Green HRM Practices for Better Tomorrow

Introduction

Green Human Resource Management is the most significant element of sustainability and where the HRM is engaged in managing the environment within an organization. Mampra (2013) defines Green HRM as the use of HRM policies to encourage the sustainable use of resources within businesses and promote the cause of environmentalism, which further boosts up employee morale and satisfaction.

Why is Green HRM important?

Sustainability strategies are growing within organizations as a solution to the challenges and disasters that climate change has brought and threatens to bring into the world. Therefore, the main purpose of going green is to reduce the potential negative impact that energy consumption and pollution can have on the environment.

Green HRM involves undertaking environment-friendly HR initiatives resulting in greater efficiencies, lower costs and better employee engagement and retention, which leads to help organizations to reduce employee carbon footprints by the likes of electronic filing, car-sharing, job-sharing, teleconferencing, virtual interviews, recycling, telecommuting, online training, energy-efficient office spaces (Kusumanchi, 2020).

Improved employee morale, stronger public image, increased customer confidence, increased workforce productivity, efficiency, motivation and employee retention are few of the advantages and benefits an organization can have by implementing and developing such Green HRM techniques (Jessy, 2017)

 

Global Context

According to Bose and Gupta (2017) that the workforce from privately owned healthcare and banking sectors in India experienced higher efficiency in the functioning of the HR department consequently adopting Green HRM. Garment industry in Bangladesh is practicing Green HRM as a means of promoting CSR in the industry, will have a positive impact over the industry, which will facilitate to achieve higher social acceptance and higher profit making in the long run (Chowdhury, et al., 2017).

Sri Lanka Telecom PLC is practicing green training and development using online platforms and ELMS while promoting the sustainable use of resources within the organization. Further, rewarding and appreciation programs are being taken place for green initiatives and for maintaining its green objectives in HR department.

 

Conclusion

HR is the major role player in implementing green HRM practices and policies in any organization. Apart from this, HR have a crucial role to play in recruitment of new employees who are more responsible toward green business practices thus, indirectly saving the Earth. Further, HR has significant opportunity to contribute to the organization’s green movement and plays important role in stimulating, facilitating, and motivating employees for taking up green practices for better tomorrow.

 

Reference

Bose, I. & Gupta, V., 2017. Green HRM Practices in Private Health Care & Banking Sectors in India. JSTOR, 53(Shri Ram Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources), pp. 48-58.

Chowdhury, S. R., Sanju, N. L. & Asaduzzaman, A. K., 2017. Green HRM Practices as a Means of Promoting CSR: Suggestions for Garments Industry in Bangladesh. Global Journal of Management and Business Research, 17(Global Journals Inc. (USA)), pp. 47-48.

Jessy, N. S., 2017. Linkedin. [Online]
Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/green-hr-practices-get-competitive-advantages-nilufar-sharmin-jessy
[Accessed 24 April 2021].

Kusumanchi, S., 2020. Quora. [Online]
Available at: https://www.quora.com/What-is-Green-HRM-and-why-is-it-important
[Accessed 24 April 2021].

Mampra, M., 2013. Green HRM: Does it help to build a competitive service sector?. Bangalore, Alliance University.