibility or relevance to business. That finding is significant because weak implementation can reinforce scepticism: when sustainability commitments fail to produce visible results, employees and decision-makers may become less convinced that the underlying objectives are commercially or operationally relevant.
Africa’s development context makes that risk more consequential. The continent requires substantial investment in energy, transport, housing, water, digital infrastructure and industrial capacity. Many of these investments will determine economic resilience for decades. Decisions made during project preparation can therefore have consequences extending well beyond individual corporate sustainability targets.
The financing implications are also considerable. Development finance institutions and international investors increasingly seek evidence that projects can manage climate, environmental and social risks. Projects with weak sustainability integration may face additional due-diligence requirements, delays or higher risk perceptions, while projects that incorporate credible sustainability measures from the outset may be better positioned to meet financing requirements.
However, embedding sustainability into project delivery does not mean adding another layer of compliance to already complex projects. The central issue is whether sustainability objectives are treated as part of the project’s definition of success. PMI research indicates that sustainability is the strongest predictor of project success in its wider research, ranking ahead of project methodology, governance and traditional delivery factors. Sustainability-aligned projects have also been associated with stronger customer outcomes and long-term value.
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For African institutions, the implications extend to organisational capability. Project teams need access to sustainability expertise, reliable data and clear performance indicators, while executives need to establish how environmental and social outcomes relate to financial and operational objectives. Without that connection, sustainability can remain concentrated within specialist departments rather than becoming part of mainstream project governance.
Training will therefore be an important component of the transition. PMI’s research points to a need for professionals capable of connecting sustainability strategy with project execution, while its partnership with GPM reflects growing demand for project-management skills that incorporate environmental, social and economic considerations.
The challenge is particularly relevant to Africa’s rapidly expanding infrastructure pipeline. Governments seeking to attract private capital, development finance and climate funding will increasingly need projects that are not only financially viable but also capable of demonstrating credible environmental and social outcomes. This places greater responsibility on project sponsors, procurement teams, engineers, consultants, financiers and project managers to integrate sustainability before implementation rather than attempting to demonstrate it after the fact.
For businesses, the same principle applies. Sustainability targets linked to emissions, resource efficiency, workforce conditions or community impact are ultimately delivered through investments and operational projects. If those projects are not structured to measure and manage the relevant outcomes, corporate commitments can remain disconnected from actual performance.
The emerging lesson is therefore less about setting more ambitious sustainability targets and more about strengthening the institutions and professionals responsible for delivering them. Africa’s development priorities require large-scale projects capable of combining economic returns with resilience, environmental performance and social value. Closing the execution gap will be essential if sustainability commitments are to influence how those projects are financed, designed and delivered.
As the continent continues to mobilise capital for its energy transition and wider development agenda, the distance between a sustainability target written into a strategy and an outcome delivered on the ground will become an increasingly important measure of institutional effectiveness. The evidence from PMI and GPM suggests that the next phase of sustainability will depend less on whether organisations have made commitments and more on whether they have built the capabilities to execute them.
