Green human resource management: a decade of evolution in practices, employee green behavior, and organizational sustainability

In response to intensifying environmental pressures and the imperative of sustainable development, Green Human Resource Management (GHRM) has become a strategic lever for organizational sustainability. This systematic review synthesizes GHRM research from 2015–2025 using a three-cluster framework: GHRM practices, employee green behavior, and organizational sustainability. Following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, it identifies, screens, and synthesizes peer-reviewed articles from Scopus and Web of Science. Distinct from prior reviews, it offers a critical synthesis that integrates multi-level theoretical perspectives, AMO theory and social exchange theory, while foregrounding paradoxes such as the tension between green motivation and employee well-being. A new conceptual model is advanced, linking GHRM inputs, mediators, and triple bottom line outcomes. The review examines GHRM across HR domains, including green recruitment, sustainability-oriented training, performance management, compensation, and employee participation. It shows how GHRM drives pro-environmental behaviors and reinforces environmental, social, and economic sustainability. Key gaps include the need for standardized measurement tools, longitudinal designs, cultural contextualization, and rigorous assessment of adverse effects arising from ineffective GHRM practices. The review extends debates on digital HRM, strategies for aligning green motivation and well-being, and challenges of greenwashing, burnout, and resistance, offering a strengthened theoretical foundation and actionable insights for researchers and practitioners.