Most Influential Projects 2024

How can we tackle the problems of the present while building a better future?

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.

1 One billion trees

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.

2 3D Kidney Printing

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.

3 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. 

4 Blue Natural Capital

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.

5 Digital Security Training

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.

6 Disappearing Packaging

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.

7 Energy Subscription Program

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.

8 Escuelas de Lluvia

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.

16 Social Business Accelerator

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.

9 Irrigation Monitoring Sensors

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.

10 Jardin de Mels

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.

11 LATAM Accelerator

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.

12 Lifechanging Cash

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.

13 National STEM Festival

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.

14 Requiem in Power

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.

15 Sana Jardin Women's Cooperative

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.

17 The Pad Project Partnership Program

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.

18 UNHCR Sports Partnership

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.

19 Vietnam Home-to-School Travel Safety Program

Wolbachia Mosquitoes Release Program

The World Mosquito Program combats mosquito-borne diseases by releasing Wolbachia mosquitoes, reducing dengue by 92% in Colombia and Brazil.
20 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.

Blog

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.

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Blog

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.

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