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This chapter aims to contribute to the literature on sustainability in the public sector by discussing how human resource and human resource management can help to integrate environmental management into organizations and improve environmental performance. Public sector scholars have neglected the study of Green Human Resource Management (GHRM) until now. Nevertheless, implementing such practices could lead to positive outcomes regarding awareness of environmental issues, organizational reputation and attractiveness, job satisfaction and organizational performance. The authors discuss the relevance and the necessity of developing a field of research on GHRM in public organizations. Starting from a conceptual review of the main literature on GHRM, this chapter provided some directions for future research.

This chapter The Grass Is Greener Where You Water It! delves deeper into explicating Employee Green Behaviour (EGB), which outlines the eco-friendly behaviours practiced by employees. The section provides a more thorough explanation of EGB, including its origins, theoretical foundations, and practical applications in a social and physical environment to create environmentally conscious workplaces. The in-role and extra-role of EGB are discussed to strengthen its execution, and its significance considering the present ecological exigency. This chapter outlines the five-features-hierarchical framework for EGB: Sustainability Initiatives, Non-Harmful Action, Resource Conservation, Peer Influence, and Individual Commitment. The environmental history, ecosystems, and biodiversity and their interaction with humans from the ancient period to the present day are provided. The later unit explores organizational plans to encourage EGB, focussing on the role of HR policies, practices, and systems in nurturing the culture of sustainability within organizations. This chapter reviews current studies on EGB, emphasizing the role of employee engagement, transformational environmental leadership, and corporate culture in promoting green practices. It contributes to the academic literature by analyzing EGB, its relevance, and the effects it can have on organizations and society. It is a great tool for academics, government officials, and business heads to make workplaces environmentally friendly.

Purpose – The purpose of this chapter is to discuss managing sustainability across an industry and examine the catalyst, enablers, and challenges for systems-level change through a case study of one organization, the Port of Los Angeles (POLA), and its participation in the Sustainable Enterprise Executive Roundtable (SEER) action learning network.

Methodology/approach – The chapter uses a case study approach, written by reflective practitioners in action.

Findings – The challenges and enablers of achieving organizational change for sustainability within the POLA ecology are addressed as part of a forcefield of enablers and obstacles. Action learning in the context of collaborative projects across the ecology becomes a key process for managing change toward a sustainable goods movement ecosystem.

Research/practical implications – The chapter is addressed to those scholar-practitioners who struggle with issues of organizational change for sustainability outcomes. The core work is to align organizations, within and around the node organization, for sustainability. By analyzing the systems forcefield, we can better perceive the implications for action and identify leverage for change.

Social implications – Organizations are the key unit for culture change for sustainability within society. Engaging with other organizations involved in the work of sustainability is required to create systems-level change.

Originality/value – The scholarly contribution is based on revisiting the usefulness of Lewin's Change Forcefield, which the authors have adapted by integrating the concepts of the learning organization and systems thinking to help understand change and redesign efforts for sustainability within and among organizations.

Through a systematic review of the literature, this study analyzes the empirical literature on the adoption of environmental sustainability strategies in order to identify (i) the main conceptual aspects by which environmental sustainability strategies can be conceived of, (ii) the main determinants of the adoption of such strategies, (iii) the expected impacts on the company’s international performance, as well as (iv) the mechanisms that mediate the effect of environmental sustainability strategies on international performance. This study thereby offers propositions about the relationships between environmental sustainability strategies, their determinants (both in relation to the institutional environment and to the company’s domain), and their performance implications.

Using corporate value statements of the top Fortune 300 firms for the year 2012, we examine relationships among the stated values of these companies, their industries, and their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) performance measures. We classify stated values into 21 broad categories. We find that corporate values exhibit strong industry affiliations. Correspondence analysis and regression models indicate that 19 out of 21 values are related to at least one performance measure and while some values are associated with improved performance (e.g., ethics), others (e.g., safety) have a negative impact. Further, while some values have the anticipated impact on performance (e.g., the shareholder value is positively associated with financial performance), some show no relationship (e.g., the environment value is not associated with environmental performance). Finally, our findings also suggest possible CSR washing in some cases. Overall, the study finds corporate values do affect their performance.