Most Influential Projects 2024
How can we tackle the problems of the present while building a better future?
PMI is honoring projects that drive impactful outcomes and align with the UN SDGs — projects that elevate our world.
Countless challenges face humanity today. Rising ocean temperatures. Food insecurity. Gender inequality. Inadequate education. The list goes on. Yet as overwhelming as these problems may seem, there's also an abundance of innovation, creativity and energy being channeled toward solving these problems — perhaps more than ever before — and meaningful change can happen through effective project management. It’s this spirit of positive impact and transformative change that PMI is honoring through the Most Influential Projects of 2024.
This year, our honorees represent transformative initiatives that advance the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The 17 SDGs aim to end poverty and inequality, protect the planet, and ensure that all people enjoy health, justice and prosperity. Our honorees meet the challenge with empathy, teamwork, innovation — and outstanding project management. From revolutionizing farming in desert climates to controlling the spread of mosquito-borne diseases to creating employment opportunities by repurposing waste, our 2024 Most Influential Projects each address at least one SDG.
To identify the Most Influential Projects of 2024, PMI researched hundreds of projects and gathered nominations from experts, members and stakeholders from across the globe. The honorees were rigorously evaluated through quantitative and qualitative data to ensure each project achieved a notable milestone in the last year, while also confirming their alignment to the UN SDGs and the values of the global project management community.
The ultimate selections represent honorees covering the broad portfolio of activities and industries fueling the world of projects that are making an impact.
We invite you to explore PMI’s Most Influential Projects of 2024 — those projects that leverage cutting-edge technologies, community collaboration, human ingenuity, and the practices that maximize project success to elevate our world.
Top 20 Most Influential Projects
Transformative projects making significant progress towards the UN SDGs across the globe
1 Billion Trees
Mongolia's 1 Billion Trees project combats desertification, planting 41.5M trees in 2023. Private-public partnerships grew by 32%, with 63M seedlings reserved and 960M trees protected from pests.
3D Kidney Printing
Trestle licensed Harvard's kidney regenerative tech in 2022, advancing stem cell and 3D bioprinting for kidney disease treatment. In 2023, Trestle won the $1M Artificial Kidney Prize from KidneyX.
Africa's Largest Kitchen
Food4Education combats food insecurity in Nairobi with locally-sourced food, serving nutritious meals to students. At 195 tons of food and 60,000 people served daily, it is Africa’s largest kitchen.
Blue Natural Capital
OCN unites artificial intelligence and machine, collecting thousands of data points — including water temperatures, current movements, and ocean floor conditions — to promote a regenerative blue economy.
Digital Security Training
Freedom of the Press Foundation supports public-interest journalism through advocacy, training, SecureDrop, and documenting press freedom violations, training over 1,300 journalists in digital security.
Disappearing Packaging
Notpla's seaweed-based, biodegradable film is a scalable, edible alternative to plastic, used in food packaging. It replaced 7.3M tons of plastic, avoided 250 tons of CO2, and expanded partnerships.
Energy Subscription Program
Beyond The Grid Fund for Africa provided 210,600 clean energy subscriptions in five African countries, reducing CO2 emissions by 15,000 tons and supporting 25 companies with €54.8M in financing.
Escuelas de Lluvia
Escuelas de Lluvia installs rainwater capture systems in Mexico’s underresourced schools, ensuring water access and contributing to improved academic outcomes and environmental awareness.
IKEA’s Commitment to Supporting Refugees
In collaboration with partners, IKEA committed to a suite of workforce development and placement programs for refugees and artisans, adding program-produced product lines to its retail offerings.
Irrigation Monitoring Sensors
VIA helps small farmers reduce water use by half with easy-to-use sensors. In 2023, they transitioned to a focus on governance, helping governments use its data to impact water management at scale.
Jardin de Mel
The Brazilian state of Paraná launched a honey gardens program, installing 200+ hives to protect native stingless bees, vital for pollination of 90% of plant species in the Atlantic Forest.
LATAM Accelerator Cohort
Toilet Board Coalition and partners launched a Latin American accelerator program for sanitation SMEs in Peru and Honduras, offering 10 months of business coaching, mentorship, and investment access.
Life-changing Cash Transfers
GiveDirectly has delivered large, unconditional cash transfers to 25,000 Rwandan families in a pioneering, scalable model intended to lift an entire country out of poverty.
National STEM Festival
The National STEM Festival revived the idea of a national science fair; 2,500+ students submitted projects and 146 champions from diverse backgrounds represented all states and U.S. territories.
Requiem in Power
Valencia is installing 7,000 solar panels in cemeteries, generating 440,000 kWh annually to power municipal buildings and 1,000 homes, saving 140 tons of CO2 yearly; 810 panels were installed in 2023.
Sana Jardin Women’s Cooperative
Sana Jardin, a socially conscious perfume brand, created a cooperative for rural Moroccan women, boosting their income by 128% in 2023 through repurposing perfume industry waste into beauty products.
The Pad Project
The Pad Project is a global charity that employs women in 10 countries to ensure girls around the world have access to menstrual products.
UNHCR Sports Partnership
Fundación Barça partners with UNHCR to support refugee rights by funding sports activities in camps, raising awareness with UNHCR logos on Barça jerseys, and committing 500,000 euros per season.
Vietnam Home-to-School Travel Safety Program
IRAP combined AI and Vietnamese students’ self-reported experiences about road risks to grade school-adjacent roads, push for infrastructure upgrades, and boost public safety.
Wolbachia Mosquitoes Release Program
Regional Spotlights
Creating positive change and elevating local communities
Dive Deeper
Explore the stories behind the projects, visualize how they drive social impact, and hear lessons learned directly from project leaders.
Centering Women as Agents of Change to Elevate Projects
Explore how two projects center women as active leaders and stakeholders, producing powerful ripple effects that benefit entire communities.
Turning Global Problems into Business Opportunities
Explore how innovative projects aligned with the United Nation (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are tackling global challenges such as sanitation and ocean health.
We help countries understand what’s in their oceans and how to monetize what nature does for us, rather than what we can take away from it.
We help countries understand what’s in their oceans and how to monetize what nature does for us, rather than what we can take away from it.
We help countries understand what’s in their oceans and how to monetize what nature does for us, rather than what we can take away from it.
We help countries understand what’s in their oceans and how to monetize what nature does for us, rather than what we can take away from it.
As a society, we’ve done rainwater capture for thousands of years. It’s an easy system, it’s simple to maintain, to scale, and to replicate.
As a society, we’ve done rainwater capture for thousands of years. It’s an easy system, it’s simple to maintain, to scale, and to replicate.
As a society, we’ve done rainwater capture for thousands of years. It’s an easy system, it’s simple to maintain, to scale, and to replicate.
As a society, we’ve done rainwater capture for thousands of years. It’s an easy system, it’s simple to maintain, to scale, and to replicate.
The Pad Project can be a connector in helping schools, vendors, and students helping students, getting people the products they need.
The Pad Project can be a connector in helping schools, vendors, and students helping students, getting people the products they need.
The Pad Project can be a connector in helping schools, vendors, and students helping students, getting people the products they need.
The Pad Project can be a connector in helping schools, vendors, and students helping students, getting people the products they need.