IPMA Vice President calls for expanding the traditional project management triangle with energy and equity at CIDIP / ICPME 2026

The Vice President of the International Project Management Association (IPMA), Vladimir Obradovic, delivered a thought-provoking keynote during the International Seminar on Project Management and Engineering (ISoPM), arguing that artificial intelligence is challenging some of the fundamental principles on which project management has been built for decades.

The main ideas presented during his keynote were later shared by Vladimir Obradovic in a post published on his official LinkedIn profile. Given the relevance of these reflections for the international project management community, AEIPRO–IPMA Spain is pleased to share the following summary.

During the 30th International Congress on Project Management and Engineering (CIDIP / ICPME 2026), held at the Universitat Jaume I in Castellón, Vladimir Obradovic delivered the keynote «Beyond the Triangle: Adding Energy and Equity to the Project Equation», in which he argued that the traditional framework of project management must evolve to address the challenges of today’s rapidly changing world.

A Triangle That Is No Longer Complete

Obradovic began by reminding the audience that project management has been built for more than seventy years around three fundamental constraints: scope, time and cost.

That triangle, he argued, has served the profession remarkably well. However, it is no longer sufficient.

In his view, two essential dimensions have been largely absent from project management decision-making, and that absence is becoming a professional responsibility: energy and equity.

Energy Is Now Part of Every Project Decision

One of the keynote’s central messages was that artificial intelligence is already delivering significant benefits to project management.

It enables faster planning, smarter risk identification and more efficient resource optimisation.

However, Obradovic warned that these benefits come with a cost that rarely appears in project plans: the growing energy demand required to power artificial intelligence.

Referring to recent international data, he explained that electricity consumption by data centres increased by 17% during 2025 alone, while AI workloads grew by 50%. He also highlighted projections from the International Energy Agency (IEA) showing that data centre electricity consumption is expected to nearly double by 2030.

For this reason, he argued that every time a project manager decides to use artificial intelligence to generate a schedule, prepare a report or perform a risk assessment, that decision also carries energy implications.

As he stated during his keynote, project managers represent the layer of accountability between technology and its consequences, and if the profession fails to recognise this responsibility, no one else is likely to do so.

Equity as the Second Missing Dimension

The second dimension introduced by Obradovic was equity.

He pointed out that Africa accounts for less than 1% of global data centre capacity despite being home to approximately 18% of the world’s population.

He also referred to International Monetary Fund (IMF) projections indicating that the economic benefits generated by artificial intelligence in advanced economies could be more than twice those expected in low-income countries.

According to Obradovic, there is a real risk that emerging technologies will accelerate progress primarily for those who are already ahead, widening existing inequalities rather than reducing them.

As he observed during his keynote, technology marketed as a way of levelling the playing field may instead raise the floor only for those who are already standing on it.

A New Question for Project Leaders

Rather than proposing a new framework or certification, Obradovic invited project professionals to adopt a much simpler but more fundamental question.

He encouraged the audience to ask themselves, every time they make a project decision:

«The next time you make a project decision, ask: who pays for this efficiency and who misses out?»

In his view, this is a question that has rarely been present in project management discussions, yet it will become one of the defining questions for the future of the profession.

He concluded with another powerful reflection:

«The triangle is not wrong. It is simply incomplete. And completing it is a project worth managing.»

A Shared Vision at ISoPM

Vladimir Obradovic’s keynote formed part of the international programme of the International Seminar on Project Management and Engineering (ISoPM), the Congress initiative dedicated to presentations and scientific contributions delivered entirely in English, reinforcing the international dimension of CIDIP / ICPME.

The seminar was chaired by two internationally recognised Co-Chairs: Jesús Martínez Almela, Vice President of AEIPRO–IPMA Spain, former President of IPMA and IPMA Honorary Fellow, and Wolfgang Glitscher, Professor at the Technische Universität Berlin and one of Europe’s leading figures in project management.

An International Leader in Project Management

Vladimir Obradovic has served as Vice President of the International Project Management Association (IPMA)since January 2023 and brings more than fifteen years of executive leadership experience, including several years in senior international management positions.

Throughout his career, he has built strong partnerships between universities, public institutions and industry through strategic international initiatives. An expert in strategic management and project management, he is widely recognised for his work in organisational transformation, multicultural leadership and the advancement of the project management profession worldwide.