Going After the Green: Expanding Industrial–Organizational Practice to Include Environmental Sustainability

Abstract

Ones and Dilchert (2012b) present a compelling case for why we should include environmental sustainability as a core objective of industrial and organizational (I-O) psychology research and practice. As an I-O practitioner who has worked in multiple forms of consulting over the years (i.e., applied research, external, internal), I found myself extrapolating from their suggestions the variety of ''green'' projects we might engage in using our expertise as I-O psychologists. My goal with this article is to extend their call to action by addressing specifically how I-O practitioners can use their unique positioning and expertise to better serve their clients, grow their businesses, and positively impact the environment through sustainability-based consulting engagements.Ones and Dilchert have done us a service by attuning us to trends we may not have otherwise discerned. Their description of a shift in CEO attitudes suggests organizations will be more amenable to investing in highquality sustainability programs from the top down. These are not a mere few CEOs, nor are these programs trivial (D'Mello, Ones, Klein, Wiernik, and Dilchert, 2011). These programs do, however, seem unlikely to have been designed and implemented using

The Role of Corporate Support for Employee Volunteering in Strengthening the Impact of Green Human Resource Management Practices on Corporate Social Responsibility in the Egyptian Firms

“…The green organizations prefer open minded candidates whom have green values and attitudes towards the environment. Organizations should also train the recruiting team how to discover the green characteristics that they need to share with candidates (Muros, ). In conclusion, organizations have to attract employees who are willing to engage in environmental activities to achieve CSR practices effectively (Chen and Ching‐Hsun, ; Milliman, ; Renwick et al ., ).…”

“…Green performance appraisal is concerned with disseminating CSRʼs culture among employees through inserting green behaviours of employees in performance appraisal reports (Ahmad, ; Muros, ). HR specialists can encourage managers to include CSR goals in performance appraisal feedback sessions with employees (Milliman, ).…”

“…Green rewards and recognition programmes have a motivational role in adopting CSR activities. HRM can motivate employees to commit CSRʼs responsibilities by allocating resources to reward employees who engaged in meaningful environmental objectives (Muros, ; Milliman, ; Wagner, ). Employees who achieved environmental goals should be rewarded and appreciated for their achievements (Renwick, 2013; Jian and Lee, ).…”

Environmental Sustainability in and of Organizations

“…Muros (2012) provided a visionary template for engaging with environmental sustainability. His specification of how different applied talent management areas can incorporate green initiatives and environmental sustainability considerations is a valuable contribution that has the potential to affect and enhance practice.…”

The Nature of Employees’ Pro-Environmental Behaviors

“…This concept is by no means the only one used for describing environmental behaviors in the workplace. Similar concepts have been used in the literature, such as eco-initiatives (Ramus & Killmer, 2007;Ramus & Steger, 2000); eco-innovations (Ramus, 2001); individual environmental initiatives (Andersson & Bateman, 2000); environmental/pro-environmental behaviors (Boiral, 2009;Cantor, Morrow, & Montabon, 2012;Lülfs & Hahn, 2013;Mesmer-Magnus, Viswesvaran, & Wiernik, 2012;Zibarras & Ballinger, 2011); behaviors directed toward the environment (Boiral & Paillé, 2012;Daily, Bishop, & Govindarajulu, 2009;Lamm et al, 2013); green behaviors (Han, Hsu, & Lee, 2009;Ones & Dilchert, 2009, 2012a; eco-friendly behaviors (Rangarajan & Rahm, 2011); employees' environmental commitment/involvement (Boiral, 2005;Orecchini, 2000;Perez, AmichaiHamburger, & Shterental, 2009); environmental sustainability at work (Muros, 2012;Ones & Dilchert, 2012b); behaviors toward sustainability in the workplace (Crosbie & Houghton, 2011); and environmentally responsible behaviors (Lee, Jan, & Yang, 2013;Rojšek, 2001;Smith & O'Sullivan, 2012;Tilley, 2000). In their study of the way in which psychological research contributes to a better understanding of environmental behaviors, Ones and Dilchert (2012b) identifed more than a dozen similar concepts used in the literature, some of them different from those listed in the preceding, such as conservation behaviors and environmentally significant behaviors.…”