Project Management & Change

Project Management

Project management includes the initiation, planning, execution, monitoring and closing of projects. As a first step in project management, appropriate project and governance structures are to be set up, relevant stakeholders and project participants are to be involved and the project objective is to be set. After this, the phases, milestones, process steps and expected results are to be planned, described and detailed in terms of time, cost and quality. The project management takes care of informing the stakeholders about progress and possible risks throughout the course of the project. Additionally, it ensures that milestones and deliverables are provided in time, at the right quality and budget, while keeping the project plan up to date. The project management is in close interaction with the project committees and participants, and drives necessary decisions and escalations with the ultimate aim of fast issue resolution.
With regard to sustainability, the project management is, for example, responsible for ensuring the realization of the sustainability strategy. It is thereby crucial for the project management to have an overview about all ongoing activities and their status, and to respectively report to the project organization. These reports represent a valuable input factor for the composition of a sustainability report as well as for the communication beyond the project organization towards the different stakeholder groups.

Change Management

Project management should go hand in hand with change management. Change management prepares the organization for the upcoming changes and ensures a smooth transition and an effective adaption of the new processes and structures. It takes care of continuous communication and thereby generates transparency and trust. Persons responsible for change management analyze the change impacts and purposefully prepare the organization.
Relating to sustainability initiatives, change management is, amongst others, responsible for organizing workshops and trainings with internal (employees) and external (e.g. suppliers) stakeholders, to describe the changes, clarify questions, and show the next steps towards a sustainable and successful implementation.