<p>Sustainable project management in the construction industry is hindered by the challenge of balancing conflicting stakeholder priorities. This study presents a novel framework that not only identifies and prioritizes sustainability indicators through a multi-stakeholder lens but, in its primary contribution, applies institutional theory to explain the systemic drivers behind these priorities. A comprehensive list of 82 indicators, aligned with the triple bottom line (TBL), was evaluated by 157 global experts from seven key stakeholder groups. The relative importance Index (RII) was used to rank the indicators. The findings reveal a strong dominance of environmental indicators, with "Sustainable use of natural resources" ranked highest (RII = 0.901). In contrast, social indicators were significantly under-represented in the top rankings. A comparative analysis using Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient showed the highest level of stakeholder agreement on environmental indicators (ρ = 0.845) and the lowest on economic indicators (ρ = 0.685), highlighting systemic, role-based tensions. By explaining stakeholder divergence through coercive, normative, and mimetic pressures, this research offers a theoretically grounded model that moves beyond descriptive rankings. The resulting framework serves as a sophisticated decision-support tool for practitioners and policymakers to navigate conflicting sustainability objectives more effectively.</p> Graphic abstract <p>Framework and key sustainable project management indicators</p>