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.