Encouraging sustainability in the workplace: a survey on the pro-environmental behaviour of university employees

Abstract

In order to enhance more sustainable behaviour in households, recent research focuses on the identification of factors that have an impact on sustainable or pro-environmental behaviour. The aim of this study is to identify factors that could predict pro-environmental behaviour in the workplace. While many studies focused on the behaviour of households, this study is one of the first that focuses exclusively on pro-environmental behaviour in the workplace. Based on a comprehensive literature review, two groups of factors were identified which could predict pro-environmental behaviour in the workplace: internal factors and external factors. Next, the model was tested among employees of a green university in the Netherlands. Based on the results of this study, it can be concluded that the theory of planned behaviour can explain pro-environmental behaviour in the workplace. At the same time, the results show that there are clear differences between factors influencing pro-environmental behaviour in households and in the workplace. Furthermore, also other factors like leadership support and exemplary pro-environmental behaviour by leaders are at stake in case of pro-environmental behaviour in the workplace, and have a significant positive impact on employee's intention to act pro-environmentally. The findings of this study have various managerial implications for green companies and organizations in general and green universities in particular.