HR and Sustainability

 

Green HRM, short for "green human resource management," is one strategy that companies can use to maintain their relevance and competitiveness in the modern market. In this respect, sustainability is becoming more important. Implementing this strategy will encourage companies to make "greener" decisions and include eco-friendly practices in their hiring, onboarding, and development processes. In this piece, we'll define "green HR" and discuss its potential benefits for your company (Hameed et al., 2020).

                                https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHm8pMk9sF4

Green Human Resource Management

Recently, "green HR management" has swept the business and environmental communities, but what is it anyway? A set of guidelines meant to encourage employees to do their part for the environment is the most fundamental form of the concept. As an environmentally and socially responsible company, we strive to go above and beyond in our efforts to reduce our impact on the planet (Paulet, Holland and Morgan, 2021).

Together, efficient people management and sustainable human resource management—which takes into account the overall environmental effect of a company's operations—will achieve this objective. Reducing energy use and garbage are two examples, as is promoting green initiatives at work. 

The Role of HR in a Sustainable Workplace

Sustainable workplaces are becoming more popular as global sustainability concerns develop. An ecologically friendly workplace reduces greenhouse gas emissions, boosts productivity, and cuts costs for the organization and its employees.

An organization can reduce its environmental effects by investing in its people. One of many ways this happens. Recycling and energy-saving policies affect the environment. Human resources can help create recycling and energy-saving initiatives. Ensuring that everyone understands these concerns and encouraging employees to learn about and discuss them can help create a sustainable culture. This achieved this purpose successfully.

If the HR department builds a green workplace, it may improve environmental conditions and other workplace factors. Environmentally responsible human resource management benefits individuals, society, and the economy. These actions also help the environment.

Benefits of Sustainable Human Resource Management

There are tons of gains in executing green HR practices in workplaces. The main advantage is that a corporation can save funds by lowering its ecological effects. In addition to cumulative engagement and morale, green HR routines heighten productivity and success for these firms by raising workers' engagement. Ecologically conscious HR practices have many benefits, such as (Malik et al., 2020; Amrutha and Geetha, 2019)

Better Communication and Collaboration

Companies may increase internal communication and collaboration by making processes more transparent and encouraging staff participation in environmental efforts.

2.      Enhance Employee Engagement

Getting workers attracted to green initiatives is a splendid route to lift their confidence, enthusiasm, and productivity in the workplace. Having a sense of being a part of something big might adjust the perception and attitude for the better.

3.      Raising the Efficiency of the Company

Green HRM strategies regulate and streamline a number of methods and procedures that can foster productivity and efficiency. Additionally, these approaches can improve firms to promote an ecologically conscious workforce that strongly backs and advocates for green initiatives.

4.      Reduce unnecessary expenses

They can help corporations to save money on operating activities. Decrease energy consumption and water usage, along with savings on waste disposal and office supply expenses, are all outcomes of applying these green practices. In essence, companies have the prospect of conserving money while making an optimistic impact on the natural environment.

1.      Improved Sustainability

Adopting green HRM practices can improve firms undertake their green goals by lowering their ecological influence. Decreasing water utilization, buying office supplies in bulk, eliminating the use of paper and toners, and progressing power productivity are all ways to save money and decrease waste.

Disadvantages of Sustainable Human Resource Management

One big negative is the pricing. Some green HR initiatives may require funding to get off the ground and keep going. One potential negative aspect is that it could create additional work for employees (Mousa and Othman, 2020). For example, recycling programs sometimes require different kinds of items to be put into various containers. Alterations to typical work schedules may be necessary for employees to accommodate additional eco-friendly initiatives, such as energy-saving measures.

Incorporating sustainability into your technology and day-to-day operations can make green HR management more affordable, even though it may initially seem expensive. Inexpensive and hassle-free, YAROOMS monitors carbon emissions. Even though employees merely use the office as usual and commute, YAROOMS calculates the carbon footprint of all these acts (Mousa and Othman, 2020).

Be mindful that green efforts seek to reduce the detrimental impacts of energy use and pollution. Because businesses are equally responsible for contributing to environmental concerns, they should initiate green initiatives in reaction to these issues.

Environmentally Conscious Human Resource Management

Green HR management techniques include things like encouraging employees to use public transit, implementing remote work policies, conducting energy audits, going paperless and using recyclable materials, and including sustainability topics in employee training programs (Paulet, Holland and Morgan, 2021).

Aside from protecting the environment, taking steps to reduce the environmental impact of their activities will also benefit your business line. Here are some recommendations that could help you in your quest for sustainability:

If we want to accomplish these goals, we'll need everyone's support and effort. By making them public, everyone is able to follow the progress and offer input toward the result (Paulet, Holland and Morgan, 2021). Another excellent suggestion is to have team leaders set environmental goals and delegate responsibilities; at the end of each quarter, reward the best team with a team-building activity or a prize!

References

•      Amrutha, V.N. and Geetha, S.N. (2019). A systematic review on green human resource management: Implications for social sustainability. Journal of Cleaner Production, [online] 247(1), p.119131. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.119131.

•      Hameed, Z., Khan, I.U., Islam, T., Sheikh, Z. and Naeem, R.M. (2020). Do green HRM practices influence employees’ environmental performance? International Journal of Manpower, ahead-of-print(ahead-of-print). doi:https://doi.org/10.1108/ijm-08-2019-0407.

•      Paulet, R., Holland, P. and Morgan, D. (2021). A meta‐review of 10 years of green human resource management: is Green HRM headed towards a roadblock or a revitalisation? Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 59(2), pp.159–183. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/1744-7941.12285.

•      Malik, S.Y., Cao, Y., Mughal, Y.H., Kundi, G.M., Mughal, M.H. and Ramayah, T. (2020). Pathways Towards Sustainability in Organizations: Empirical Evidence on the Role of Green Human Resource Management Practices and Green Intellectual Capital. Sustainability, [online] 12(8), p.3228. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/su12083228.

•      Mousa, S.K. and Othman, M. (2020). The impact of green human resource management practices on sustainable performance in healthcare organisations: A conceptual framework. Journal of Cleaner Production, [online] 243(1). doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.118595.

•      Yong, J.Y., Yusliza, M.-Y. . and Fawehinmi, O.O. (2019). Green human resource management. Benchmarking: An International Journal, 27(7). doi:https://doi.org/10.1108/bij-12-2018-0438.