Communicating Climate Change Risk and Enabling Pro-Environmental Behavioral Change Through Human Resource Development

Abstract

The Problem

Climate change is the most pressing environmental issue of our times. The majority of reputable scientists are in agreement that it threatens dangerous and irreversible impacts on the whole-Earth system. The mitigation of its potential effects requires immediate, substantial, and sustained actions.

The Solution

This article proposes two ways in which human resource development (HRD) can contribute: first, through individual learning and development interventions; second, through organizational development and change. Furthermore, it is argued that organizational culture and individual agency have the potential to reciprocally enable or constrain pro-environmental behavioral change; hence to be effective, green HRD requires interventions both at the individual and the organizational levels.

The Stakeholders

HRD scholars, researchers, and practitioners may also be of interest to others involved in environmental sustainability and critical management studies.