Introduction
Environmental issues, such as climate change, carbon dioxide emissions, waste management, resource and water conservation, biodiversity protection, and ecosystem services, remain significant challenges. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA) (2022), global carbon emissions from energy reached approximately 36.3 billion tonnes in 2021. Consequently, various programmes, including Industry 4.0, Sustainable Development Goals 13, and initiatives by the United Nations Environment Programs, have been proposed to address and curb carbon emissions. Industrial development and individual behaviour are the main contributors to escalating carbon emissions, with research indicating that individual daily activities account for 80% of global emissions (Bin & Dowlatabadi, Reference Bin and Dowlatabadi2005; Xia, Liu, Han, Gao, & Lan, Reference Xia, Liu, Han, Gao and Lan2022).
Malaysia’s primary source of carbon dioxide emissions is combustion engine cars (Khazaei & Tareq, Reference Khazaei and Tareq2021). However, pandemic-related restrictions and social distancing protocols have led to a significant decrease in emissions (Anjum, Reference Anjum2020), prompting organisations to increasingly adopt environmental management systems and green initiatives to mitigate their environmental impacts (Osuntuyi & Lean, Reference Osuntuyi and Lean2022). This trend underscores the growing responsibility of public organisations to integrate environmental concerns into public administration, ultimately promoting sustainable development.
Encouraging public sector employees to implement environmental policies presents a critical challenge. Every public sector organisation must inspire its employees to act in an environmentally responsible manner, thereby reducing the organisation’s environmental footprint and advancing sustainability goals. Therefore, the public sector should adopt a risk-taking, proactive, and innovative approach to achieve extraordinary results (Kamil, Robert, & Rahman, Reference Kamil, Robert and Rahman2022). With mounting environmental pressure and the urgent need to reduce carbon emissions, it is necessary to increase knowledge of low-carbon behaviour (Huang et al., Reference Huang, Ma, Pan, Li, Yuan and Tsai2020).
Embracing carbon consciousness drives cost savings and operational efficiency within organisations thus holding significant importance for public entities. Demonstrating environmental leadership is crucial to fostering trust and confidence among employees and encouraging the adoption of low-carbon behaviours. Public sector organisations play a significant role in shaping environmental policies and ensuring compliance. To achieve sustainable outcomes, employee participation and ownership of carbon reduction initiatives through engagement programmes and innovation platforms is paramount. Organisations can foster innovation and a shared commitment to reducing carbon emissions in the workplace by facilitating a space for idea exchange. Thus, organisations must practice environmental protection through eco-friendly activities that lower carbon emissions.
Low-carbon behaviour is an ecological behaviour that describes the range of human acts influenced by their aspirations to protect the environment. The term low-carbon behaviour refers to ‘a person’s actions in reducing energy consumption, such as turning off the switch when not in use, using energy-efficient appliances, setting the temperature of conditioner below 24 degrees Celsius, and other related behaviours’ (Whitmarsh, Seyfang, & O’Neill, Reference Whitmarsh, Seyfang and O’Neill2011). The ethical climate must be discussed to address how employees behave appropriately because individual behaviour is more easily impacted by the psychological climate in the workplace. The ethical climate is considered ‘the perceptual lens through which employees diagnose and evaluate situations’ (Parboteeah & Cullen, Reference Parboteeah and Cullen2003). To foster low-carbon behaviour among employees, organisations must focus on creating a suitable ethical climate to address environmental issues in the workplace (Kim & Miller, Reference Kim and Miller2008). Therefore, the relationship between ethical climate and low-carbon behaviour must be investigated. However, it remains unclear whether ethical climate significantly affects the low-carbon behaviour of employees and how and when this effect takes place.
Our study, guided by the social cognitive theory (Bandura, Reference Bandura2000), explores how an ethical climate in the workplace influences employees’ adoption of low-carbon behaviour. The social cognitive theory elucidates how individuals derive self-beliefs from their social environment and establish internal standards of behaviour to regulate their actions. Thus, organisations fostering a high ethical climate are posited to shape employees’ internal moral cognition and individual engagement in specific behaviour, such as low-carbon behaviour (Martin et al., Reference Martin, Rivera, Riley, Hekler, Buman, Adams and King2014).
Previous research on low-carbon behaviour has primarily focused on various aspects such as low-carbon behaviour awareness among households (Büchs et al., Reference Büchs, Bahaj, Blunden, Bourikas, Falkingham, James and Wu2018; Neo, Choong & Ahamad, Reference Neo, Choong and Ahamad2017), low-carbon tourism (Wang, Gan, Ou, & Liu, Reference Wang, Gan, Ou and Liu2019), low-carbon communities and society (Kaffashi & Shamsudin, Reference Kaffashi and Shamsudin2019; Moser & Kleinhückelkotten, Reference Moser and Kleinhückelkotten2018), and low-carbon technology (Curtin, McInerney, & Gallachóir, Reference Curtin, McInerney and Gallachóir2017). However, there remains a significant gap in understanding individual-level behaviours within organisational settings. The focus on low-carbon behaviour at the individual level has been minimal, with limited attention paid to how organisational factors such as ethical climate influence such behaviours. While studies have investigated the impact of leadership on low-carbon behaviour (Xia et al., Reference Xia, Liu, Han, Gao and Lan2022), research regarding the role of ethical climate in shaping individual low-carbon behaviour is still in its early stages. Moreover, there is a scarcity of studies investigating low-carbon behaviour in the context of individuals working within organisations, necessitating additional research in this field. This academic gap gave rise to our interest in considering the possible relationship between the use of ethical climate in an organisation and sustainability in encouraging employees’ low-carbon behaviour. This study delves into exploring the potential influence of employee behaviour on sustainability initiatives, thereby enhancing our understanding of how organisational factors shape employees’ low-carbon behaviours in the workplace.
We also introduce the concept of environmental passion, which refers to employees’ positive emotions towards promoting low-carbon behaviour. Factors such as cognitive perception, emotional inference, and well-being influence this passion, all of which an ethical climate workplace fosters. Despite its significance, we believe that organisations have overlooked environmental passion among employees. An ethical climate can encourage public servants, who are crucial in delivering public services, to adopt low-carbon behaviour. Hence, we advocate that environmental passion acts as a pivotal mediator, elucidating how ethical climates catalyse employees’ adoption of low-carbon behaviour, an area that remains underexplored in current research.
We also introduced green mindfulness as a crucial moderator to deepen our understanding of how environmental passion influences low-carbon behaviour. Green mindfulness encompasses various aspects of environmental awareness such as sensitivity and proactive engagement in eco-friendly actions among employees. Positive emotions further strengthen mindfulness, particularly in the public sector, where commitment to sustainability drives proactive behaviour. Despite limited prior research, we see the exploration of green mindfulness as pivotal, given its potential to shape low-carbon behaviours within organisations. Considering the increasing importance of environmental sustainability, investigating the moderating role of green mindfulness can yield valuable insights into fostering low-carbon behaviour among employees.
In a nutshell, the purpose of this study is to deepen our understanding of how an organisation’s ethical climate affects its employees’ low-carbon behaviour. This study contributes to the literature in three ways. First, our research offers fresh perspectives on how ethical climate and low-carbon behaviour relate to one another. The second contribution of our research is the inclusion of environmental passion as a mediator between ethical climate and low-carbon behaviour. Third, we included green mindfulness as a moderator of employees’ environmental passion and low-carbon behaviour. A multilevel design was used to empirically test the research hypothesis that was developed for this study.
This paper is structured to provide a comprehensive exploration of our research. We begin with a review of relevant literature and develop hypotheses to frame our study. Next, we outline the methodology employed in our research and present the results of our analysis. Subsequently, we discuss these findings, highlighting their theoretical implications and practical significance. Our study rounds off each section with a conclusion, summarising the key insights. Finally, we acknowledge the limitations of our research and suggest avenues for future investigation to further enrich our understanding of the topic.
Literature review and hypotheses
Theoretical background
Drawing from the social cognitive theory, our study aligns with Bandura’s (Reference Bandura2000) concept of reciprocal causation, which posits that individual beliefs underpin behavioural judgements influenced by personal and contextual factors (Wood & Bandura, Reference Wood and Bandura1989). This theory suggests that behaviours, individual characteristics, and environmental stimuli interact within organisational settings, and personal factors interact with environmental cues to shape behaviour. According to Schwarzer and Luszczynska (Reference Schwarzer and Luszczynska2005), an individual’s thoughts significantly influence their behaviour while executing tasks assigned by an organisation.
The social cognitive theory offers valuable insights into interpreting the relationship between ethical climate and low-carbon behaviour. Organisations with a robust ethical climate are inclined to encourage employees to engage in low-carbon behaviour (Bandura, Reference Bandura2000). By nurturing a moral environment that emphasises environmental stewardship, organisations can shape the attitudes and actions of employees towards sustainability, consequently diminishing harmful emissions. A positive ethical climate serves as a model for employees to shape their beliefs and attitudes towards environmental sustainability. According to social cognitive behaviour (Bandura, Reference Bandura2000), this modelling process can lead to the development of personal factors, such as a strong sense of environmental passion and mindfulness, which promote low-carbon behaviour. Therefore, by promoting an ethical climate that emphasises environmental accountability, organisations can motivate and empower employees to embrace and uphold low-carbon behaviours, thus playing a pivotal role in advancing sustainability initiatives overall.
A conceptualisation of low-carbon behaviour
Low-carbon behaviour has received significant attention from researchers (Bai & Liu, Reference Bai and Liu2013; Wang, Su, Sun, Zhou, & Zhou, Reference Wang, Su, Sun, Zhou and Zhou2015; Wang, Zhang, Yin, & Zhang, Reference Wang, Zhang, Yin and Zhang2011). Prior studies initially investigated organisational citizenship behaviour (Anwar et al., Reference Anwar, Mahmood, Yusliza, Ramayah, Faezah and Khalid2020; Yin, Ma, Gong, Chen, & Zhang, Reference Yin, Ma, Gong, Chen and Zhang2021), green behaviour (Fawehinmi, Yusliza, Ogbeibu, Tanveer, & Chiappetta Jabbour, Reference Fawehinmi, Yusliza, Ogbeibu, Tanveer and Chiappetta Jabbour2022; Kamil, Nordin, & Matsat, Reference Kamil, Nordin, Matsat, Yusliza and Renwick2024), ecological behaviour (Farooq et al., Reference Farooq, Yusliza, Wahyuningtyas, Haque, Muhammad and Saputra2021), and pro-environmental behaviour(Colombo et al., Reference Colombo, Chiarella, Lefrançois, Fradin, Simione and Raffone2023), before shifting their focus to analysing low-carbon behaviour. Low-carbon behaviour involves employees adopting eco-friendly habits in their daily lives to help reduce carbon emissions and protect the environment (Zhang et al., Reference Zhang, Hu, Mu and Kong2022). Conceptualised low-carbon behaviour is a low-carbon lifestyle that reduces energy consumption and carbon emissions (Wei, Chen, & Long, Reference Wei, Chen and Long2016). It also refers to voluntary actions taken by individuals to protect the environment (Boiral, Paillé, & Raineri, Reference Boiral, Paillé and Raineri2015).
Low-carbon behaviour is a major determinant in shaping human behaviour towards the environment and is a prerequisite for coping with environmental disasters (Klöckner, Reference Klöckner2013). Such behaviours can be classified into four categories: practising energy conservation, taking public transportation, buying green-themed products, and other low-carbon behaviours (Moloney, Horne, & Fien, Reference Moloney, Horne and Fien2010). These categories of low-carbon behaviour change the status quo as activism for the environment(Wiernik, Ones, & Dilchert, Reference Wiernik, Ones and Dilchert2013).
Low-carbon behaviour can also be practised among employees in the workplace, as described by Bissing‐Olson, Iyer, Fielding, and Zacher (Reference Bissing‐Olson, Iyer, Fielding and Zacher2013). Therefore, predicting low-carbon behaviour has a substantial impact on understanding behavioural performance patterns as it acts as a guide in decision-making (Ingwersen, Garmestani, Gonzalez & Templeton, Reference Ingwersen, Garmestani, Gonzalez and Templeton2014). This means that employees can incorporate environmentally friendly behaviours into their daily routines while accomplishing their required tasks at the workplace, and they can also aggressively participate in larger environmentally friendly improvements in their organisation’s policies and procedures (Pichel, Reference Pichel, Wüstenhagen, Hamschmidt, Sharma and Starik2008).
Ethical climate and low-carbon behaviour
Ethical climate has been the focus of scholarly enquiry for over four decades, consistently emerging as a pivotal predictor of organisational behaviours (Schneider, Reference Schneider1975). Defined as employees’ shared perceptions of vertically correct behaviour and the handling of ethical issues within an organisation (Victor & Cullen, Reference Victor and Cullen1988), ethical climate is influenced by various factors such as organisational environment, structure, and developmental history. The determinants of an organisation’s ethical climate span multiple perspectives, including departmental dynamics, organisational culture, industry context, and community concerns (Bourne & Snead, Reference Bourne and Snead1999).
Ethical practices extend beyond mere compliance with legal standards in order to align with the underlying ethical ideas of the community (Valentine, Godkin, Fleischman, Kidwell, & Page, Reference Valentine, Godkin, Fleischman, Kidwell and Page2011). The organisational behaviour system, shaped by employees’ perceptions of organisational signals and behaviours, profoundly impacts ethical decision-making processes (Martin & Cullen, Reference Martin and Cullen2006). Studies examining intra-organisational aspects of ethical environments highlight the need to consider structural elements when shaping organisational climates (Ford & Richardson, Reference Ford and Richardson1994).
Drawing from earlier studies that demonstrate the positive impact of an ethical climate on job satisfaction, turnover intention, and ethical behaviour (Brown & Peterson, Reference Brown and Peterson1993; Ferrell & Skinner, Reference Ferrell and Skinner1988; Schwepker, Reference Schwepker2001; Weeks & Nantel, Reference Weeks and Nantel1992) as well as the correlation between organisational ethical climate and employee behaviours (Tsai & Huang, Reference Tsai and Huang2008), this study explores how ethical climate shapes employees’ low-carbon behaviour.
In an ethical climate that fosters trust, predictability, and accountability towards all elements of the organisational ecosystem (Rahimiaghdam & Niroumand, Reference Rahimiaghdam and Niroumand2021), employees are more likely to engage in environmentally responsible actions, which is crucial in promoting low-carbon behaviour. According to the social cognitive theory, ethical climate influences individuals’ behaviour regulation through ongoing assessment, comparing personal standards with environmental cues (Bandura, Reference Bandura1986). Domino et al. (Reference Domino, Wingreen and Blanton2015)also showed that individuals tend to enhance their behaviour based on prevailing ethical climates, regardless of whether it is perceived as ‘good’ or ‘bad’. Therefore, we assume that
Hypothesis 1: Ethical climate is positively related to low-carbon behaviour.
Ethical climate and environmental passion
The significance of ethical climate lies in its role in fostering environmental passion among employees. According to Valentine et al. (Reference Valentine, Godkin, Fleischman, Kidwell and Page2011), employees’ environmental passion contributes to environmental preservation by aligning with the legal standards of conduct established in ethical climates. Vallerand et al. (Reference Vallerand, Blanchard, Mageau, Koestner, Ratelle, Léonard and Marsolais2003) indicate that employees are more likely to embrace an ethical climate when they feel pleased, inspired, and energised. Martin and Cullen (Reference Martin and Cullen2006) argued that these norms can influence organisational behavioural systems, specifically organisational signals and ethical decision-making among employees. The social cognitive theory suggests that the intricate interplay between environmental influences, such as climate, and individual factors, such as positive emotions, shapes the dynamics of moral reasoning and its impact on moral conduct. This perspective, rooted in the interactionist approach, posits that understanding how these elements converge is crucial for unravelling the complexities of human behaviour (Bandura, Reference Bandura1986). We found no studies indicating that employees’ environmental passion drives their increase in low-carbon behaviour. However, we believe that environmental passion can assist in developing low-carbon behaviours. According to Valentine et al. (Reference Valentine, Godkin, Fleischman, Kidwell and Page2011), an ethical climate is one of the antecedents of employee behaviour that can improve the overall nature of the workplace, particularly when it comes to minimising climate change. Therefore, we propose a link between an ethical climate and environmental passion by examining the following hypotheses:
Hypothesis 2: An ethical climate is positively related to environmental passion.
Environmental passion and low-carbon behaviour
Robertson and Barling (Reference Robertson and Barling2013) describe environmental passion as ‘a positive emotion that results in an individual wanting to engage in pro-environmental behaviours’. We posit that this definition can foster positive emotional responses among employees, thus influencing their adoption of low-carbon behaviour within an organisation. Environmental passion is pivotal in driving substantial organisational change, catalysing inspiring actions that promote environmental preservation. Social cognitive theory is instrumental in fostering individuals’ positive emotive emotions, thereby enhancing their learning, knowledge, and experience to cultivate low-carbon behaviour. In the workplace environment, individuals acquire behaviours and cognitive strategies by observing the actions of colleagues, peers, and leaders (Green & Peil, Reference Green and Piel2015), in turn shaping their attitudes and behaviours towards sustainability. Therefore, an individual’s involvement in various environmental issues can form the basis of their commitment to change (Vidyapeetham, Reference Vidyapeetham2019).
Therefore, there is a plethora of studies on environmental passion as a vital influence on low-carbon behaviour among employees. Environmental passion is a positive emotion that expresses an individual’s desire to engage in constructive environmental practices (Akhshik, Ozturen, & Rezapouraghdam, Reference Akhshik, Ozturen and Rezapouraghdam2021). Passionate employees about the environment will exhibit positive emotions towards engaging in low-carbon behaviour. Additionally, employees with experience in contributing to environmental conservation will feel inspired, display positive emotions, and show enthusiasm for environmental efforts. This behaviour earns them the description of having environmental passion. This situation demonstrates their confidence in prioritising their interest in low-carbon behaviour (Vallerand et al., Reference Vallerand, Blanchard, Mageau, Koestner, Ratelle, Léonard and Marsolais2003, Reference Vallerand, Salvy, Mageau, Elliot, Denis, Grouzet and Blanchard2007). Environmental passion is a significant predictor of low-carbon behaviour in empirical studies. An earlier study by Afsar et al. (2016) on Thai software and banking employees demonstrated that environmental passion is a comprehensive construct that covers the assessment of activities and the desire for low-carbon behaviour. A study involving 431 employees from the manufacturing sector (Yin et al., Reference Yin, Ma, Gong, Chen and Zhang2021) also revealed a relationship between environmental passion and low-carbon behaviour. Based on the discussion above, we propose the following hypothesis:
Hypothesis 3: Environmental passion is positively related to low-carbon behaviour.
Environmental passion as a mediator
An ethical climate significantly influences employees’ low-carbon behaviour by impacting their environmental passion. As employees share similar views on what constitutes appropriate behaviour in reducing carbon emissions and how to address ethical concerns, they feel better (Robertson & Barling, Reference Robertson and Barling2013; Victor & Cullen, Reference Victor and Cullen1988). Organisational environmental management policies predict and strongly influence low-carbon behaviour, which is a significant emotional experience related to the environment (Yin et al., Reference Yin, Ma, Gong, Chen and Zhang2021). The social cognitive theory posits that incorporating green standards into organisational ethics not only boosts employee passion but also offers increased opportunities for practising environmentally friendly behaviour, ultimately leading to enhanced organisational performance. Individuals are motivated to engage in environmental activities that align with their interests when their psychological state ignites passion within them (Vallerand et al., Reference Vallerand, Salvy, Mageau, Elliot, Denis, Grouzet and Blanchard2007). Therefore, we believe that employees’ environmental passion motivates them to act in ways that are advantageous to the environment, such as adopting low-carbon behaviour. However, there is currently a lack of studies demonstrating the mediation of environmental passion by ethical climate in influencing low-carbon behaviour. Based on the reasons mentioned above, we propose that environmental passion might serve a significant mediating role in establishing an ethical climate at the organisational level that encourages employees’ low-carbon behaviour, with the following hypothesis:
Hypothesis 4: Environmental passion mediates the relationship between ethical climate and low-carbon behaviour.
The moderating role of green mindfulness
Mindfulness has gained prominence in the Western literature for its potential as a preventative measure against irresponsible human behaviour (Geiger, Grossman, & Schrader, Reference Geiger, Grossman and Schrader2019). As environmental consciousness grows, there is heightened interest in influencing low-carbon behaviour (Barbaro & Pickett, Reference Barbaro and Pickett2016). This shift in awareness highlights the importance of green mindfulness, which aims to improve employees’ dedication to low-carbon practices, and underscores the intrinsic value of environmental stewardship. Defined as ‘a state of conscious awareness’, green mindfulness empowers individuals to grasp both the context and the content of environmental information and knowledge (Chen, Chang, Yeh, & Cheng, Reference Chen, Chang, Yeh and Cheng2015).
In the realm of environmental psychology, Dharmesti, Merrilees, and Winata (Reference Dharmesti, Merrilees and Winata2020) illuminate the concept of green mindfulness as a catalyst for enhancing environmental behaviour, echoing the sentiments of Kalyar, Ali, and Shafique (Reference Kalyar, Ali and Shafique2021), who underscore the profound emotional connection and environmental passion exhibited by mindful employees. According to the social cognitive theory (Bandura, Reference Bandura1997), green mindfulness signifies employees’ confidence in recognising opportunities to engage in low-carbon behaviour, leading to positive environmental outcomes. Previous studies have consistently highlighted the substantial relationship between environmental passion, green mindfulness, and low-carbon behaviour (Amemiya & Sakairi, Reference Amemiya and Sakairi2019; Panno et al., Reference Panno, Giacomantonio, Carrus, Maricchiolo, Pirchio and Mannetti2018; St-Louis, Verner-Filion, Bergeron, & Vallerand, Reference St-Louis, Verner-Filion, Bergeron and Vallerand2018; Yin et al., Reference Yin, Ma, Gong, Chen and Zhang2021). However, a notable gap exists in understanding how green mindfulness moderates the relationship between environmental passion and low-carbon behaviour. Therefore, we propose that cultivating green mindfulness may not only elevate positive emotions but also have a tangible impact on the uptake of low-carbon behaviours, prompting the formulation of hypotheses to further explore this connection:
Hypothesis 5: Green mindfulness moderates the relationship between environmental passion and low-carbon behaviour.
The proposed research framework is illustrated in Fig. 1.
Figure 1. Research framework.
Method
Sample and procedure
This study used a cross-sectional multilevel design, engaging a sample of 407 public servants across 37 departments within the Malaysian public sector, with one department per organisation. Data collection was conducted between October 2022 and January 2023, adhering to the requirements of a multilevel study as outlined by Maas and Hox (Reference Maas and Hox2005), which necessitates a minimum of 30 groups and 5 group sizes for robust analysis. This timeframe was selected to maintain the integrity and validity of the data-collection process within the specified parameters. Furthermore, Maas and Hox (2005) describe multilevel research that examines how individuals interact within their social context, how their social group or organisation influences them, and how a group is affected by its members. A common challenge in multilevel research is the disparity in the sample size between the individual and team levels. Three conditions – number of groups, group size, and intraclass correlation (ICC) – are typically used to define multilevel studies, with variations such as number of groups = 30, 50, 100; group size = 5, 30, 50; and ICC = 0.1,0.2, 0.3.
The public sector’s proactive stance in promoting low-carbon behaviour, esteemed above the private sector (Blok, Wesselink, Studynka, & Kemp, Reference Blok, Wesselink, Studynka and Kemp2015), inspired our decision to select it as our research sample. Therefore, we adopted purposive sampling to target Malaysian public servants. This sampling was chosen based on prior findings indicating low response rates and cost inefficiencies associated with simple random sampling for such designs(Snijders & Bosker, Reference Snijders and Bosker2012). By focusing on this approach, we aimed to ensure a more targeted and effective investigation into the behaviours and attitudes of public servants regarding sustainability initiatives.
We approached Directors in the Management Services Divisions in each public sector to undertake research in their organisations using a combination of snowball approaches and professional connections. Thirty-seven of the fifty-five organisations notified (with a response rate of 67%) agreed to participate. In general, the majority of participants in the current study were male (77.6%), aged between 31 and 40 years (46.7%), Malay (90.7%), had a range of educational backgrounds (secondary school 59%; diploma, 7.9%; bachelor’s degree, 18.2%; master’s degree, 15%), and had a total work experience of 1–10 years (68.1%), 11–20 years (23.3%), 21–30 years (7.9%), and more than 30 years (0.7%).
Measures
The initial construction of each item in this study was conducted in English. Following the common back-translation method (Brislin, Reference Brislin1970), we developed Malay versions of all items. The first translator translated the original English version into Malay. This version was then translated back into English by a second translator who was not seen in the original version to ensure that the meanings of the words were the same. The two translators are Malaysian citizens who speak both Malay and English fluently, and their expertise is in management.
Ethical climate
Ethical climate was assessed using 14 items designed by Victor and Cullen (Reference Victor and Cullen1988). The phrases ‘The most important concern is the good of all the employees in the organisation as a whole’ and ‘In this organisation, employees are expected to comply with the law and professional standards over and above other considerations’ are examples of a statement. For this scale, the Cronbach’s α ranges between 0.50 and 0.81.
Environmental passion
Robertson and Barling (Reference Robertson and Barling2013) established 10 items, which were to develop the environmental passion in this study. An example statement is ‘I am passionate about the environment’, and ‘I passionately encourage others to be more environmentally responsible’. This scale has a Cronbach’s α of .87.
Green mindfulness
The six items created by Williams and Seaman (Reference Williams and Seaman2010) were used to measure green mindfulness. ‘I feel free to discuss environmental issues and problems’ and ‘I am encouraged to express different views with respect to environmental issues and problems’, which are the statements for this measure. The degree of reliability for green mindfulness was .93.
Low-carbon behaviour
A 5-item scale was used to assess low-carbon behaviour (Bai & Liu, Reference Bai and Liu2013). ‘I encourage family and friends to save energy and resources’ and ‘I encourage discuss low-carbon issues with my family and friends’, are the sample items for this measure. The reliability for the scale was .81.
All the aforementioned items were scored on a scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).
Control variables
We considered age, gender, and overall work experience in our analysis because these factors could influence low-carbon behaviour.
Aggregation procedures
We evaluated the evidence for inter-rater agreement within groups to determine whether the ethical climate was appropriate for aggregation. To determine an appropriate level of agreement within the organisation, we used the mean r wg and a value of >0.90 was considered appropriate (LeBreton & Senter, Reference LeBreton and Senter2008; Mathieu, Maynard, Taylor, Gilson, & Ruddy, Reference Mathieu, Maynard, Taylor, Gilson and Ruddy2007). We discovered a significant F value using one-way random effects ANOVA, F (III) = 1.78, p < .01. This provides more evidence that there are differences between organisations in terms of ethical climate. The ICC (1) intraclass coefficient, which measures the variance in ethical climate between groups, was 0.07, demonstrating that 7% of the variance in ethical climate might be attributed to random team effects. Based on previous studies, between-group variation is sufficient for exploration at ICC values between 0.05 and 0.20(Bliese, Reference Bliese, Klein and Kozlowski2000; Peugh, Reference Peugh2010). It is preferable to aggregate ethical climate measures to the organisational level using the mean r wg, F-value, and ICC (1) values.
Hypothesis testing
We used hierarchical linear modelling (HLM version 7) to evaluate all the hypotheses because the data for this study are multilevel (individuals are nested inside teams) (Raudenbush, Bryk, Cheong, Congdon, & Du Toit, Reference Raudenbush, Bryk, Cheong, Congdon and Du Toit2011). First, we tested the null model to confirm the degree of group variance in the measurements for the mediator and moderator (Model 1, Tables 2 and 3). We explored Level 2, representing aggregate team data, and Level 1, representing individual data. We followed the steps suggested by Mathieu and Taylor (Reference Mathieu and Taylor2007) to investigate the hypothesis of the cross-level effects from Level 2 (team) to Level 1 (individual). First, we tested Hypothesis 1, which states that an ethical climate is associated with low-carbon behaviour. We regressed lower-level low-carbon behaviour onto upper-level ethical climate using the following equation:
\begin{equation*}{\text{Low}} - \text{carbon behaviour} = {\beta _{\text{0}}}{\text{ + r}}\end{equation*}
\begin{equation*}{\beta _0} = {\Upsilon _{00}} + {\Upsilon _{01}}\left( \text{Ethical climate} \right){\text{ }} + {u_0}\end{equation*}We tested Hypothesis 2 by asserting that ethical climate is related to environmental passion by regressing lower-level environmental passion on upper-level ethical climate, using the following equation:
\begin{equation*}\text{Environmental passion} = {\beta _0} + {\text{ }}r\end{equation*}
\begin{equation*}{\beta _0} = {\Upsilon _{00}} + {\Upsilon _{01}}\left( \text{Ethical climate} \right){\text{ }} + {u_0}\end{equation*}For the lower-level direct effect (Hypothesis 3), we tested environmental passion in relation to low-carbon behaviour, using the following HLM equation:
Low-carbon behaviour = β0 + β1(Environmental passion) + r
\begin{equation*}{\beta _0} = {\Upsilon _{00}} + {\text{ }}{u_0}\end{equation*}
\begin{equation*}{\beta _0} = {\Upsilon _{01}} + {\text{ }}{u_0}\end{equation*}To evaluate the mediation effect (Hypothesis 4), each component of the mediation path is used to estimate path a (X → M) (as indicated above). Then, the following equation was used to estimate M → Y, controlling for X (path b):
\begin{equation*}\text{Low} - \text{carbon behaviour} = {\beta _0} + {\beta _1}\left( \text{Environmental passion} \right){\text{ }} + {\text{ }}r\end{equation*}
\begin{equation*}{\beta _0} = {\gamma _{00}} + {\gamma _{01}}\left( \text{Ethical climate} \right){\text{ }} + {\text{ }}{u_0}\end{equation*}
\begin{equation*}{\beta _1} = {\gamma _{10}} + {\text{ }}{u_1}\end{equation*}The Monte Carlo Method was used to formally assess the significance of mediation while considering paths a and b, as suggested in Hypothesis 4. According to MacKinnon, Lockwood, and Williams (Reference MacKinnon, Lockwood and Williams2004), Monte Carlo Method is appropriate for assessing mediation effectiveness in a multilevel model. We used a Monte Carlo Method with a 95% confidence interval and 20,000 replications, reporting the lower and upper levels.
Finally, we examined the moderating effect (Hypothesis 5) by implementing the procedures provided by Dawson (Reference Dawson2014) and computing the interaction variables using standardisation variables. Then, we plotted the interaction effects using the worksheet available at http://www.jeremydawson.co.uk/slopes.htm. We entered the coefficient values for the independent, moderator and product terms.
We present multilevel outcomes in accordance with the suggestions of Aguinis, Gottfredson, and Culpepper (Reference Aguinis, Gottfredson and Culpepper2013). The report included the intercept value (γ00), the within-team Level 1 variance level (σ2), the intercept Level 2 variance (τ00), the – 2 log likelihood (full information maximum likelihood estimation), the number of estimated parameters, and pseudo (R 2) value.
Results
Descriptive statistics
The mean, standard deviation, internal consistency, reliability (α), and correlations between the variables are summarised in Table 1. At the individual level, the reliability of the variables in the current study ranged from 0.85 to 0.91. These results showed that the reliability scale is very good for each measure.
Table 1. Means, standard deviations, Cronbach’s α and correlations (n = 407)
*** p < .001;**p < .01; *p < .05.
Hypothesis testing
We suggest that Hypothesis 1, ethical climate (Level 2), and low-carbon behaviour (Level 1) have positive relationships. However, we discovered that ethical climate does not significantly influence low-carbon behaviour (γ = 0.002, SE = 0.19, p = not significant) (Model 3, Table 2). This demonstrates that ethical climate does not significantly influence between-group variation in low-carbon behaviour.
Table 2. Multilevel analysis predicting low carbon behaviour
*p < .001; values in parentheses are standard errors (SEs).
We anticipated that ethical climate would have a significant cross-level effect on environmental passion (Hypothesis 2), which was confirmed. Ethical climate was found to have a significant positive effect on environmental passion (g = 0.39, SE = 0.14, p < .01) (Model 2, Table 3). Therefore, the variances in environmental passion between groups were considerably influenced by the ethical climate.
Table 3. Multilevel analysis predicting environmental passion
*p < .01; p < .001; values in parentheses are standard errors (SEs).
Hypothesis 3 proposes that environmental passion has a positive relationship with low-carbon behaviour. The current results demonstrate a significant and positive relationship between environmental passion and low-carbon behaviour (β = 0.58, SE = 0.06, p < .001) (Model 2, Table 2), which supports this hypothesis.
We predicted that ethical climate would be related to low-carbon behaviour through environmental passion for mediation hypothesis 4. The parameter estimate for path a of the relationship between ethical climate and environmental passion is γ = 0.39, SE = 0.14, p > .01 (Model 2, Table 3), whereas for path b, the relationship between environmental passion and low-carbon behaviour, with ethical climate is β = 0.58, SE = 0.06, p > .001 (Model 3, Table 2). Ethical climate has a significant effect on low-carbon behaviour through environmental passion, indicating that this hypothesis was supported. This was demonstrated through the 95% confidence interval [0.06, 0.40], where the relationship was significant if the confidence interval did not contain zero.
Finally, we proposed Hypothesis 5, which suggests that green mindfulness moderates the relationship between environmental passion and low-carbon behaviour. For this hypothesis, we found a significant interaction effect (β = 0.09; SE = 0.05; p > .10) (see Fig. 2), which was supported. Figure 3 depicts the final model, which includes direct, mediation, and moderation directions.
Figure 2. Interaction Effect of Green Mindfulness on the Relationship between Environmental Passion and Low-Carbon Behaviour.
Figure 3. Final Model.
Discussion
This study developed a multilevel model based on social cognitive theory to explain how ethical climate and low-carbon behaviour interact. We examined how the ethical climate in an organisation influences employees’ tendency towards low-carbon behaviour in addressing environmental issues through environmental passion and green mindfulness. The data were collected using self-administered questionnaires. Finally, the data analysis findings support most of the hypotheses. Hence, we present confirmation that the ethical climate is unrelated to low-carbon behaviour among employees. This finding contradicts that of Tsai and Huang (Reference Tsai and Huang2008), who found that ethical climate is closely related to low-carbon behaviour. However, we found that environmental passion acts as a bridge between ethical climate and low-carbon behaviour. This finding illustrates that while organisational ethical climate alone may not enhance employees’ low-carbon behaviour; employees with robust environmental passion can influence the ethical climate to promote low-carbon behaviour, aligning with previous research (Yin et al., Reference Yin, Ma, Gong, Chen and Zhang2021). Moreover, the findings show that green mindfulness effectively moderates the indirect effect of environmental passion on low-carbon behaviour. The findings indicate that employees with a heightened sense of green mindfulness are more prone to experiencing the impact of environmental passion on low-carbon behaviour. Individuals who maintain a high level of mindfulness regarding the importance of environmental well-being can influence their environmental behaviour (Dharmesti et al., Reference Dharmesti, Merrilees and Winata2020). In summary, the results of this study have intriguing theoretical and practical implications.
Theoretical implications
This study has several implications. We built a research model to confirm the beneficial impact of ethical climate in the workplace on employees’ environmental passion and how employees’ environmental passion increased their low-carbon behaviour. Previous research has demonstrated that adhering to the environmental laws found in an ethical climate encourages employees to be more passionate about the environment (Valentine et al., Reference Valentine, Godkin, Fleischman, Kidwell and Page2011). Indeed, earlier studies (Yin et al., Reference Yin, Ma, Gong, Chen and Zhang2021) demonstrated that environmental passion is a comprehensive construct that encourages low-carbon behaviour. However, there is a gap in the literature on ethical climate that addresses novelties in the relationship between ethical climate and employees’ environmental passion in the workplace, which ultimately increases their low-carbon behaviour. This study adds to the body of knowledge on ethical climate by demonstrating that there is an important relationship between ethical climate, environmental passion, and low-carbon behaviour.
Second, we contribute to the literature on low-carbon behaviour by demonstrating how employees’ environmental passion can serve as a useful mediator between an ethical climate and low-carbon behaviour. Employees are passionate about acting in a low-carbon behaviour when they exhibit positive emotions or show that they like the organisation’s stance on ethical issues related to reducing carbon emissions (Robertson & Barling, Reference Robertson and Barling2013; Victor & Cullen, Reference Victor and Cullen1988). Environmental passion is variable at an individual level and is related to promoting low-carbon behaviour. We believe that environmental passion can provide fresh explanations for the function and effects of ethical climate on low-carbon behaviour. Organisations that foster an ethical climate by demonstrating conditions that reduce environmental issues and encourage ethical decision-making will encourage employees to adhere to and accept these conditions (Martin & Cullen, Reference Martin and Cullen2006; Valentine et al., Reference Valentine, Godkin, Fleischman, Kidwell and Page2011). Therefore, employees who comply will promote high environmental passion. Employees are motivated and inspired to engage in environmental practices when they exhibit low-carbon behaviour (Akhshik et al., Reference Akhshik, Ozturen and Rezapouraghdam2021). In light of this, we believe that our research contributes to a better understanding of how environmental passion affects ethical climate and low-carbon behaviour.
Our study also found that green mindfulness can serve as a beneficial moderator between environmental passion and low-carbon behaviour. In other words, employees’ environmental passion may have a greater impact on their low-carbon behaviour when they have high green mindfulness. Despite the important roles of environmental passion and green mindfulness (Amemiya & Sakairi, Reference Amemiya and Sakairi2019; St-Louis et al., Reference St-Louis, Verner-Filion, Bergeron and Vallerand2018) and environmental passion and low-carbon behaviour (Panno et al., Reference Panno, Giacomantonio, Carrus, Maricchiolo, Pirchio and Mannetti2018; Yin et al., Reference Yin, Ma, Gong, Chen and Zhang2021) in previous studies, our research used green mindfulness as a moderator to strengthen evidence of the relationship between environmental passion and low-carbon behaviour. We demonstrated that employees with a high level of green mindfulness are fascinated and driven to engage in environmental activities in their jobs. Because they care deeply about the environment, they will behave in a low-carbon manner. By contrast, employees’ environmental passion does not have a greater impact on their low-carbon behaviour when they have low green mindfulness. Therefore, environmental passion has almost never been associated with low-carbon behaviour if employees have lower levels of green mindfulness.
Practical implications
In terms of practical implications, encouraging employees to adopt low-carbon behaviour is an essential strategy to help organisations address environmental issues. Our research offers some recommendations for how organisations can more successfully encourage employees to adopt low-carbon behaviour practices. First, we discovered that an ethical climate can boost employees’ environmental passion, which in turn increases their low-carbon behaviour. To maximise the effectiveness of an ethical climate, organisations should focus on the application of employees’ environmental passion. In response, our research offers several recommendations. Organisations should set high ethical standards so that they can recognise and promote an ethical climate related to the environment. This is important because employees often imitate behaviour within the organisation.
Additionally, organisations need to implement environmental development strategies to be conscious of potential environmental ethics problems in the future. By doing this, employees are expected to be able to increase their passion for the environment (Wood, Eid & Agag, Reference Wood, Eid and Agag2021). Second, organisations must strive to foster low-carbon behaviour among their employees and promote a culture of environmental development by giving them opportunities to engage in environmental activities. It is beneficial to increase employees’ environmental passion and green mindfulness of the value of environmental protection for employees to engage in low-carbon behaviour.
Furthermore, our findings demonstrate that employees with high green mindfulness have a significant impact on their environmental passion for low-carbon behaviour. We suggest that organisations should organise training programmes related to environmental conservation to educate employees about the environment. Environmental training should be provided to employees to increase their awareness about the importance of promoting low-carbon behaviour and to develop their skills to instil a high level of passion for environmental protection.
This study has significant implications in various sectors. For the industry, implementing policies and initiatives to curb climate change within the public sector underscores the importance of fostering low-carbon behaviour among employees. Such measures not only contribute to environmental preservation but also catalyse societal change. From the government’s perspective, these findings emphasise the necessity of formulating and implementing climate change prevention programmes to mitigate carbon emissions. These initiatives can extend beyond the workplace, empowering employees to advocate sustainable practices in their communities. Additionally, this prompted academia to delve deeper into this area of research, exploring the effectiveness of low-carbon behaviour in addressing climate change and utilising the latest data for more comprehensive insights. It also encourages exploring the impact of society by explaining its potential to improve quality of life, promote social cohesion, and build a more resilient and equitable society for current and future generations. Ultimately, the implications extend beyond individual sectors, highlighting the interconnectedness between environmental sustainability and societal well-being.
Limitations and directions for future research
This study has some limitations. First, we applied a self-assessment questionnaire that might have exposed the research to a common method bias (Podsakoff, MacKenzie, Lee, & Podsakoff, Reference Podsakoff, MacKenzie, Lee and Podsakoff2003; Podsakoff & Organ, Reference Podsakoff and Organ1986). However, our study used multilevel data, that is, aggregating data and evaluating within-group variance, to examine the impact of ethical climate on low-carbon behaviour. Consequently, this model can reduce the potential flaws in the common method bias.
Second, the cross-sectional design of our research limits the conclusions that can be drawn or patterns that result from causality. Cross-sectional studies are unable to predict the causal effects of variables and cannot provide highly accurate relationships between variables. Future studies in this field are advised to conduct longitudinal studies to better comprehend the mediating pathways in this study.
Additionally, the generalisability of the findings is somewhat limited because this research was only conducted in the public sector. Future studies could investigate how ethical climate affects employees’ low-carbon employees through environmental passion and green mindfulness in other sectors, which have diverse work cultures and different perspectives on environmental issues.
Given the lack of research on the mechanisms we use in low-carbon behaviour studies, future researchers can explore the paradox of how ethical climate influences low-carbon behaviour. It has been demonstrated that the relationship between ethical climate and low-carbon behaviour can be mediated by environmental passion. Therefore, it is important to consider other psychological factors (e.g., green self-efficacy) as mediating factors.
The limitation of this study is that the data collected cover only the period from 2022 to 2023, which may limit the reliability of our findings on current carbon emission issues, as the data do not fully capture recent developments or changes in environmental policies and practices. However, we plan to conduct a follow-up study using data collected in 2024 to investigate the latest trends and issues surrounding carbon emissions. By incorporating more recent data, we aim to provide a more accurate and up-to-date analysis, thus enhancing the reliability and relevance of our research findings.
Conclusions
In conclusion, this research expands our understanding of why, how, and when ethical climates affect employees’ low-carbon behaviour by examining the mediating role of environmental passion and the boundaries of green mindfulness in practice. Based on the social cognitive theory, we found that an ethical climate has a positive impact on employees’ environmental passion, including their environmental passion towards low-carbon behaviour. Environmental passion plays a crucial mediating role between an ethical climate and low-carbon behaviour, and an ethical climate at the organisational level fosters employees’ low-carbon behaviour by igniting their passion for the environment. Additionally, we discovered that green mindfulness has a moderating role that strengthens the positive influence of environmental passion on low-carbon behaviour. Our research contributes to the literature on the antecedents of low-carbon behaviour and provides individual and contextual variables that may impact low-carbon behaviour. The findings may serve as useful guidance for organisations seeking to address environmental issues in the organisation. Given the limitations of our findings, we encourage future research to expand the scope of data collection and test the relevant individual and contextual variables related to low-carbon behaviour.
Acknowledgements
Appreciation is extended to the Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) and the University of Malaya Research Ethics Center (UMREC) for granting permission to conduct this research. This research was funded by the Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education, under Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS) [Project number: FP081-2020]. This research was approved by the University Malaya Research Ethics Committee (UMREC), Malaysia [UM.TNC2/UMREC_1370].
Conflict(s) of interest
The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.
Data availability statement
The data sets generated during and/or analyses during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Kamil, N.L.M, is a Senior Lecturer in Human Resource Management and Organizational Behavior, Department of Science Politics, Public Administration, and Development Studies, Faculty of Business and Economics, Universiti Malaya, Malaysia. Currently, she is a Visiting Fellow (Postdoctoral) at the London School of Economics and Political Sciences, United Kingdom. Her research interests are mainly in leadership, work engagement, organisational climate, employees’ well-being, and work performance. She teaches both postgraduate and undergraduate students and supervises MPA and PhD students in the related field. Her most recent publications have appeared in various Scopus and WOS journals.
Nordin, W.N.A.W. is a PhD candidate and Graduate Research Assistant at the Faculty of Business and Economics, Universiti Malaya, Malaysia. She received a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Malaya in 2020. Her current research interests include innovative work behaviour and organisational citizenship behaviour in the public sector.
