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Barriers to EI in EM:
• Lack of management support for EM (e.g. Rover/KCC/Accenture)
• Unions may lack access to EM information, and education, &
training in EM – all of which undermine union bargaining power
• Workers may not see EM as an issue ‘for them’, unlike pay which
may be a more direct concern
Firms may use EI to generate revenue & reduce pollution:
• e.g. 3M, (2,500 solutions/waste release halved/saved $300m, &
later estimates of 4,750 projects globally/preventing £1.7bn of
pollution/ saved $850m pollution control/raw material costs)
• e.g. American Airlines flight attendants recycled 616,000 pounds
of aluminium cans (gain of $40,000)
• e.g. Dow Chemicals 173% ROI in 1st year.
• Other examples include schemes at Chrysler/Jeep, AT&T,
Wheeling-Pittsburgh
Firms may establish firm policies to support employee eco-initiatives, &
use supervisors to support employee EM actions:
• e.g. GE Plastics, Lucent Technologies.
Firms may use EI as it can motivate workers in EM, by:
• Allowing them to detect leaks in production processes
• Increase team knowledge of causes of waste, & how to reduce
these (as this is delegated to them). E.g’s:
• Chrysler/Jeep (recycling)
• AT&T (waste disposal)
• 3M/Kodak/DuPont/Procter & Gamble (all waste reduction)
• See gains from EI in improvements in EM & workers H&S, & the
development of more knowledgeable employees/supervisors in
EM as a whole
• Est. & use worldwide Green forums to share info. Re. EM
processes, &/or offer help-line for staff - e.g. Cable & Wireless
Union Role :
• Unions may act as allies to Environmental Managers (EM’s) to
generate self-directed Green initiatives from workers, e.g.
• Campaign in EM to incl. co-operation with green groups, & focus
on H&S concerns re. Hazardous/damaging substances & refusal
to handle toxic waste
• Seek legal rights for workers to paid time-off to attend training in
EM, & be informed of outcomes on monitoring
discharges/emissions
• Employers may encourage union members to be involved in
Green programmes, e.g. Sony, who do this to < glass
defects/waste glass & < energy use
• Be reluctant to involve unions in EM as they see EM as a mgmt
issue (e.g. U.K. CBI oppose mandatory Green audits/union role in
them, & see them as tools for mgmt control/assessment)
EMPLOYEE EXIT
• Dismissal/exit de-briefings could include an EM dimension, as
managers need to know why staff leave
• Employers formulate & use whistle-blowing codes, & provide
legal protection for users of them
• Employers avoid stereotyping of whistle-blowers & use of
‘reverse’ whistle-blowing practices
• Managers to ask if Green issues are reasons for resignations (too
little EM? moving to a more Green employer?)
• Exit interviews & whistle-blower accounts to gauge firm Green-
ness
• Employers may need policy in EM & to respond to ‘Green belief’
requests by employees
• (e.g. for less travel, more recycling facilities, more flexible
working), to avoid claims that EM beliefs are ignored
Green HR Roles
HR Environmental Generalists
HR Generalists (Today?)
(Tomorrow?)
Light Green
Green