Human Capital and Sustainable Organizations: A Review

While unsustainable business practices have increasingly led to environmental degradation, human capital stands out as a valuable asset for value creation and organizational sustainability. Sustainability argument is a current debate in world forums, management meetings, political and social arenas as well as in academics. Concerns on environmental degradation, global warming, pollution and climate change has compelled developed and developing countries to embark on training and development programs as well as green HR practices to protect the present and future generations. This paper seeks to establish the relationship between human capital and organizational sustainability in order to understand what it is, how it is, what should be done about it, and how quickly we need to act. Review of related literature indicates that human capital has a positive and significant relationship with economic and environmental sustainability in manufacturing firms. Green HR practices are also found to save money, reduce costs, lead to environmentally-friendly decisions, green talent pool, and employee retention by 61 %. ; and provides that 71 % of Americans consider environment while shopping. Thus, investing in human capital through training and development as well as integrating green HR practices will lead to organizational sustainability. Organizations should strike a balance between social, economic, and ecological objectives by practicing Triple Bottom Line as a long-term investment to preserve mother earth, meet present needs without compromising needs of the future generations.