Evaluation and recommendations for an improved sustainability management in infrastructure projects at ÅF

Sammanfattning: The infrastructure sector is essential for the social development in relation to for example urbanisation, but the infrastructure sector also has a negative impact on the environment. Infrastructure projects are part of the UN SDG and is an important factor regarding sustainable development. It is therefore important to make sure the development of infrastructure projects are sustainable in all phases. This can, among other things, be achieved through a sustainable project management. However, there is no clear systematic frameworkfor how sustainability can be implemented in the project management. This thesis aims to contribute with recommendations regarding how sustainability can be implemented in large infrastructure projects with the specific research question How can the implementation of sustainability in the project management in large infrastructure projects be improved at ÅF?. This thesis has been carried out at ÅF with the sub-project OLP4 as a case study to be able to identify problematic areas and key factors that are important regarding the implementation of sustainability. OLP4 is the subsection Södertälje-Trosa which is a sub-project of the railway The East Link Project in Sweden. The thesis is based on a literature study regarding project management and important factors for implementing sustainability in work process and achieve sustainability project management. This is supplemented by online and internal documents as well as interviews with employees at ÅF/Tyréns and Trafikverket regarding The East Link Project and OLP4.OLP4 is designed by ÅF/Tyréns. It is a big project with 200 employees involved, resulting inseveral meetings and the need for systematic work processes. Sustainability is discussed in OLP4 but the knowledge, sustainability work and sustainability project management can be improved. The main difficulty in implementing sustainability in daily work task, is to break it down into clear guidelines how this can be applied. Based on this study the following conclusions have been reached. To implement sustainability in the project management in large infrastructure projects the project management must be structured. Implementation of sustainability requires also that employees have good knowledge about sustainability and that there is a good culture, structure and communication in the project regarding sustainability.