A Core Evaluation of Green Human Resource Management - More than just for Hotels

MN7234ES - People and organisations: principles and practices in global contexts

Introduction

Green Human Resource Management is an emerging field of study that needs an in-depth analysis of it.

Human Resource Management

Going back to basics, we explore the concept of Human Resource Management. Professor Opatha (2021), in his journal' Definitions of Human Resource Management," describes Human Resource Management as "the efficient and effective utilization of employees to achieve goals of the organization. It is about managing people at work, being the human side of the Business Administration, having policies, procedures, rules, and systems influencing employees of the organization."

Impact of Climate Change. Source: Yilmaz (2024)

Green Human Resource Management

Riding on the coattails of traditional Human Resource Management, Green Human Resource Management efficiently and effectively utilizes employees to achieve an organization's goal of sustainability. It creates awareness of eco-friendly practices and energy conservation, as well as fostering job satisfaction and holistic approaches to the well-being of fellow employees. Therefore, human resource management has become 'Green' merely because of its values and newly improved sustainable practices.

When you take the word 'green,' it is an adjective and a noun. However, in a broader sense, the term is coined with 'environmentalism, conservationism, preservation, eco-activists, or nature lovers. We also tend to visualize green to associate it with grass, leafy pastures, and trees full of life. If we break these terms, we can further simplify the definitions as follows:

Environmentalism concerns the environment, particularly to the point of championing environmental causes while trying to reduce humans' negative impact on Earth.

Conservationism – a movement to protect and preserve natural resources, ecology, endangered species, national monuments, and landmarks.

Preservation is the act of keeping something as it is to prevent it from deteriorating, being damaged, or being destroyed.  

Eco-activists – a group of people or individuals who try to protect the environment and promote environmental awareness.

Nature lovers – people who enjoy the outdoors, time amongst nature, the wilderness, wild animals, flora, and fauna.  

Deskilling of workers in Fordism & Taylorism. Source: Cosmonaut (2021)

Taylorism & Fordism – Early Personnel Management 

Suppose you take the study of Green Human Resource Management against traditional Human Resource theories like Taylorism and Fordism. In that case, we see a stark contrast from the early personnel management in history. In the early 1920s, the era of the Industrial Revolution, productivity overshadowed employee well-being, autonomy, job satisfaction, and the environment. Shoobridge (2023), in his LinkedIn blog, quotes about Taylorism as follows: "Taylorism may be the efficient machinery of progress, but it grinds the souls of employees into dust, reducing them to cogs in a heartless industrial mechanism."

On the other hand, Fordism, with its drive for capitalism, had enormous repercussions environmentally, as mass production exploited much of the non-renewable resources, brought about climate change through pollution, and accelerated biodiversity loss.

How Important is Green HR Management. Source. W Chan (2017)

Conclusion:

The importance of Green Human Resources in the world today is to create environmental awareness within the individual and the organization. Badow (2022) mentions that "environmentally conscious human resources management initiatives that lead to increased efficiencies, reduced costs, improved employee engagement and retention" help "organizations" to "reduce employee carbon footprint through electronic archiving, car sharing, job sharing, virtual interviews and conferences, recycling, remote working, online recruitment, and training" while operating within "energy efficient offices."

Companies implementing Green Human Resources have achieved the following benefits:

• Reducing turnover – retention of talent.

• Growth opportunities by going greener and creating an eco-friendly environment will contribute to massive operational savings through carbon emission reductions.

• High levels of employee engagement and job satisfaction leads to consistent productivity and sustainability.

• Positive work culture with the well-being of all employees.

• Popular and improved brand image for the public, which builds up excellent public relations. Social media platforms have empowered many companies to share their success stories worldwide, increasing sales and customer base growth.

• Increased employee morale – who doesn't like working for a company with green values that values the individual and the Earth? The millennial and Gen Z workforce are huge international "go green" advocates and would prefer to work for a company with a "go green" initiative.

• Overall, it reduces the company's environmental impact.

• Reducing operational costs, such as energy efficiency and using less wasteful technologies, can bring significant savings.

• Tax benefits—Local governments and municipalities offer compensation or aid to organizations that better manage their utilities and energy consumption. With tax benefits in place, establishing a "go green" company is much more accessible.

• With consistent training by upskilling and reskilling, rewards, and other benefits, employees are motivated to manage the environment better and participate in the transformative "go green" human resource principles.  

With these common principles at the core of Green Human Resource Management, organizations other than hotels can also participate in the "Go Green" GHRM revolution, as the benefits are vast. 

References:

Badow, A. (2022) Advantages of Green Human Resources Management, LinkedIn. Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/advantages-green-human-resources-management-abdulla-badow/ (Accessed: 28 March 2024).

Chan, W. (2017) (PDF) Green Human Resource Management: An organisational strategy, How important is Green HR Management to the Malaysian Financial Services Industry? Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321796044_Green_Human_Resource_Management_An_Organisational_Strategy_for_Sustainability (Accessed: 23 March 2024).

Davenport, A. (2024) Taylorism, COSMONAUT. Available at: https://cosmonaut.blog/tag/taylorism/ (Accessed: 28 March 2024).

Giumarro, G. (2018) How Might Henry Ford Evaluate Ecological Impacts?, We are POWER. Available at: https://www.powereng.com/library/how-might-henry-ford-evaluate-ecological-impacts (Accessed: 24 March 2024).

Hounshell, D.A. (2021) The Same Old Principles in the New Manufacturing, Harvard Business Review. Available at: https://hbr.org/1988/11/the-same-old-principles-in-the-new-manufacturing (Accessed: 23 March 2024).

Kanger, L. and Sillak, S. (2020) Emergence, consolidation and dominance of meta-regimes: Exploring the historical evolution of mass production (1765-1972) from the Deep Transitions Perspective, Technology in society. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7480399/ (Accessed: 23 March 2024).

National Geographic (2024) Conserving Earth, Education. Available at: https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/conserving-earth/ (Accessed: 20 March 2024).

Opatha, H.H.D.N.P. (2021) A Simplified Study of Definitions of Human Resource Management. Available at: https://journals.sjp.ac.lk/index.php/sljhrm/article/view/5010/3845 (Accessed: 28 March 2024).

Shoobridge, G. (2023) Taylorism and the dark side of employee exploitation, LinkedIn. Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/taylorism-dark-side-employee-exploitation-gonzalo-shoobridge/ (Accessed: 24 March 2024).

Yilmaz, H. (2024) How to fight climate change using AI and Computer Vision, Plugger.ai - Creative AI assistant to make your photo, video, and sounds tasks. Available at: https://www.plugger.ai/blog/how-to-fight-climate-change-using-ai-and-computer-vision (Accessed: 31 March 2024).

Green Economy – An Integral Support System for Green Human Resource Management

MN7234ES - People and organisations: principles and practices in global contexts

Introduction

 

The United Nations has declared that the entire civilization of the world today stands at a threat of already visible dire climate change. In their article on 'Metrological Day 2024,' the UN's World Metrological Organization (WMO) states that "urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts is relevant now more than ever as everyone needs to be "at the frontline of climate action." WMO Secretary-General Professor Celeste Saulo further stressed by saying that "the lives of future generations are in our hands. Our efforts today will ensure a safer, healthier world for future generations- where children thrive in harmony with nature." (WMO, 2024)

World Met Day  (Source: WMO, 2024)

 

What is a Green Economy?

The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) defines the Green Economy as a "low carbon, resource efficient and socially inclusive" economy where "growth in employment and income is driven by public and private investment into such economic activities, infrastructure, and assets" to "allow reduced carbon emissions and pollution" and " enable enhanced energy and resource efficiency" that prevents "the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services."

 

Green Hotels - for a much-needed sustainable future.

 

There is a rising trend among travelers to select and visit eco-friendly hotels as more and more people are becoming aware of the adverse effects of tourism on the environment. Travelers wish to reduce their carbon footprint and are likely to stay in properties that have sustainable practices. Therefore, the popularity of Green hotels is growing as many hotels rely on renewable energy sources such as solar and wind, promoting water conservation schemes, reducing waste, and recycling while using eco-friendly amenities and biodegradable products. Green practices also extend to hotels' Food and beverage departments, focusing on sourcing food locally and sustainably.

Apropos of the popular misconception that Green Hotels are budget or backpacker places, we see even high-end hotels going green in recent hotels. For example, luxury hotels in Spain are now switching to a new body drying technology introduced by a company called 'DARID' (DARID, 2021) that saves water, avoids detergents, and reduces carbon dioxide emissions from washing towels.

 

Government Support to Going Green

Globally, governments are taking initiatives to head towards sustainability by implementing green reforms in places such as Sweden, Finland, Norway, Germany, New Zealand, Iceland land, and Australia, to name a few. Examples of countries going green, closer to Sri Lanka, are countries such as India - issuing E-tourist visas on mobile applications, as confirmed by Kwatra (2023), Japan, South Korea, and Brunei. 

Singapore Green Plan 2030 (Source:SkillsFuture Singapore)

However, the two pioneers of all countries that are going green are Singapore and Bhutan. Singapore is restructuring itself on building sustainability "as a way of work, play and life through the Singapore Green Plan 2030" as per the website SkillsFuture (2022) which was unveiled in February 2021.  "Megatrends of decarbonization and electrification with energy and power sector" is at the forefront of changes in the green economy" of Singapore. (SkillsFuture, 2022)

Bhutan. Bhutan can be considered one of the finest examples, as the government, people, and most of its organizations have supported each other in a collaborative green movement. According to Weforum (2023), "Bhutan is already 72% carbon negative, meaning it absorbs more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than it produces."

 

Bhutan UN News - Global prespective Human Stories (Source: UN News, 2022)

Bhutan levies a tourism tax on its tourists to prevent over-tourism and uses the money to improve infrastructure to preserve natural and cultural treasures. They also have paid officials patrolling the country's forests and mountain trails with a lookout for any litter tourists throw. Bhutan is investing in electric transport to reduce its dependency on fossil fuels. Limiting tourist numbers and using tax money to ensure that a destination is not degraded is an excellent effort to promote sustainability.

 

Following Bhutan's example, New Zealand 2019 introduced a tourist tax of approximately NZ$35, otherwise known as the "International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy" (Travelpulse, 2022). Indonesia, too, has recently imposed a $10 tax on its tourists for Bali as the island's former governor, Wayan Koster, had said, "This tax will fund initiatives to preserve Bali's environment and cultural heritage (Lonely Planet, 2024)

 

In Europe, countries like Italy, particularly 'Venice as the famed city of canals," are set on capping tourists by "June 2024" to reclaim and preserve the city's cultural heritage from mass tourism (EuroNews, 2024). Other cities with a tourist tax include Barcelona and Valencia in Spain and Paris in France.

 

Conclusion

 

We see through this study that a country's policies can impact its hotel and tourism sector and other organizations to take a step toward building a green economy. Many countries are moving towards this goal as they see the importance of preserving their sites of culture and heritage. Going Green, therefore, is a movement, and hotels must adapt this sooner or later if it fits their brand beliefs. The implementation of Green Human Resource Management within a Green economy is a propelling success factor in the long term if hotels or other organizations plan to make use of it.

References:

Brady, S. et al. (2024) Traveling to Bali? prepare to pay a tourism fee, Lonely Planet. Available at: https://www.lonelyplanet.com/news/bali-tourists-quota-system-tax (Accessed: 25 March 2024).

DARID (2021) Home, DARID. Available at: https://darid.es/en/ (Accessed: 20 March 2024).

Environment, U. (2024) Green economy, UNEP. Available at: https://www.unep.org/regions/asia-and-pacific/regional-initiatives/supporting-resource-efficiency/green-economy (Accessed: 19 March 2024).

Euronews with AP (2023) Venice puts further limits on tourists to protect the city, euronews. Available at: https://www.euronews.com/travel/2023/12/31/venice-puts-further-limits-on-tourists-to-protect-the-city (Accessed: 25 March 2024).

Guest Author (2022) Destinations Funding Sustainability Through Tourist Taxes, Travel Pulse. Available at: https://www.travelpulse.com/news/features/destinations-funding-sustainability-through-tourist-taxes (Accessed: 25 March 2024).

Kwatra, M. (2023) Green Hotels for a sustainable future - ET hospitalityworld, ETHospitalityWorld.com. Available at: https://hospitality.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/speaking-heads/green-hotels-for-a-sustainable-future/98679524#:~:text=Green%20hot (Accessed: 24 March 2024).

SkillsFuture Singapore (2022) The Green Economy Explained: Trends, Skills & Jobs You Need to Know About, My Skills Future . Available at: https://www.myskillsfuture.gov.sg/content/portal/en/career-resources/career-resources/job-skills-insights/the-green-economy-explained--trends--skills---jobs-you-need-to-k.html (Accessed: 26 March 2024).

WMO (2024) World meteorological day 2024, World Meteorological Organization. Available at: https://wmo.int/site/world-meteorological-day-2024 (Accessed: 25 March 2024).

World Economic Forum & Reuters (2023) How Bhutan aims to balance economy and environment through tourism, World Economic Forum. Available at: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/09/bhutan-sustainable-tourist-destination/ (Accessed: 25 March 2024).

Green Human Resource Management – Can it be effectively implemented in recruitment, employee engagement, and hotel retention?

MN7234ES - People and organisations: principles and practices in global contexts

Introduction

Green Human Resource Management involves high employee engagement as it significantly becomes a way of life for a company and its employees. The concept is introduced to create a green industry within the context of restoring balance to the world by reducing environmental pollution. A sustainable ecological balance is generated by a regular series of green practices and policies introduced by the Human Resource Management team with the support of employees and the organizational leadership (Pailé, 2022). However, is it easy for employees to implement green practices and policies? Issues about the environment are interdisciplinary, requiring initiative and pro-environmental behavior from every individual employed in the company.

 

Therefore, studies show that any green practices ought to be formulated in groups as this generates employee involvement formally and informally when carrying out activities related to the environment.

Green Recruitment

Hotels need to formulate the following steps when using green human resource management:

• Green employer branding
• Green recruitment in selecting the best candidates who may come across as environmentally        responsible.
• E-recruiting or recruitment marketing through targeted advertising.
• Awareness building about sustainable best practices.
• On-the-job, hands-on training
• Job shadowing
•  Coaching and mentoring
•  Educating staff on the importance of environmental changes and its impacts
•  Upskilling and reskilling employees in green skills

-      Financial and nonfinancial rewards are given to employees who adhere to environmental best practices, in-group collectivism, conflict avoidance, and goodwill among staff at work.

Green Employee Engagement

I have seen Green Employee Engagement at Aman Resorts, where I've worked, and seen its implementation being carried out at a more evolved level.

Of all the learning styles taught by the VAK model, at Aman, I saw that the kinesthetic method of hands-on learning was working at its best with most of the hotel personnel. Aman Resorts states they are "a company with a purpose; we care about our guests, employees, suppliers, and the environments and communities surrounding us. Our ethos has always been to support the well-being of people, society, and our planet, Earth." Aman Group (2024)

Image 1: Sustainable farming at Amanfayun, China - Aman (2024)

Therefore, I considered using Aman Resorts as a likely case study as they've been socially responsible for years and are known to be using the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) while being recommended by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC). Aman Group (2024) Therefore, Aman Resorts is one of the best examples of implementing Green Human Resource Management policies within their property culture.

Image 2: Organic Vegetable Garden in Amandari, Ubud, Indonesia  - Aman (2024)

 AMAN’S SUSTAINABLE STRATEGY IN GREEN HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Social Responsibility	Aman Resorts promotes gender equality, child protection, and education through support for orphanages, female empowerment, and entrepreneurship. Healthy organic and seasonal food for guests and staff and healthcare of employees and local communities. Local farmers and local vendors – employment for locals, fair trade, cage-free, and free-range products. All eggs will be acquired from cage-free sources by the end of 2024. As of February 2024, 72% of Aman hotels and resorts worldwide have achieved this goal of having cage-free eggs.
Local Heritage	Fifteen Aman properties are on or close to UNESCO-protected sites, and Aman resorts support these cultural sites actively and financially. Local protected landmarks, whether artificial, natural, or spiritual, Aman properties support their betterment.
Local Culture	Indigenous traditions, craftsmanship, and rehabilitation of lost traditions are a few of the cultural causes Aman supports. They further support local artisans by purchasing local products and encouraging guests to do the same. Local cuisine: cooking classes dedicated to the local culinary culture of the location, activities for the guests in kitchen gardens and local farms with the guidance of choosing their produce and using it in their cooking.
Environmental Protection	Respect and preserve native milieus and ecosystems by planting trees, mangrove protections, safeguarding corals and sea turtles, clean beach initiatives, and keeping open lands. Waste Management: recycling, reusing, reducing, and reuse of waste.   Food waste management: Composting Water conservation: low flow equipment, use of grey waters Energy Efficiency: LED lighting in all properties Eliminating single-use plastic: Glass bottles for water Educational programs: programs for employees and guests at Aman's Nature Discovery centers   Respect and preserve native milieus and ecosystems by planting trees, mangrove protections, safeguarding corals and sea turtles, clean beach initiatives, and keeping open lands. Waste Management: Recycling, reusing, reducing, and reuse of waste. Food Management: Composting. Water conservation: low flow equipment, use of grey waters. Energy efficiency: LED lighting in all properties. Eliminating single-use plastic: Glass bottles for water. Educational programs: programs for employees and guests staying in Aman. Low carbon kitchen practices by sourcing plant-based meals through a rich array of vegetarian and vegan meals, growth of organic produce within the surroundings of the resort

 

Table 1: Aman Group – Sustainability (2024)

 

Table 1: Aman Group – Sustainability (2024)

Image 3: A Vegan Meal served in Aman Grand Canal, Venice Italy (2024)

 

Green Human Resource Management on Employee Retention:

 

"Green human resources management practices are the application of human resources management practices such as recruitment, selection, training, performance appraisal compensation job analysis, separation, etc., targeted towards environmental sustainability and employees' safety." (Akpa et al., 2022)

 

Conclusion:

 

Green Human Resource Management is effective in Green Recruitment, Green Employee Engagement, and Green Human Management on Employee Retention. The major disadvantage of implementing this in hotels or any other organization is that it requires a very innovative restructuring of any existing Human Resource Management, as it takes time and resources. Existing employees can feel burdened at first in the initial stages as it may create extra work for them (for example, recycling initiatives where staff would need to sort materials into separate bins). However, long-term positive effects include saving hiring costs and growth opportunities, as many people favor sustainable companies and those with green policies. Not to mention that the employees begin to take pride in their work and to be associated with a green company that promotes the well-being of the environment and for them.

 

References

     

Akpa, V.O. et al. (2022) ‘Effect of green human resource management practices and green work life balance on employee retention in selected Hospitality Firms in Lagos and Ogun States, Nigeria’, European Journal of Human Resource Management Studies, 5(4). doi:10.46827/ejhrms.v5i4.1265.

Dias, G. et al. (2024) ‘Should human resources management “go green”?: The impact of green human resources management on employees’ green behavior, affective commitment and company Green Performance’, Management and Industrial Engineering, pp. 71–93. doi:10.1007/978-3-031-52811-8_3.

Gonçalves      , A. (2021) Green human resources management - meaning and definition [2021], youmatter. Available at: https://youmatter.world/en/definition/green-human-resources-management-meaning-definition/ (Accessed: 19 March 2024).

        Group, A. (2024) Sustainability - aman, Aman resorts. Available at:                         https://www.aman.com/sustainability (Accessed: 19 March 2024). 

Khan, K. et al. (2022) ‘Green Human Resource Management and Green Service behaviour in organisations: Examining underlying mechanism’, South Asian Journal of Human Resources Management, p. 232209372211199. doi:10.1177/23220937221119908.

Sembiring, N. (2019) ‘Green Human Resources: A simple review and research direction’, Proceedings of the International Conference on Natural Resources and Technology [Preprint]. doi:10.5220/0008506000730078.

Sousa, B. and Valeri, M. (2024) Human Relations Management in Tourism. Hershey,  Pennsylvania (701 E. Chocolate Avenue, Hershey, Pennsylvania, 17033, USA): IGI Global.

Wargo, J. (2009) Green Intelligence: Creating Environments that protect human health. New Haven, CT. USA: Yale University Press.

 

MN7234ES - People and organisations: principles and practices in global contexts - MBA

Introduction

What is Green Human Resource Management?

Green Human Resource Management (GHRM) is fast emerging name for Human Resource Management that takes charge in maintaining a workforce which is committed to a green company culture. Green Human Resource Management (GHRM) provides strategies and roles which sustain and protect the earth through its company personnel, resources and practices. Green behavior is encouraged as a company policy where employees are 'environmentally sensitive, resource-efficient, and socially responsible' Youmatter.world (2021).

Why is Green Human Resource Management strategic for Hotels?

Hotels, primarily, are known for their high consumption of resources and immense production of waste, especially within the Food and Beverage sector. With the rising expectations of green products and services in hotels, the hospitality sector staff are the main focus as they are the ones responsible in creating a truly 'green experience' for the guest. How can Green Human Resource Management achieve this? Through teaching and empowerment, hotel employees play a significant role in improving environmental outcomes and generating profit for their employers. Bohdanowicz (2005)

  Image of Green Human Resource Management corporate. 

(Source: Peoplematters, Deka, 2016)

Fredericks (2023) states that "One in three consumers prefer sustainable brands, and that the travel industry is taking note. TripAdvisor, for example has developed its GreenLeaders Program showcasing hotels with environmentally-friendly best practices to conscientious travelers, such as hotels going green with LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)."'

The Go Green Initiatives taken by some hotels globally:

Meals served in restaurants have organic produce and use glass bottles, and hotels are reminding guests to reuse towels and sheets as often as possible; installing solar power energy, recycling, and managing waste are merely a few methods out of many that the hotels have taken to reduce its impact to the environment. These subtle, effective introductions in hotel products and services are the newest trend of the 'go green' movement, which promotes healthy eating, banning harmful pesticides in food and the environment, reducing single-use plastic, reducing high electricity bills, and conserving energy. 

Figure 1. Pollution from business activities and processes in the hotel 

(Source: Bebbington, 2001)

In the long run, 16% of hotels use water for laundry, and less frequent hotel laundry washes increase the lifespan of towels and linen and decrease their replacement costs.

Most high-spending tourists look to book 'green' and 'sustainable' hotels and services. Therefore, hoteliers must be more skilled in this sector than ever to address customers' environmental and sustainability concerns.

Clients search for faster check-ins at hotels – with little or no paper and prefer to fill in any guest registration forms digitally. Client passports are scanned and sent before preventing waste in paper through printing or photocopies on arrival, which is another advancement. Metal keys instead of plastic keycards for rooms is another Green Front office initiative. Smart switches with automatic turn on and turn off sensors whenever a guest isn't in the room. Smart showers and taps with sensors to minimize water consumption. Electric cars  to transport clients within the vicinity or beyond. Therefore a highly skilled staff are in great demand if they have an increased confidence in technology and are knowledgeable in green policies. 

Figure 2. GRM Practices (Source: Mahdy et al, 2023)

  

Philosophies underpinning the learning and development strategy as stated by Armstrong (2021)  lies in:

Long term capacity building’ versus ‘short term’ fixes such as:

• Green Human resource planning
• Green job design and analysis
• Green recruitment and selection

Importance is given to learning over training.

• Green performance management
• Green learning and development

Employees are empowered and not supervised

• Green empowerment and involvement
• Discretionary learning’ is encouraged.
• Green Employee Relations

Video (Source: Green HRM, 2016)

Relevance of GHRM in hotels - Where is the hospitality industry now, and where is it heading?

The world's hotel and tourism industry came to a grinding halt due to COVID-19 lockdowns in the early 2020s, which generated an acute crisis in the hotel and tourism industry in the preceding years. Many establishments downsized their staff with job cuts or roles were made redundant to survive the decline of tourist revenue during lockdowns. The pandemic reverberated shock waves of unemployment throughout the hospitality sector locally and globally; the hotel sector giant was down on its knees with decreased labor participation and rising unemployment rates (Euro found, 2020).

However, with travel and tourism areas opening again, hotels are looking to recruit highly skilled workers back into their arena. The pandemic altered the perception of service and the hotel experience, propelling guests towards experiential and sustainable tourism. 

Customers demand that hotels have eco-friendly dealings, adopt digital technologies, and promote environmental sustainability. Green human resource management (GHRM) is necessary for hotels as there is a global involvement in environmental-related issues. Therefore, innovative green policies and processes are a must.

Challenges of implementing strategic Green Human Resource Management in hotels

Cost:  at the start it is very expensive to purchase some of the eco-friendly technology

Lack of Knowledge:  in many countries, especially in developing countries, many people aren't educated in the ways of green practices and policies. Therefore teaching these practices to staff may be difficult and may conflict with their personal beliefs and ideologies. 

Organizational Culture: Some hotels would disagree with the 'Go Green Culture' as it may be a difficult concept to manage with their image, branding and policies.

Green Human Resource Management caters to the age old Maslow Hierarchy of Needs where emphasis was made on how an individual thrives when all his needs are met. This starts with the basic needs of food, shelter and safety, and continues on from love, belongingness to esteem needs and self actualization. An engaged employee of an organization or hotel, who knows his place and feels that he is making a difference in the world, is one who will be bound for success.

Figure 4. Manslow's Hierarchy of Needs. (Source, Balojan, 2022)

Conclusion:

Implementing strategic Green Human resource management is not only effective in hotels, but it is equally effective for other organizations since GHRM brings a positive change to the management of the company and as well the earth. GHRM improves soft skills of employees and generates a positive value to company branding due to increased concern and environmental awareness. EMS (Environmental Management Systems) or green initiatives maintains and protects the organizational workforce to promote environmentally friendly and cost-effective methods to generate revenue. However, the best outcome is that of a more worldly performance by an employee where Green Human Resource Management can positively influence the attitudes and behaviors of employees. GRM can nonetheless be implemented only in places of employment which support environmental awareness with the conviction of the top management and its stakeholders.

References:

Adekoya, O.D., Mordi, C. and Ajonbadi, H.A. (1970) Green Human Resource Management:An introduction, SpringerLink. Available at: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-35795-4_1 (Accessed: 14 March 2024).

Aguinis, H. and Glavas, A. (2019) On corporate social responsibility, sensemaking, and the search for meaningfulness through work, Journal of Management, Vol. 45 No. 3, pp. 1057-1086.

Ahrendt, D. et al. (2020) Living, working and covid-19, Living, working and COVID-19 | European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. Available at: https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/en/publications/2020/living-working-and-covid-19 (Accessed: 14 March 2024).

Armstrong, M. (2021) Armstrong’s Handbook of Strategic Human Resource Management: Improve Business Performance Through Strategic People Management. London: Kogan Page.

Barbe, W.B.et al. (1979). Teachng through modality strengths: concepts and practices. Columbus, Ohio: Zaner-Bloser.

Bohdanowicz, P. (2005) ‘European hoteliers’ environmental attitudes’, Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 46(2), pp. 188–204. doi:10.1177/0010880404273891.

Bolojan, A. (2023) Understanding maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Thunder. Available at: https://www.thethunderteam.com/post/understanding-maslow-hierarchy-of-needs (Accessed: 15 March 2024).

Bynoe, S. (2020) Does reusing hotel towels save the planet or just money?, Asparagus Magazine. Available at: https://www.asparagusmagazine.com/articles/environmentalist-from-hell-looks-into-hotel-housekeeping-greenwashing (Accessed: 14 March 2024).

Fredericks, L. (2023) Sustainable hotel ideas: 25 ways to go green, 25 Eco-Friendly Hotel Ideas for Sustainable Properties | Cvent Blog. Available at: https://www.cvent.com/en/blog/hospitality/eco-friendly-hotel-ideas (Accessed: 15 March 2024).

Grottola, C. (2021) Green hospitality: 10 eco-friendly steps for your hotel, Ecobnb. Available at: https://ecobnb.com/blog/2021/05/green-hospitality-eco-friendly-steps-hotel/ (Accessed: 14 March 2024).

Hollander, J. (2023) Hotel Sustainability: 27 Statistics Illustrating the Growth of ESG in the Hotel Industry, HotelTechReport. Available at: https://hoteltechreport.com/news/hotel-sustainability-statistics (Accessed: 14 March 2024).

Irani, F.et al(2022) Taylor & Francis Online: Peer-reviewed journals, Impact of green human resource management practices on the environmental performance of green hotels. Available at: https://www.tandfonline.com/ (Accessed: 14 March 2024).

Jha, P. (2016) Green HRM, YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UYdQHHbxcU (Accessed: 15 March 2024).

Liere, L. (2020) Sustainability and ‘green’ skills in hospitality - how to make a sexy concept work?, PANTOUR. Available at:https://nexttourismgeneration.eu/sustainability-and-green-skills-in-hospitality-how-to-make-a-sexy-concept-work/ (Accessed: 14 March 2024).

Mahdy, F.et al (2023) Imperatives, benefits, and initiatives of Green Human Resource Management (GHRM): A systematic literature review, MDPI. Available at: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/6/4866 (Accessed: 14 March 2024).

Rodrigo, A. (2024) Sri Lanka plans to draw higher spending tourists with southern cultural events, EconomyNext. Available at:https://economynext.com/sri-lanka-plans-to-draw-higher-spending-tourists-with-southern-cultural-events-147753/ (Accessed: 14 March 2024).