Green HRM

DECEMBER 12

SHRM
Presented by: Hajar

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 Introduction:

In every organization, the department of human resources should be able to play an essential role in
establishing the organization's sustainable culture. Many authors believe that management innovation
and strategic planning are successful and useful because of the quality and availability of human
resources. Green HRM refers to making the employee more responsive to the problems of
sustainability.
Different people have different ideas about the green human resource management. For example,
Anjana Nath, regional head of HR, describes green HR as environmentally friendly HR strategies that
contribute to increased efficiency, lower costs, and higher levels of employee engagement, and Ashok
Ramachandran, director of HR at Vodafone, assumes that green HR refers to using every employee
touch point to espouse sustainable practices and raise employee awareness.
Green human resource management is most often used to refer to people management policies and
practices that are concerned with the larger corporate environmental agenda. It entails implementing
environmentally friendly measures that result in increased efficiency, cheaper costs, and improved staff
engagement and retention.

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I- Definition of Green HRM:

Green management strategies are becoming increasingly significant in forward-thinking company

organizations throughout the world. Green HR encourages businesses to look for alternate methods to
minimize expenses without sacrificing talent or vital resources. According to HR specialists,
encouraging workers to be more environmentally friendly in the workplace is the best strategy for their
companies! Values such as this one is more than just acts of kindness; they are also a motivating and
inspirational tool. Green HRM is the application of HRM policies to encourage the sustainable use of
resources inside companies, typically for environmental concerns. The concept of "green HRM" is
most commonly used to refer to people management policies and activities that are concerned with the
larger corporate environmental schedule. Basically, green HRM activities contain video recruiting or
online interviews and training to minimize travel requirements. Green rewards can embrace the use of
workplace and lifestyle benefits ranging from carbon credit compensates to free bicycles, that to keep
people in the green program. As it is mentioned before GHR is defined as a set of people centered
practices oriented toward the development of the workforce abilities, the motivation and opportunities
to contribute to an organization’s economic environmental sustainability.

 What is the meaning of sustainability?

Sustainability consists a fulfilling the needs of the current generation without compromising the needs
of the next generation while ensuring a balance between economic growth, environmental care and

social well-being. Sustainable development is commonly defined as the construction of a balance

between profit, planet, and people. A sustainable organization is one that produces economic, social,
and environmental
advantages, sometimes
known as the "triple bottom
line.".

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  HR and Sustainability:

Organizations are increasingly apprehensive with sustainability and corporate social responsibility.

The HR function is exceptionally placed to develop and implementing sustainability strategy. HR will
need to research how to manage a wide range of issues, from employee wellness to workplace health
and safety. The HR staff is expected to be the only department that is efficiently skilled to modify the
attitudes and behaviors of the management, managers, and employees by modifying their many human

resource systems. Green human resources entail enterprising environmentally friendly HR schemes
that result in greater efficiencies, better employee engagement, and lower costs and retention, allowing
organizations to job-share, car-share, teleconference and virtual interviews, telecommuting, online
training...

 Green Management:
A "green" organization represents one that is environmentally conscious, resource-efficient, and
socially responsible. The idea of "green management" for sustainable development has several
meanings in the environmental literature, all of which aim to highlight the necessity for a balance
between organizational growth for wealth design and natural environment conservation so that the
future may prosper. (Daily and Huang, 2018).

 Green HRM Process:

Human resource development helps translate green policies into practice. It is a strategy to involve the
green workforce in environmental issues and to understand and develop the green culture in the
organization. It is a process that includes HRM functions. We can understand it as follows:

a) Green Recruitment:
Green recruitment is the process of hiring new people who know about sustainable processes,
environmental issues, and are also familiar with words like preservation and sustainable environmental

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policies. The institution should make sure that new talent is familiar with the green practices and
environmental systems that will support effective environmental management within the organization.
In this process, we recruit the employee without using paper, which minimizes its impact on the
environment. We can do it through an online recruitment process, in which applications are invited
online, interviews are conducted online, and joining letters are issued to employees online. (Katarya &
Kumar, 2019)

b) Green Performance Management:

Green performance management is the method by which employees are encouraged to increase their
professional skills, which help to achieve organizational goals and objectives. It is a whole year of
ongoing communication between a supervisor and an employee. Performance evaluation is an essential
component of performance management. A manager can evaluate the work of an employee who
exhibits environmentally friendly behavior, such as turning off the power switch when it is not needed,
and assist in a variety of other ways. Organizations improve their employees' knowledge and abilities

in this way. (Katarya & Kumar, 2019)

c) Green Training and Development:

It is a process that is necessary for every organization. It focuses on the development of employees'
skills, knowledge, and attitude towards environment management. It makes a change in working
methods that decreases wastage, ensures proper utilization of resources, promotes conservation of
resources, and reduces the use of less available resources. Many companies, such as Nestle, are
providing green policy training to their employees.

d) Green Employee Relation:

In every company, people come from different places with different characteristics, interests, habits,
and attitudes, and due to this, they follow different practices in their lives. So, it becomes a necessity
for an employer to make efforts to get them together or build relationships. Green tools like social
networking sites and Gmail help create relationships while increasing their participation in green
management practices. (Katarya & Kumar, 2019)

 Green HRM Practices:

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As it has been established that green human resources play an important role in organizations in
addressing environmental issues, we can identify some well-known green HRM practices for example,
assisting staff in identifying recyclable materials that can be utilized to build playgrounds for children
who do not have access to safe places to play.
One of the well-known practices is the use of job portals for recruitment and the custom of telephone,
internet, and video interviews, which can reduce employee travel requirements while also affecting
paperwork reduction. Another well-known practice is encouraging employees to turn off light
computers after work hours and on weekends to save energy.

o Recycle the wastage of firm

o Teleconferencing can reduce the tie and energy
o Companies can save power by start their work in early morning
o Companies take incentives to Go Green practices
o Create eco-friendly attitudes among employees

II- History of Green HRM:

In the past, the resonance economic performance of the organization was likely to assure corporate
achievement by organizations and their shareholders, but now it is no longer suitable; economic and
financial outcomes need to be accompanied by the minimization of environmental footprints
and improved concentration on social and environmental features. So, the new strategic problem of
corporate environmentalism or "green management" appeared in the 1990s and became a popular
slogan globally in the 2000s (Lee, 2009).
Green management is defined as the process whereby companies manage the environment by
developing environmental management strategies (Lee, 2009), in which companies need to balance
industrial growth with conservation of the natural environment so that future generations may thrive
(Daily and Huang, 2001). This concept has evolved into a strategic problem for businesses, particularly
multinational corporations operating on a global scale (Banerjee, 2001)

III- Research Example:

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In our study, we can take as a research example three companies: the first one is Google, and the
second one is Starbucks. Google is leading the way to a greener future with its environmental
sustainability and green supply chain management practices, as it is widely known as a business
innovator. The firm has showed a dedication to working with the environment rather than against it.
With initiatives such as powering its facilities with renewable energy sources, bringing in goats to trim
the grass, and hosting farmer’s markets and sustainable cooking seminars, Google has established an
environmentally conscious corporate culture and solidified its reputation as one of the world’s most
forward-thinking companies.
Starbucks is another corporation that has implemented environmental sustainability and green supply
chain management concepts across the board. By focusing on creating "green" stores, Starbucks has
been able to reduce both its operating costs and the environmental impact of its business practices. The
company’s green building strategy includes adjusting the temperature in air-conditioned stores from
the standard 72°F to 75°F, purchasing cabinetry made with 90% post-industrial material, and
incorporating low-flow water valves. It also purchases Fair Trade Certified and certified organic
coffee, and in addition, the company is setting out to achieve LEED certification for all new company-
owned outlets, the company start their work early in morning to save power, Starbucks is piloting a
new type of paper cup that is recyclable.
Suzloan Company an Indian company has the most energy-efficient building built in India, with a
green roof and an energy-efficient and renewable energy-based hot water system. Many other policies,
like carpooling, zero waste management, green management, etc., are practiced by the company.
(Katarya & Kumar, 2019)

IV- Recommendations:

Being a green employer may help to increase employee motivation and engagement (through a shared
set of values) and can create a competitive advantage from the opportunities presented by changing
markets. It will also improve the health of the workforce (for example, by encouraging cycling to
work, car sharing, and public transportation). At the same time, it presents the challenge of how to
measure environmental performance standards across different units of the firm and gain useful data on
the environmental performance of managers. Tying the performance evaluations to the job descriptions
and mentioning the specific green goals and tasks.
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When an organization goes green, employers gain other human resource benefits such as increased
staff motivation, a greater sense of belonging to the organization, and a reduction in labor turnover as
workforce health improves. It has been observed and discovered through research that carbon
emissions cause many people to become ill; even in textiles, yarn fibers can cause problems in the
lungs. 
Establish a green team, which A dedicated team or task force was formed to investigate challenges,
generate ideas, and investigate how, where, and when environmental interventions could be
implemented in the business.
Only Organization 3 stated that it has a dedicated team in place to promote environmentally friendly
behavior within the organization. Organization 3's spokesperson stated: Because our CSR team works
in this field, it closely analyzes such challenges and recommends environmentally responsible
solutions. They are also in charge of obtaining buy-in and financial clearances for plan implementation
(HR Representative, Organization 3, February 5, 2016).
"We have employees in the quality-control department who keep an eye on any potential
environmental threat," said a spokesperson from Organization 2. When asked if these individuals are
solely responsible for promoting green behaviors within the organization, the representative responded,
"No, this is just one of many things they do; rather, it is not about promoting green behaviors but about
reducing environmental deterioration due to production." (January 11, 2016—HR Representative,
Organization 2)

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