The relationship between Corporate Environmental Responsibility, employees’ biospheric values and pro-environmental behaviour at work

Abstract

Many organizations strive for Corporate Environmental Responsibility (CER). This can make organizational processes and procedures more pro-environmental, but does it also promote employees’ pro-environmental behaviour? We reason that CER can encourage employees to act pro-environmentally at work by increasing the likelihood that they consider the environmental consequences of their behaviour. In two studies, we test to what extent CER affects pro-environmental behaviour at work, and whether this depends on the extent to which employees value nature and the environment (i.e., endorse biospheric values). Both studies show that stronger biospheric values and perceived CER are related to more self-reported pro-environmental behaviour at work. Interestingly, the relationship between perceived CER and self-reported pro-environmental behaviour was stronger among those with moderate to weak biospheric values. These results suggest that relative weak biospheric values are less likely to inhibit pro-environmental behaviour at work when employees believe that their organization aims to realize CER.