HRM Role in Social and Environmental Sustainability

 

Figure 1, source; (www.thesocialripples.com)


In today’s business world, the concern on social and environmental sustainability has become a crucial aspect. According to Proença (2022), sustainability defined as “that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987).

Now many organizations have to focus on this as the climate change, regularity pressure and the social demand for greater environmental & social responsibility have increased (Cohen, Taylor, Camen, 2012). The HRM has a major role in driving the organization throughout this.

 

Importance of Improving Sustainability

According to Reidy (2023), an organization needs a sustainability plan since it improves the long-term prospects of the business. In addition to influencing the organization's destiny, it reduces costs. Using greener technologies will contribute to the healthier planet.

Practicing social & environmental sustainability enhances the company's reputation. As a result, it will draw in more customers and appeal to both present and potential employees for your business. Sustainability is important for marketing and hiring strategies, also the people like to join business with well-known companies.

Figure 2, source; (tracextech.com)


HRM Involvement in Sustainability

HRM has to play an important role in organizations adopting a sustainability strategy, balancing environmental and social goals with traditional financial performance metrics. This has to ensure consistent implementation of the strategy across the organization, fostering a workforce with trust, values, skills, and motivation for success. According to Corporate Wellness Magazine (2024), some ways HR could contribute to sustainability has mentioned as bellow.

  1. Recruitments & selections - Can go for the applicants who share the organization's eco-friendly objectives by considering an applicant's awareness of the social & environment aspects and their capacity to support sustainability activities.
  2. Developing Sustainability Policies – HR involvement in developing policies that aligned with the organizational goals. This could be involved with waste reduction, energy conservation, carbon footprint mitigation and sustainable procurement.
  3. Encouraging Employee Engagement – Can be actively promoting sustainability through awareness campaigns, workshops, and training sessions, fostering employee morale and promoting eco-friendly practices, thereby fostering a sense of collective responsibility.
  4. Implementing Green Initiatives - Promoting sustainability by collaborating with cross-functional teams to implement energy-efficient technologies, recycling programs, and promoting sustainable transportation options, reduce water consumption etc.
  5. Monitoring and Reporting – Involvement in the responsibility within the organization by monitoring and reporting key performance indicators, promoting accountability and identifying areas for improvement. 

Video 1, source; (youtube.com)

Conclusion

Focused on sustainability is crucial for an organization for the long-term prospects, especially with the current global trends. The identification of true value and the importance of sustainability is vital and therefore this should be applied to the organizational culture as a DNA. This couldn’t be sustained with the rules or regulations, and everyone should be aligned with their true expectations. Therefore, HRM has a major role to develop employee mindset and drive them through. The ultimate result of all of this will be to give a feeling of a healthier planet for the future.

 

References

Cohen, E., Taylor, S. & Camen, M., 2012. HRM’s Role in Corporate Social and Environment Sustainability. 1st ed. s.l.:SHRM Foundation.

Corporate Wellness Magazine, 2024. Corporate Wellness Magazine. [Online]
Available at: https://www.corporatewellnessmagazine.com/article/hrs-role-in-environmental-sustainability-initiatives
[Accessed 13 April 2024].

Proença, T., 2022. redalyc.org. [Online]
Available at: https://www.redalyc.org/journal/1551/155173166003/html/
[Accessed 13 April 2024].

Reidy, C., 2023. SHEmedia. [Online]
Available at: https://www.unsustainablemagazine.com/hr-in-corporate-sustainability/
[Accessed 13 April 2024].

 

Comments

  1. Duke PrithivirajApril 13, 2024 at 3:43 AM

    Fostering employee moral and promoting eco friendly and promoting it's HR response

    ReplyDelete
  2. LakruwanApril 14, 2024 at 1:25 AM

    Without focus on sustainability ,cant achieve long term objective of the organization

    ReplyDelete
  3. Gihan RanaweeraApril 14, 2024 at 8:04 AM

    Really engaging read! It's impressive how you tied HRM's role to broader environmental and social goals. Spot on with the strategies too.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Imalka EkanayakeApril 14, 2024 at 8:38 AM

    Good article. Sustainability is key for long term success, embedded in organizational culture via HRM.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Palitha Samaranayake April 14, 2024 at 11:35 AM

    One of the key strategy of long term success in any organization, as you clearly described these initiatives encourage employees to actively participate in green initiatives both inside and outside the workplace, in addition to educating them about sustainability practices.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Mahesh RasikaApril 14, 2024 at 1:22 PM

    Very important post! Your post brilliantly highlights how HRM can lead the charge in fostering social and environmental sustainability within organizations. Well done!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Tharuka LiyanaarachchiApril 15, 2024 at 2:50 AM

    An insightful exploration of HR's pivotal role in driving social and environmental sustainability within organizations! From recruiting applicants who align with eco-friendly objectives to developing sustainable policies and promoting employee engagement, HR plays a crucial role at every step. A well-executed sustainability plan not only influences organizational destiny but also reduces costs and enhances reputation, attracting both customers and employees who value environmental responsibility. HR's involvement in promoting sustainability through recruitment, policy development, employee engagement, green initiatives, and monitoring and reporting is essential for driving organizational success in today's increasingly eco-conscious world.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Tharuka LiyanaarachchiApril 15, 2024 at 2:50 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Rusky AhamedApril 15, 2024 at 8:45 AM

    HRM plays a crucial role in fostering a culture of sustainability by aligning employees' values with the organization's core expectations and promoting sustainable practices in their work and daily decisions.

    ReplyDelete
  10. N.M.N.P. NawarathnaApril 15, 2024 at 12:30 PM

    The article underscores the critical role of sustainability in organizational success, emphasizing its integration into company culture and the pivotal role of HRM in driving this shift.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Employee / Work Specialization of an Organization

Image
  Figure 1, source; (social work degree center) Employee / work specialization is an improving factor in organizations with support of HRM transformation systems. As well as the multi skilled employees, specialized employees are also very important in certain job roles. This will depend on the activities, tasks & the responsibilities of the job. Work specialization can be defined as dividing work activities into separate job tasks. Therefore, individual employees are specialized in a separate activity rather than the entire operation. It is also known as the division of labor (the-definition.com, 2024) .     Video 1, source; (you tube) The core dimensions Identification of core dimensions are important in both employee & employer point of view to understand the scope & responsibility (Indeedteam, 2022) .     Skill variety – understand which skill works best for the each job requirement Task identity – identifying the tasks on the specialty Ta...
Read more

Employee Recruitment

Image
  Figure 1 , source; (templeton & partners)   Employee recruitment process is also one of the main highlighted topics with the HRM concepts. Selecting the most suitable candidate is essential for organizational success. Recruitment is the process that organizations use to source, attract and identify candidates for their open positions. The goal of recruitment is to gather as many suitable candidates for the role as possible (Personio, 2024). Selection means evaluating and choosing the most suitable candidates, therefore the recruitment process is essential in the hiring process.  Importance of recruitment There are many importance in Effective recruitment with the competitive business environments. According to Apollotechnical (2023), below importance can be highlighted.  Improve Morale - A well-managed workforce fosters a positive work environment and encourages continuous growth. Fosters business growth – Help an organization to improve their bottom line wi...
Read more

Multi Skilled Employees of an organization

Image
  Figure 1 , source; (vecteezy. com) Employee skill is a mostly discussing point in human resource management as this is such crucial for an organization. Having the correct skill blend is mainly required for the approach of an organization. Multi skilled workers have trained & skilled for several areas of the process. This term commonly used in HR to identify employees who have the necessary skills to cover more than one job function efficiently within the organization, (plannam, 2022) . Video  1 , source; (youtube)   Advantages of multi skilled employees   As a valuable asset for any of the organizations multi skilled labors are giving many advantages. According to Kelchner (2024), four of the main advantages can be described below. Flexibility – Organization can maintain a flexible workforce, which allows to schedule & arrange workers to the need. They can be filled to the absenteeism and increase labor force to required stations at required time...
Read more