By Shar Olivier, MEM, LEED-AP   |   Global Business Development Manager/Director of Sustainability and CSR, IIL

One of the most beautiful places on Earth is the South of France.  The time I got to travel there for business, Cannes was teeming with life and a shining posh village on the Mediterranean.  The countryside is something out of a different era, a time when people lived closer to the land, and life was much simpler and full of beauty.  I have always wanted to return, and next month I will get the chance, well, at least virtually…

I will get the privilege of delivering a virtual address to the participants at a ground-breaking PMI chapter conference in Sophia-Antipolis, South France, held on June 30^th 2016.  IIL France is sponsoring the event and we want to extend congratulations to chapter organizers like Olivier LeFebvre, for hosting the conference at a net-zero energy facility (it produces more energy than it consumes), with Sustainability at the core.

More and more PMPs are being called upon to consider the metrics of Sustainability in their projects.

How does my project affect the local community?  What are the environmental impacts of my project?  Will this project move the company and the sponsors into the future with a competitive edge/managed risk based on responsible best practice in PM?

Workshop topics will include, but are not limited to:

• Developing a Sustainability Management Plan on your current project
• French quality practitioners learning solutions around ISO26000 (CSR)
• IIL Global Sustainability strategies and offerings
• Local business strategies for Sustainability

PMI South France is focusing on making the connection between our project outcomes and alignment with our core values as stewards of the planet.  Project managers worldwide are focusing on the impact their projects have on the local community, as well as the global environment.  Responsible projects hold the stakeholders and managers accountable, while increasing efficiencies and creating innovative outcomes.

Corporate Social Responsibility is the sum total of our projects.  How we choose to focus our work lives and our company’s impacts on people and the planet, this is what creates our CSR platforms.  When we make a choice about inputs like materials, energy, transport and people, we are either making choices that foster positive growth or undermines the fabric of our ecosystem services, and the future of our society.  It’s really that simple.

Each of us has the capacity to lead in this space.  We don’t all need advanced degrees in Sustainability or urban planning, to make choices, at work and at home, that positively inform our future.  Get involved in events like this one and make the shift to Green PM.

To learn more about the event please follow this link: http://pmi-france.org/event-detail-articles/846-sophia-antipolis-gestion-vertueuse-de-projet

For more information about IIL France, please visit: http://www.iil.com/france/

Shar Olivier is a recognized thought leader in Sustainability and the Director of IIL’s Corporate Social Responsibility Practice Area. With more than 18 years of experience in the field, Shar has presented to more than 100,000 professionals across dozens of business sectors. She presented most recently at the PMI Southern Caribbean Chapter in Trinidad on Organizational Survival, and graduated at the top of her class in Environmental Leadership and Sustainability at Duke University’s Nicholas School for the Environment.