Green HRM refers to any efforts by the human resources department within the organization to raise awareness towards environmental management and ensure that the employees contribute towards making their organization sustainable through green practices. The concept of Green HRM is coined by Amit Sahay – Founder & CEO – GreenHRM Solutions.

Green CSR can reduce business risk, improve reputation and provide opportunities for cost savings in organizations.  Even the simplest energy efficiency measures can generate savings and make a difference to a business. For example: switching off lights and equipment when not in use, using automated water taps in pantry and washrooms.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has recently raised awareness among researchers, policymakers and corporations about importance of green initiatives. Companies not only manage the interest of employees and shareholders but are also responsible for the social and environmental interests in their operations. The CSR concept includes effective and incorporated business model that meets the demands of stakeholders, shareholders, social needs, environmental production and economic benefits. CSR reflects the optional actions of firms toward social and environmental interests.

Marine protection, health and wellness, hygiene, disaster relief, and sanitation are other priorities. TCS’ corporate social responsibility initiatives which are aimed at achieving sustainable growth. They include efforts towards green buildings and a green supply chain. Green supply chain includes product design, materials sourcing, manufacturing, logistics, and end-of-life product management. TCS optimizes water consumption through conservation, sewage treatment and reuse of grey water (refers to domestic wastewater generated in households or office buildings from streams without faecal contamination), and rainwater harvesting. The company aspires to recycle 100% of their biodegradable waste by 2025 and eliminate single-use plastics from their campuses.

Environmental CSR strategies and ecologically friendly processes directly influence corporate performance and image. Environmental CSR not only creates new business models, and advance processes but also saves costs and adds value to services and products. Environmental CSR and green innovation use creative solutions to reduce negative environmental impacts and maximize sustainability. It involves the development of new technologies, processes, products, services or business models that are more environmentally friendly than those they replace.

Environmental CSR improves a company’s ratings which helps in stock performance, credit advantage and potential risk control.  Promoting green environment practices is a triple-bottom win for organizations, government and society. A Triple Bottom Pattern is a chart formation that occurs when a security’s price tests the support level three times without failing. ​​For instance, organizations improve their legitimacy, good performance and image in society and the government spends less on pollution of natural resources such as water and air, the society benefits from a healthy environment and green products. To further explain, green innovation increases organization’s branding and market value through customer satisfaction with green products and loyalty.

Wipro ‘Earthian’ is a nationwide initiative of Wipro Foundation to deepen the sustainability education within schools and colleges across the country. The objective is to provide exposure to multiple perspectives, develop an interconnected understanding of different disciplines in education and life. The Wipro earthian program for schools is made interesting for the young minds to grasp the importance of healthy planet, within the students’ peer group and the world around them. There are three thematic areas to explore: biodiversity, water and waste. Student groups can select any of the three themes and work on it. ‘Paryavaran Mitra’ is a nationwide initiative by Centre for Environment Education (CEE) to create a network of young leaders from schools across the country, with the awareness, knowledge, commitment and potential to meet the challenges of environmental sustainability in their own spheres of influence. It envisages schools providing learning spaces and opportunities to students that promote exploration, discovery, thinking and action around environmental sustainability.

Green Human Resources Management (GHRM) can be defined as a set of policies, practices, and systems that stimulate the green behavior of a company’s employees to create an environmentally sensitive, resource-efficient, and socially responsible organization.

The ITC Green Centre is a LEED Platinum (leadership in energy and environment design) rated project which has been awarded “Facade Project of the year 2017” by Zak Awards for Excellence in Façade & Fenestration (fenestration refers to the openings in a building’s facade, such as doors, skylights, and windows). The building has Excellent Visibility from Banaswadi Main Road in Bengaluru. The building comprises of two towers with a total built up area of 23 lakhs square feet. The East-West orientation of the 202-metre-long building, besides the use of high performance, low reflectivity glass and extensive solar shading, enables energy saving of over 34 percent.

The 30,000 sq. ft. area houses a staggering 60 offices and shared services such as concierge and lobby, Guest lounge, Cafe, washrooms, Co-Working area, Telephone booths, Meeting Spaces and an on-site fitness lounge. The beautiful centre boasts of running/ walking track for health freaks and Segway move for millennials. 

ITC’s Learning and Development initiatives are geared to ‘Build ITC’s talent and leadership pipeline to power our engines of growth and enhance organisational capability to compete, win in the marketplace and create enduring value for our stakeholders.

In HRM green initiatives include learning and development initiatives which are inclusive of customised programmes to address the needs expressed by businesses, aimed at building specific capabilities at various levels of the organisation. Business Heads and HR teams work closely in implementing the initiatives for Learning and Development. Employee training at the factory level is undertaken after assessment of skill gaps or after evaluation of emergent technology or skill needs. The process is proactive and well-structured.

Globally many organizations have integrated environmental objectives into performance appraisals, offering incentives for sustainable commuting, and promoting energy conservation and waste reduction in the workplace. It helps eliminate ecological waste and makes the best use of refurbished goods, equipment and techniques. It aims to increase workers’ engagement in a work environment that allows the company to function in an environmentally friendly manner.

The five pillars of the Green Development Pact, under India’s G20 Presidency, are envisaged to include: Lifestyle of Environment (LiFE), Circular Economy, Climate Finance, Accelerating Progress on SDGs (sustainable development goal) and Energy Transitions & Energy Security.

Many organizations have ensured communications are environmentally friendly and sustainable by going paperless. This involves utilising electronic communications such as employing the use of an intranet, instead of flyers for internal communication. Also creating an email newsletter to communicate with contractors or clients, instead of sending them direct mail. Or even utilising technology when conducting training sessions, instead of printing materials.

Organizations further their commitment by hiring like-minded, environmentally focussed people. Businesses are also beginning to incorporate green job descriptions with environmental aspects in their recruitment process and providing ‘Green information packs’ in their induction process. Furthermore, being perceived as a green employer is also attractive to candidates and can assist your business in securing top talent.

As Employee Relation focuses on developing a strong, positive employer-employee relationship, green practices are further reinforcing the practice. Some companies are asking green suggestions from employees, whereby any employee can advise the organisation on ways to be more environmentally friendly. Or even giving employees freedom to experiment with different green initiatives.

Many firms like Wipro Ltd, and ACG Associated Capsules Pvt. Ltd, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), and NTT DATA Business Solutions, ITC recognise that employees wish to continue their sustainability efforts outside of their working lives and consider how they can be more ‘eco-conscious’ in their personal lives, especially in terms of consumption. These and many other organisations support their employees paid time off to volunteer or attend conservation conferences, or simply by providing them with resources to assist their ‘Green lifestyle’ outside of work.

Conclusion: Recognizing importance of green HRM and green CSR is need of the hour for regenerative and more sustainable planet. Organizations must not concentrate only on profits by ignoring people and the planet, if organizations ignore the green initiatives, they will not be able to  account for the full cost of doing business and thus will not succeed in long run.

India is making serious efforts to make the circular economy a major tool for urban development. The circular economic system uses resources again and again, multiple times. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced this decision in post-budget webinar speech, in 2023. The circular economy presents an economic approach focused on minimizing/eliminating wastage while promoting the optimal use or complete reuse of resources. India ranks seventh globally in Solid Waste Generation (SWG).
The present rate of SWG in India is 0.34 kg per capita per day, which is expected to increase to 0.7 kg per day by 2025. India will generate 165 million tonnes of waste by 2030.
Out of 8 million tonnes of plastic waste in the world’s oceans, the Meghna-Brahmaputra-Ganges River system dumps close to 73 thousand tons, making it the 6th most polluting river system contributing to marine plastic waste in the world. This is very shameful of our attitude.

The circular economy is a model of production and consumption, which involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, renewing, and recycling existing materials and products as long as possible. In this way, the life cycle of products is extended.

Vermigold Ecotech is a cleantech waste management technology company. The company designs, develops and market innovative products for organic waste composting. The company was formed to specifically address the need for an innovative and technologically sound provider of Environmentally Sound Technologies (EST). Vermigold is an on-site biological recycling automation solution that blends superior vermicomposting biology with superior technology to allow end-users to collect organic material in a hassle-free and environmentally beneficial way. It is India’s only globally accredited waste treatment technology, indicating its pathbreaking system.

The FMCG leader Unilever has an ambition to create a waste-free world, amongst other targets, the company is committed to ensuring that their packaging is recyclable, reusable, or compostable by 2025.

At ITC, all Businesses Units are directed to ensure recycling of 100% waste generated. This not only conserves precious natural resources and energy but also prevents waste from reaching landfills, with all its attendant problems like health hazards, increase in Greenhouse Gas Emission (GHG), soil and ground water contamination, etc. Circular economy also creates significant employment opportunities for the marginalised sections of society. India is well on track to become the third-largest economy in the world. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has highlighted that AatmanirbharBharat, or ‘Self-Reliant India’, which is a launch pad that will put India on a high economic growth path that is inclusive and sustainable. With Self-Reliant India, the aim is to make the country and its citizens independent, and the vision is firmly rooted in sustainability

Indian fashion industry has also embraced the new sense with the principles of upcycling with a fresh vigour. Upcycling is also known as creative reuse. It is the process of transforming by-products, waste materials products into new materials or products identified to be of greater quality, such as artistic value or environmental value. For example, ecological fashion brand ‘Doodlage’ is India’s most famous eco-friendly clothes brand which asserts 100 per cent of its collection is upcycled, recycled, and manufactured with zero-waste. Bengaluru-based ethical fashion brand Gujarat-based label ‘RaasLeela’, runs business with all-women’s team. It makes products where every design, material and process are chosen thoughtfully keeping first the environment, process, and the maker in mind. The tagline of the business is “We are not a fashion brand! Fashion is a byproduct.”

Bagasse is the fibre that remains when sugarcane juice has been extracted. This fibre is then moulded into versatile and sturdy trays, cups, spoons, food packaging boxes, and other food packaging products through a high-pressure, high-heat process.

Furthermore, the circular economy is no longer a choice for India, rather it is has become a need of the hour. With a rising population, urbanization, environmental challenges, and international commitments, shifting towards a circular economy has become imperative for India. “Be true to yourself,” has been the guiding principle of the Modi government India development agenda. If India grows without following the principle of sustainability, then the growth would be pretentious for the sake of numbers only. Therefore, India’s economic development must align with the principles of circularity, eliminating waste and pollution, circulating products and materials (at their highest value), and regenerating nature.

As per recent data, the European Union produces more than 2.2 billion tonnes of waste every year. It is currently updating its legislation on waste management to promote a shift to a more sustainable model known as the circular economy. To reduce waste and its impact on the environment, the EU has adopted ambitious targets on recycling and landfill and is working on packaging waste. The goal is to promote the shift towards a more sustainable model.

 In 2022, EU exports of waste to non-EU countries amounted to 32.1 million tonnes. This was a slight decrease of 3% compared to 2021. Most of the waste exported outside the EU (55%) consists of ferrous metals waste (iron and steel), which mostly goes to Türkiye. EU exported a lot of paper waste as 15% to India.

A circular carbon economy is a framework for managing and reducing emissions. It is a closed loop system involving 4Rs: reduce, reuse, recycle, and remove. Saudi Arabia and Aramco have adopted the circular carbon economy framework to reduce their carbon footprints.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) performs a delicate life-sustaining function on Earth, but the dramatic increase in greenhouse gases since industrialization has emitted too much CO2 into our atmosphere. The circular carbon economy is an important concept toward managing the world’s excessive CO2 emissions. Road transport presently accounts for 12% of India’s energy-related CO2 emissions and is a key contributor to urban air pollution. As India seeks to meet the increasing demand for private mobility and the transport of goods, energy use and CO2 emissions from road transport could double by 2050.

In practice, circular economy implies reducing waste to a minimum. When a product reaches the end of its life, its materials are kept within the economy wherever possible thanks to recycling. These can be productively used again and again, thereby creating further value. It is a removal from the traditional, linear economic model, which is based on a take-make-consume-throw away pattern. This model relies on large quantities of cheap, easily accessible materials and energy.

The best part of this model is planned obsolescence, when a product has been designed to have a limited lifespan to encourage consumers to buy it again. The European Parliament has called for measures to tackle this practice. Many consumer electronics are designed to make it impossible to repair them or replace parts. Sometimes it is physically impossible because the product pieces are welded together to prevent replacement and the remains cannot be opened without breaking it. Some laptops, mobile phones and electric toothbrushes have lithium-ion batteries with a useful life of two or three years. These cannot be replaced by the owner of the device, who has no option but to buy a replacement. Also, some other examples are batteries, inkjet printers.

The circular economy is a system where materials never become waste. In the economy, products and materials are kept in circulation through processes like maintenance, reuse, refurbishment, remanufacture, recycling, and composting. This process helps to eliminate waste and pollution. Keep products and materials in use to regenerate natural systems.