Human Resource Development and Sustainability

Growing ecological and social sustainability concerns challenge traditional business, strategy, and HRD paradigms that focus on economic expansion through unlimited production and consumption of materials, energy, food, and water. In the twenty-first century the HRD field must respond to the ‘sustainability turn’ to focus on appropriate ways to ensure work organizations preserve rather than deplete vital natural resources, social well-being, and human rights. This chapter examines the concept of sustainability and the extent to which HRD theory, research, and practice have responded to the sustainability turn. The argument of this chapter is that a paradigmatic change and a wide-ranging reshaping of HRD assumptions, practices, and priorities is necessary in response to the sustainability turn. However, it also argues that traditional approaches to HRD constrain the ability of HRD scholars, researchers, and practitioners to respond to the sustainability turn. The chapter concludes that the sustainability turn provides HRD educators with the opportunity to lead in crafting, constructing, and delivering an HRD pedagogy to equip scholars and practitioners with tools, skills, values, and capabilities to deliver sustainable value creation and long-term values-driven engagement with social and environmental priorities.