Automobile industry managers' views on their roles in environmental sustainability: a qualitative study

Purpose This paper focusses on the roles and experiences of the human resource managers and safety, health and environment managers in promoting environmental sustainability in automobile industry. Design/methodology/approach The exploration uses the data generated from ten in-depth interviews with human resource managers as well as safety, health and environment (SHE) managers from three automobile companies. Findings Three main themes were derived from the inductive analysis in support of environmental sustainability. They comprised environment-oriented perspectives, green human resource management (HRM) practices and supportive mechanisms. These findings served as insights for the HR managers who played a supportive role in environment sustainability. This study also found that Green HRM practices within the automobile industry were confined to green training and development, green rewards, green employee involvement and green orientation. Research limitations/implications The outcome of this study carries implications for managers and businesses in designing a more sophisticated framework for Green HRM practices for their companies so as to achieve a more progressive sustainable goal. For instance, HR managers who are environment-oriented can play a more active role in environmental sustainability. They can participate directly in developing policies by co-partnering with their SHE colleagues. They can encourage and motivate their employees to apply green practices both at work and in their homes. This integration would eventually create a cascading effect that could reduce the industry's negative impact on environment, thereby developing a more environmentally-friendly society. Practical implications This study provided practical implications for both the HR and SHE managers in taking up responsibilities in environmental sustainability. This study also indicated the practical implications for the top management in the automobile industry, especially in the designing of the environmental sustainability framework. Originality/value This study contributes to the Green HRM area by understanding and comparing the roles of the HR managers and their counterpart, the SHE managers, in support of environmental sustainability. The comparison would provide a clearer picture on how the implementation of Green HRM can be implemented within the automobile industry.