This document summarizes a research study on the effects of green human resource management (GHRM) practices on organizational performance in Pakistani firms. The study aims to examine how green recruitment, training, and learning impact firm performance. A theoretical framework is proposed showing that adopting GHRM practices like green recruitment, training, and learning can enhance employee outcomes and the firm's green and overall performance. The study will test hypotheses about these relationships using a quantitative survey methodology collecting primary data from employees through questionnaires.

1. Green Human Resource
Management Practices &
Organization’s
Performance
Advanced Research Method
University of Sargodha, Lahore Campus
Researcher:
ANAM NASIR
MBA 5th
Semester
Roll No (054)
Instructor:
Ma’am Maria Tariq

2. Effects of Green Human Resources Management
on Organization Performance:
An Empirical Study on Pakistani Firms
Introduction:
For the natural environment, the globally growing concern enforces businesses to move towards
sustainable operations and formulate green policies. To come up with environment friendly
strategies with everyone, (from customers to employees to investors becoming more and more
environment conscious), the businesses require international standards for the environment
protection and preservation. “Green Human Resource Management (referred as green HRM or
GHRM)’ is emerging as a significant field in management rather than just desirable (Mehta, K.
& Chugan, K. P., 2015). This requires the sustainability between HR and other functional areas
of the organization. Recent studies have suggested that, due to the emerging business case for
green environmental management ( Ambec, S., & Lanoie, P., 2008), and it deals with the policies
and practices in line with the social, economic and environmental issues, which constitute the
three pillars of sustainability (Muster & Schrader, 2011).The current position of the ‘greening’
function plays a mandatory role in fixing the environmental performance of organizations. The
main focus of organizations desire to give to green conflict is reflected in the extent of the
alliance of a company's corporate Green HRM strategy into its sustainable performance
management system (Marcus & Fremeth, 2009).
Now-a-days it considers that a reasonable number of organizations practice is the green human
resource management practices in the global context (Opatha et al., 2015). There is need for the
growth of the companies that recognize the green strategies and then implement them into their
organizations due to increasing demand at global level and development of international
standards, (Daily and Huang, 2001). Recent study on environment management (Mehta &
Chugan, 2015), suggested that with a specific end goal to accomplish environment sustainability
objectives as well as organizations can use proper human resource management practices to
motivate and retain their employees.
The focus of current organizations are green human resource management, where human
resource department is engaging in greening the culture of the organizations by maintaining
green offices and green practices. In order to achieve organizational environmental goals of
going green by two important initiatives are “environmental friendly HR practices and
preservation of human capital”, (Mandip, 2012) This can be achieved by hiring and maintaining
green employees, having sufficient knowledge and skills of green employees (Ramus, 2002;
Sudin., 2011).

3. There are some developments with regard to research on “green” HRM but acquired outside our
country. Regardless of some development, there are many gaps to be filled theoretically,
(Jackson at’al, 2011); research works on “green” HRM. Today, many companies perceive that a
reactive approach to environmental sustainability & traditional HR practices is no longer, there is
a better need of proactive approach related to environment sustainability for the development of
their business both at local and global level, (Gonzalez Benito and Gonzalez-Benito, 2006). So
there is a research gap in this particular area in terms of knowing the green competencies and
skills to be possessed by the both green employees and green management.
The main purpose of this study is conduct to promote sustainable practices and carry
engagement and awareness among employees in the organization workplace on the context of
sustainability, which helps to create green workforce that can understand and appreciate green
culture in an organization. Such green initiative can maintain its green objectives all throughout
the HRM process of recruiting, hiring and training, compensating, developing, and advancing the
firm’s human capital.
The main objectives of the study are:
Its main focus to examine and analyze thoroughly the obstacles on green HR management in
businesses, while performing their HR practices.
Theoretically:
 To highlight the importance of greening the human resource management practices and
investigates the effects of green human resource management on firm performance from
Pakistani firm’s perspective.
 And further more to examine the influence of green learning and suggest some green
initiatives of HRM on firm performance in Pakistan.
For the study main research question would be:
Role of “green” human resource management on the organization performance and sustainability
of environment:
 Does awareness of “green” HRM practices beneficial to improve the organization
performance?
 How “green” HR strategies provide direction to hire right people for the right situation?

4. Significance of the study:
It is not a hidden fact that human resource is the most important asset of an organization
that plays an important role in managing the employees. At the moment, the recent
increased trend of corporate focus on greening the business, the modern HR managers
have been assigned with additional responsibility of incorporating the Green HR
philosophy in corporate mission statement along with HR policies.
This study can be meaningful for the improvement & development of the business
because Green HR are still in the stages of infancy, growing awareness within
organizations of the significance of green issues have compelled them to embrace
environment-friendly HR practices with a specific focus on waste management,
recycling, reducing the carbon footprint, and using and producing green products.
Literature review:
The term Green Human Resource Management deems to be new concept for majority including,
academies and professionals in HRM, Of course there are people who have heard about this big
idea and also some people who have heard about this abstract, but are not clear what Green HRM
is? However, “it was perhaps originated in 1996 from the contribution by Wehrmeyer (1996),
who edited a book titled GREENING PEOPLE: Human Resources & environmental
Management”. (Jackson, Renwick, Jabbour & Muller-Camen, 2011).where he defines GHRM as
“Green HRM is the use of HRM policies to promote the sustainable use of resources within
organizations and, more generally promotes the causes of environment sustainability”, (Marhatta
& Adhikari, 2013). The sustainability and environmental issues are becoming the critical factor
of HRM practices, but there is less evidence in the form of literature and academic research. The
HR practices must be aligning to environmental and sustainability issues in order to get
competitive edge and achieve environmental sustainability of the organization (Ulrich,
Brockbank, and Johnson, 2009). Human resource management practices are one of the main
factor in achieving green organizational goals and sustainable performance. The overall HRM
practices such as, training, selection, recruitment, compensation are aligned to green practices
Cherian and Jacob (2012). The green performance can be achieved by ensuring green process in
HRM practices from selection of green employees to compensation of green employees, thus
organizational green performance can be delivered (Opatha & Arulrajah, 2014). Scholars in the
field of research are focusing on Green HRM and green practices (Berrone & GomezMejia,
2009; Jabbour, Santos, & Nagano,2010; Massoud, Daily, & Bishop, 2008; Renwick, 2008;
Stringer, 2009). The decisions and behavior of human resource executives is reflecting the green
HRM practices and organizational sustainability performance (green signatures; Jackson,
Renwick, Jabbour, & Muller-Camen, 2011). Environmental management system (EMS) is
necessary for the organizations to design and develop corporate environmental strategies and to
achieve the environmental goals (Haden et al.,2009). Researcher believes that human resource

5. management and practices are very effective tool for developing human capital, which can be
transformed into organizational development and sustainable performance and give competitive
edge in the industry (Boselie, Paauwe, & Jansen, 2001). Renwick 2008 concluded that HRM
plays an important role in achieving organizational environmental objectives by involving
employees (Renwick, 2008). In order to implement green HRM, employees need technical and
management skills (Daily et al., 2007; Unnikrishnan & Hegde, 2007). Some researcher argue
that implementation of green HRM requires the development of new tools and techniques related
to environmental management, which enhance organizational environmental and sustainable
performance and give competitive edge (Hart, 1997; Lin, Jones, & Hsieh, 2001). The framework
of green HRM is added up to HRM practices in recruitment (Grolleau, Mzoughi, &Pekovic,
2012), performance management (Jabbour, Govindan, Teixeira, & Freitas, 2013, green culture in
organization (Jabbour.et.al., 2013) training and development (Unnikrishnan & Hegde, 2007).
This framework incorporate green culture in the organization and it is linked to organizational
environmental policy and strategy in order to achieve green standard. The above literature
discussed that whatever the tool is applied for going green it is important to link HRM practices
and functions with green management in the corporation.
Primarily this study concentrates on the effect of HRM practices on firm performance from
Pakistani firm’s perspective. Green human resources refer to using every employee interface to
promote sustainable practices and increase employee awareness and commitments on the issues
of sustainability (Mandip, 2012). Human resource department make it possible to incorporate
environmental responsibility in their mission statement. Green HRM develop employees for
adopting green culture and understanding green culture, which they can practice in in their
private life, (Muster and Schrader, 2011),
Green Recruitment
The most challenging issue face by HR managers is to hire and sustain highly skilled and
professional employees in global environment. MNCs are now market themselves as Green
HRM practioner in order to attract highly skilled and talented employees, who also have a great
knowledge and understanding of green practices and sustainability issues (Ehnert 2009). On the
other hand job seekers also making themselves prepare according to international standards of
green culture and try to possess the skills required as green employees. Employees also prefer
those organizations which have concern about environment and socially responsible. According
to research findings of Wehrmeyer, 1996 and Oates, 1996, in UK, employees and job seekers
decision of joining a particular job or not heavily depends upon the organizational reputation in
term of environmental policies and environmental protection. According to research findings of
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), organizations can attract and
sustain reputed and good profile employees by marketing them as environmental protecting
organization and environmental sustainable organizations (CIPD, 2007). The environmental
performance of the organization is affected by recruitment of green employees and following

6. green recruitment process in recruitment. The human resources must be made green first in the
organizations in order to show high environmental performance.
Green Learning
Another area of research is finding hurdles and problems in implementing successful
environmental training programs. There are number of factors which lead to failure of
environmental training programs. These may include unwillingness of the trainer on the issue of
green environment, inefficient demand and need analysis, lack of perceived or actual
commitment to training objectives in top management, leadership and even in employees
(Wehrmeyer & Vickerstaff, 1996). Low training willingness is one of the major issue of
research, as several studies suggest that if the problem of low readiness exist in training it will
adversely affect the training outcome, whereas, learning opportunities were found effective
whenever there is a high motivation psychologically acceptance of trainings from the employees
(Goldstein & Ford, 2001). Therefore, environmental training initiatives can be improved by
incorporating effective environmental learning readiness assessments. However, research is
needed on the assessment of individual green environmental readiness and ways to enhance
learning readiness for employees.
Green Training
The important key element of HRM is training, which make employees to learn about
environmental issues and linking organizational practices to green practices. It make them enable
to use their work related skills according to green standards (Bansal and Roth 2000). These skills
include mitigation of wastage (May and Flannery 1995), and expertise in environmental
protection and environmental literacy (Roy and Therin 2008). Front line employees are dealing
with data management, and these trainings give them managerial skills of waste management in
their routine activities. There exist direct and significant relationship between training and
development and organizational performance, due to the fact that these trainings and
development develop skills and knowledge of employee, which can be translate to achieve
organizational goals and to achieve its sustainable performance. The skill development along
exploratory learning leads to innovations in an organization (Zakaria, 2012).
Renwick et al, (2008 and 2013) recommended some suggestions trainings for the development of
employees and making them green. These training programs include green analysis of
workplace, job rotations for potential green managers within the organization, environmental
management trainings and programs, trainings on recycling, waste management, energy
efficiency and safety, and training of frictionally unemployed people.
Theoretical Framework and Hypothesis:
Organizationperformance:
The resource base theory view (RBV) explains that synergy is created by synchronizing
organizational resources, in order to gain competitive advantage and become market leader
(Ployhart, 2012). The degree of success to implement environment friendly programs by the
organization is an indicator of environmental performance leading to reduce the negative effects
of organization processes on the environment, (Wong et al , 2013).

7. The combination of Strategic HRM and environmental sustainability is addressing a critical
problem of the global world (Jackson &Seo, 2010). The organizational performance can be
enhanced and improved by the implementing the green practices in human resource management
in the form of green recruitment and selection, green trainings and developments, and green
learning programs, that leads to employee motivation and encouragement and reduce turnover.
Although, the significance of HRM practices for better environmental results are focused in
contemporary research (e.g., Jackson et al. 2011; Jackson and Seo 2010; Renwick et al. 2013),
but, research in this issue is still not very sophisticated.
Paillé (2014) found that there is a direct and significant relationship between HRM
practices, environmental performance and organizational performance. Therefore, an
organization having strong HRM will have better firm’s performance due to the fact that its
environmental strategies are in line with HR activities.
Green Practices:
Renwick, Redman, and Maguire‟s (2008) introduce a comprehensive compartmentalization of
Green HRM practices that can be clearly understood, starting at the point of an employee‟s
organizational entry and proceed until the point of the employee’s exit. To be ecological,
economical and practical at the same time is possible through by adopting Green Practices. Here
are some environmentally-friendly solutions to stay Green.
 Green Printing
 Green Manufacturing and Disposal of Staff ID card
 Job sharing (sharing a full-time job between two employees)
 Teleconferencing and virtual interviews
 Recycling
 Telecommuting
 Online Training
 Reduce employee carbon footprints by the likes of electronic filling, Green HR involves
reducing carbon footprint via less printing of paper, video conferencing and interviews
etc.
 Energy efficient office spaces
 Green Payroll
 Car Pooling
 Public Transport
 Company Transport
 Flexi-Work
 E-filing

8. Proposed Research Model of Best Practices GHRM and Organizations Performance.
Figure 1: Best GHRM practices for organizations.
Propositions
Based on the literature review the following hypotheses are tested in this research:
H1: Adopted green recruitment by Pakistani firms will enhance the firm performance.
H2: Adopted green Training and development by Pakistani firms will enhance the firm
performance.
H3: Adopted green learning by Pakistani firms will enhance the firm performance.
Methodology:
Research Design:
Type of Research:
The research will be quantitative since responses of subjects, collected through questionnaires
will be in numeric forms, which will be recorded in quantitative form, and later analyzed by
applying statistical tools.
Research Paradigm:
The current research falls in positivist paradigm, which is based on deductive approach, as it is
suitable for quantitative research. Moreover, positivist paradigm is about generation of
hypothesis and testing of these based on collected data. Similarly, results of this research also
depend on rejection or acceptance of hypothesis. While, hypothesis will be rejected or accepted
GHRM Practices:
Recruitment
Training
Learning
HR Outcome
Better Employees
Green
Performance
Organization Performance
Green Innovation & Green
Development

9. on the basis of information provided by respondents, instead of researcher’s opinions. That is
why, this research falls in positivist paradigm.
Data Collection Sources:
The primary data for this study will be collected from the employees working in
manufacturing/service sector by sending questionnaires through e-mail.
Data CollectionTool/Instrument:
The instrument used in this research will be questionnaire. Since employees can only provide the
information regarding GHRM practices and their performance. So survey will be conducted
through questionnaires.
First section of questionnaire will be designed to collect demographic information including age,
gender, marital status, qualification, designation, and tenure. Remaining questionnaire will
consist of three constructs i.e. green HRM practices, Green HR outcome and green organization
performance.
Measures:
The variables of research are green HRM practices, green recruitment, green learning, green training
and organizationperformance.The instrumentfordatacollectioni.e.questionnaireshave beenadopted
from prior studies.
Measures on green HRM practices will be adopted from Chou’s (2014) in which six items were
given.
Questions on green HRM practices i.e. green recruitment, green learning and green training.
1. Green recruitment will be measured on the scale developed by Snell and Dean (1992) in
which 6 items on this construct.
2. Green training will be measured on the scale developed by Snell and Dean (1992) in
which 5 items on this construct.
 In order to measure organization performance four items will be adopted from
Khandwalla (1977).
 The questionnaires were designed in English being official language in the sector.
Researcher tried to keep the questionnaire in simple language without jargon to avoid
miscommunication. Instrument for data collection is structured questionnaire using 5-
point for Green HRM Likert-type scales (1 = “strongly disagree” to 5 = “strongly

10. agree”) & for organization performance, the responses to these items ranged from
very low (1) to very high (5).
Sample unit:
 Professionals
 Business man
 Employees
 Working women
 Students
Unit of Analysis:
Population
As this study is about impact of green HRM practices so we should consider those companies
whose activities may have sudden and significant impact on environment.
For this research study, the population of research will be employees working in manufacturing
and service sector of Pakistan.
Conclusion:
This articles focus on company's innovative approaches which can be applied. Adopting
environmental practices helps companies save money, find new sources of business and avoid
trouble. Green companies believe that it is more economical to go green than it is to continue
adding harmful chemicals to the atmosphere and the environment in general. Going green also
helps companies enhance their public relations, and improved public relations and positive
public perception can have a strong impact on company profit by hiring right people for the right
time at the right place. It will help to focus on waste management, recycling, reducing the carbon
footprint, and using and producing green products.

11. Limitations:
Every study has certain limitations. In my study, also there were certain limitations, which
researcher could not able to solve.
As it is a recent study, and due to shortage of time;
However, few hurdles were discovering in which researcher couldn’t able to get the data
properly on the questionnaires and that’s why having to follow the proposed study related to this
research work.
Lack of sources of primary data:
People are not aware about green hrm concepts because it seems to be a new study for the
people, especially for people of Pakistan.
Lack of sources of secondary data:
The study of green hrm is the new concept for inside and as well as outside of our country, have
no much data related to quantitative study for developing the scales.
Appendix:
Questionnaire:
Instructions: Please check the box/radio button to select an appropriate response for each
question. Your response on questions is required on a different scale:
Green human resources undertaking environment-friendly HR initiatives resulting in greater
efficiencies, lower costs and better employee engagement and retention which in turn, help
organizations to reduce employee carbon footprints by the likes of electronic filing, car sharing,
job-sharing, tele-conferencing and virtual interviews, recycling, telecommuting, online training,
energy-efficient office spaces etc.
A. .Number of Employees in your Organization
a. Less than 200
b. More than 200 but less than 1000
c. More than 1000 but less than 2000
d. More than 2000
B. .Age of your Organization
a. Less than 5 years

12. b. 5 - 10 years
c. More than 10 year
C. .Nature of Organization
a. Manufacturing
b. Service
D. .Industry
a. Banking
b. Telecommunication
c. Pharmaceutical
d. Paint
e. Textile
f. Other:
Required:
Green HRM practices:-
1) My company sets green goals for its employees. .
2) My company provides employees with green training to promote green values. .
3) My company provides employees with green training to develop employees’ knowledge
and skills required for green management.
4) My company considers employees’ workplace green behavior in performance appraisals.
5) My company relates employees’ workplace green behaviors to rewards and
compensation.
6) My company considers employees’ workplace green behaviors in promotion.
Highly recruitment & selection:-
1) Our selection process for a job is very extensive (e.g. use of tests, interviews, etc.).
2) We place a lot of importance on selecting the best person for a given job.
3) Generally, we spend a great deal of money on selecting people for a job.
4) We place a great deal of importance on the staffing process.
5) Our selection criteria are designed to select the best person for the job.
6) We spend a lot of money on training employees.
Extensive green training:-
1) All our employees have the opportunity to receive training.
2) We provide many different kinds of training programs for our employees.
3) Our training process is linked to the career development of employees.
4) On average how many hours of formal training does a typical member of your
organization receive in a year?
5) What percentage of people in your organization has received training this past year?
Organizational performance:-

13. 1) Compared with your industry as a whole, how would you rate your organization’s
performance in terms of public image and goodwill?
2) Compared with your industry as a whole, how would you rate your organization’s
performance in terms of growth rate of sales or revenues?
3) Compared with your industry as a whole, how would you rate your organization’s
performance in terms of product or service quality?
4) Compared with your industry as a whole, how would you rate your organization’s
performance in terms of employee productivity?
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