Green Human Resource Management (GHRM) Practices and Environmental Sustainability in North African Public Sector

This study examined the influence of Green Human Resource Management (GHRM) practices on environmental sustainability outcomes within the North African public sector, focusing on Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya. Grounded in the Ability–Motivation–Opportunity (AMO) theoretical framework, the research explored how green recruitment and selection, green training and development, and green performance management contribute to employees' pro-environmental behaviour and institutional sustainability performance. A quantitative survey design was adopted, involving 600 public sector employees across five North African countries. Data were collected through structured questionnaires and analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and multiple regression analysis. The findings revealed that the overall implementation of GHRM practices in the North African public sector is moderate (M = 3.10), with green training and development showing the highest adoption rate. A significant and positive correlation (r = 0.53, p < 0.001) was found between GHRM practices and employees' pro-environmental behaviour, while regression analysis confirmed that GHRM significantly predicts environmental sustainability outcomes (R² = 0.39, p < 0.001). These results provide empirical evidence that green HRM practices play a pivotal role in promoting environmental awareness, reducing ecological footprints, and institutionalising sustainability values within the civil service. The findings affirm that green recruitment fosters environmentally conscious hiring, green training enhances employees' ecological competence, and green performance management drives sustainable organisational outcomes. Theoretically, the study reinforces the relevance of the AMO framework in explaining how employees' environmental abilities, motivation, and opportunities collectively influence sustainability outcomes. Practically, the study underscores the need for North African governments to institutionalise GHRM policies, embed environmental competencies in civil service recruitment, provide continuous green training, and integrate sustainability indicators into performance management systems. The study concludes that mainstreaming GHRM in the public service will significantly enhance the region's contribution to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the African Union's Agenda 2063 on sustainable governance. Future research is recommended to explore the mediating role of organisational culture and leadership support in strengthening the GHRM–sustainability nexus in African public administration.