Projecting sustainability management: Anticipated futures of specialization and democratization

Other conference contribution, 2025

Acknowledging the processual nature of sustainability management work, the purpose of this paper is to investigate how a growing demand for sustainability expertise in project-based organizations impacts organizational processes in regard to role development and role operationalization, thereby indicating potential paths for sustainability role empowerment. Informed by sustainability managers, this paper adopts an individual level of analysis and investigates a “prediction paradox” of the future of the sustainability management role. Data was collected from 25 semi-structured interviews with sustainability professionals, all with managerial responsibilities, in architecture (2), construction (10), consultancy (7), and real estate (6).Acknowledging the processual nature of sustainability management work, the purpose of this paper is to investigate how a growing demand for sustainability expertise in project-based organizations impacts organizational processes in regard to role development and role operationalization, thereby indicating potential paths for sustainability role empowerment.