Project Management for Sustainable Development (PM4SD™)

Digital badges allow you to easily showcase your achievements online.

When you pass an exam - you'll instantly have the option to claim a digital badge representing your new certificate.

Your badge can be embedded on an email signature, website, social media or digital CV.

With just one click employers, customers and clients can easily view and verify your credentials and skills.

Please download our digital sharing presentation for more information.

Once you’ve been notified that you’ve passed your exam - you will have the option to create a digital badge in APMG's Candidate Portal.

Visit APMG's Candidate Portal, view your exam results and select 'Create Badge'.

This takes you to the Credly website where the digital badges are hosted. You will be guided through the Credly account creation process.

Once you have created an account with Credly - login into the account and accept your pending badge.

PM4SD stands for Project Management for Sustainable Development and is a specialised scheme for those working in the tourism sector. The certification aims to support the process of making tourism more sustainable and responsible by addressing the need to use a project management approach that can be applied specifically to the tourism sector and can be used as a tool for the implementation of sustainability principles. The scheme follows best practice in project management and includes a number of components specific to sustainable tourism policies and practices.

The certification has both a Foundation and Practitioner level, which are based on the manual ‘Project Management for Sustainable Development’.

Training for PM4SD is available from the network of Accredited Training Organizations (ATOs) who are assessed and certified by APMG-International. 

Only these organizations and registered partners/affiliates are authorized to deliver PM4SD training.

No, however this is recommended. In addition to receiving accredited training, individuals also have the option of self-study to prepare for the examinations. APMG-International administers public exam sessions around the world to accommodate those who self-study.

The vast majority of PM4SD accredited training organizations include the examinations as part of the associated training course. Alternatively, and for individuals that have self-studied, APMG-International administers public exam sessions around the world. Sessions are run at certain APMG-International offices. There are four dedicated centers in the UK for public examinations, and in the United States we utilize the public library network to facilitate sessions.

There are no pre-requisites for the foundation examination. Candidates must, however, achieve a pass at foundation level before completing the practitioner examination.

PM4SD is based on the manual ‘Project Management for Sustainable Development’ published by TSO. This can be purchased from APMG Business Books.

Most PM4SD accredited training organizations include this publication with the course materials.

A set of project management templates are also part of the examinable material. These will be supplied to you by your ATO if you receive accredited training. If you decide to self-study, on booking your PM4SD exam you will be sent a link to the templates at no additional cost.

For individuals self-studying it is almost impossible to say. As all candidates have different experience and amount of time available for study, it varies from person to person. We suggest you buy the manual and have a look through for yourself before deciding how long you need to spend learning. 

For those studying with an accredited training organization, foundation courses are generally delivered over 3 days, while combined foundation and practitioner courses are generally delivered over 5 days. It is well worth investigating with individual providers, as many will offer tailored and blended learning solutions.

PM4SD foundation examinations can be marked on location after the exam, but this is down to the discretion of the invigilator at the time. Practitioner answer sheets are marked at APMG-International offices and results released soon after.

Your result will be sent to your ATO approximately 7-10 days after your exam date. Your ATO should notify you of your results so please contact them for further details.

If you did not take your exam through an ATO, your results will be sent directly to you via the relevant APMG-International office approximately 7-10 days after the date of your exam.

Pass marks for the PM4SD examinations are as follows:

Foundation: You will need to score 25/50 to pass the foundation exam.

Practitioner: You will need to score 40/80 to pass the practitioner exam.

To be eligible to apply to become a PM4SD trainer, individuals must achieve a score of 63% (50/80) in the practitioner exam.

To find out if you scored enough to be eligible as a trainer, please email servicedesk@apmg-international.com noting your interest. A representative of the Service Desk will be able to advise.

Candidates who have passed the PM4SD Practitioner examination can put "PM4SD Practitioner" on their business cards.

Only accredited training organizations and their registered partners are allowed to use the PM4SD logo.

Due to data protection laws, we are unable to quote organizations that use PM4SD without prior consent from them. The method is applicable to any organizations, regardless of industry and sector. Requests for permission should be sent to: servicedesk@apmg-international.com

PM4SD certification is not valid for a defined period and will not expire.

Candidates will be able to claim their digital badge and electronic certificate from their APMG Candidate Portal within two business days of their exam result being issued.

If you are sitting the examinations through an accredited training organization, the costs of the exams are generally included in the course fee. APMG-International use a global pricing structure, so for those sitting exams at a public exam centre, the cost is dependent on where the exams are being sat. To find out the costs in your region, please contact the APMG-International Service Desk on +44 (0)1494 452450 or at: servicedesk@apmg-international.com.

PM4SD foundation and practitioner exams are currently available in English only.

The Project Management for Sustainable Development book is currently available in English. A French and Spanish translation is underway.

All PM4SD trainers must be ‘sponsored’ by a PM4SD Accredited Training Organization (ATO). 

A trainer application must be submitted by the sponsoring ATO to their relevant APMG-International office.

An organization wishing to become an ACO must first submit an application form to either the APMG-International Service Desk or the relevant APMG-International office. The organization will then be subject to APMG-International’s ACO assessment process.

You can always access all your electronic certificates and badges via the APMG Candidate Portal. Once you have logged on to the Candidate Portal, click on the ‘Badges and Certificates’ option from the menu bar at the top of screen. From here you should click on the ‘Create Badge/Certificate’ button. This will take you to the Credly platform to create and account and download your badge and certificate.

Step-by-step guidance is available to download from the ‘Badges and Certificates’ area in your Candidate Portal.

Electronic certificates are environmentally friendly, but you can print the certificate yourself at home or work, if required.

If you have any problems with accessing your digital certificate, please contact our Customer Interaction Team - servicedesk@apmg-international.com