Org & Env Scales

Finding appropriate measures is a crucial step in research and it is also a challenging one. There is an abundance of psychological measures about various theoretical concepts that relate to organization’s and the environment.

Our team has compiled a list of measure that relate to Organizational and Workplace Sustainability and the Environment and are happy to share here to help other researchers.

Have a measure that might be useful but isn’t listed? Send it to us at astuhlma@depaul.edu.

Organizational Level Environmental Measures

Internal Sustainability Orientation

The 5-item measure was adapted from Banarjee et al (2003). Items such as, “At my organization, we make a concerted effort to let every employee understand the importance of sustainability.”, are rated on 5-point scale (1: “Strongly Disagree” to 5: “Strongly Agree”).

Source: Pellegrini, C., Rizzi, F., & Frey, M. (2018). The role of sustainable human resource practices in influencing employareee behavior for corporate sustainability. Business Strategy and the Environment, 27(8), 1221–1232.

Green Psychological Climate

The 5-item measure was adapted from Norton et al (2014). Items such as, “Is worried about its environmental impact”, are rated on 5-point scale (1: “Strongly Disagree” to 5: “Strongly Agree”).

Source: Norton, T. A., Zacher, H., & Ashkanasy, N. M. (2014). Organisational sustainability policies and employee green behaviour: The mediating role of work climate perceptions. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 38, 49-54.

Corporate Environmental Strategy

The 13-item measure was adapted from Ramus & Steger (2000). Items such as, “My company publishes an environmental policy.”, are rated on 5-point scale (2:“Strongly Agree”, 1: “Partially Agree”, 0: “Don’t Know”, -1: “Partially Disagree”, -2: “Strongly Disagree”).

Source: Ramus, C. A., & Steger, U. (2000). The roles of supervisory support behaviors and environmental policy in employee “ecoinitiatives” at leading-edge European companies. Academy of Management Journal, 43, 605–626.

Internal Environmental Orientation

The 4-item measure was adapted from Banarjee et al (2003). Items such as, “At our firm, we make a concerted effort to let every employee understand the importance of environmental preservation.”, are rated on 7-point scale (1: “Strongly Disagree” to 7: “Strongly Agree”).

Source: Banerjee, S. B., Iyer, E. S., & Kashyap, R. K. (2003). Corporate environmentalism: Antecedents and influence of industry type. Journal of marketing, 67(2), 106-122.

Environmental Development

The 10-item measure was adapted from Chow & Chen (2012). Items such as, “Our firm reduced energy consumption.”, are rated on 7-point scale (1: “a small extent” to 5: “a larger extent”).

Source: Chow, W. S., & Chen, Y. (2012). Corporate sustainable development: Testing a new scale based on the mainland Chinese context. Journal of Business Ethics, 105, 519-533.

Organizational Citizenship Behavior for the Environment

The 10-item measure was adapted from Boiral & Paille (2012). The scale has 3 latent dimensions: Eco-Initiatives, Eco-Civic Engagement, and Eco-Helping. Items such as, “In my work, I weigh the consequences of my actions before doing something that could affect the environment.”, are rated on 5-point scale (1: “Completely Disagree” to 5: “Completely Agree”).

Source: Boiral, O., & Paillé, P. (2012). Organizational citizenship behaviour for the environment: Measurement and validation. Journal of Business Ethics, 109, 431-445.

Green HRM

The 6-item measure was adapted from Dumont et al (2017). Items such as, “My company sets green goals for its employees.”, are rated on 5-point scale (1: “Not at all” to 5: “Very Much”).

Source: Dumont, J., Shen, J., & Deng, X. (2017). Effects of green HRM practices on employee workplace green behavior: The role of psychological green climate and employee green values. Human Resource Management, 56(4), 613-627.

Environmental Innovation Practices

The 31-item measure was adapted from Li (2013). The scale has 9 latent dimensions: command-and-control instrument, economic incentive instrument, overseas customer pressure, domestic customer pressure, competitive pressure, environmental innovation practices, resource commitment, environmental performance, and financial performance. Items such as, “Our products should meet the requirements of national environmental regulations.”, are rated on 5-point scale (1: “Strongly Disagree” to 5: “Strongly Agree”).

Source: Li, Y. (2014). Environmental innovation practices and performance: moderating effect of resource commitment. Journal of Cleaner Production, 66, 450-458.

C4C Scale and C4C Global

There are two scales for C4C:

C4C Global is a 36-item measure that was adapted from Stern (2000). The scale measures 10 facets: pro environmental events, policies, procedures, rewards, technology, advertising, leadership expectations, laws and regulations, support, and practices. Items such as, “My organization holds events that address our impact on the environment.”, are rated on 5-point scale (1: “Strongly Disagree” to 5: “Strongly Agree”).

C4C Scale is a 7-item measure that was adapted from Schneider et al (1998). Items such as, “Employees have the necessary job knowledge and skills to carry out organizational environmental objectives.“, are rated on 5-point scale (1: “Strongly Disagree” to 5: “Strongly Agree”).

Source: Magill, M. S., Yost, P. R., Chighizola, B., & Stark, A. (2020). Organizational climate for climate sustainability. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 72(3), 198.

Leadership

Leader’s Environmental’s Descriptive Norms

The 8-item measure was adapted from Robertson & Barling (2013). Items such as, “Do your family members and/or friends endorse environmentally friendly programs?”, are rated on an either “Yes” or “No”.

Source: Robertson, J. L., & Barling, J. (2013). Greening organizations through leaders’ influence on employees’ pro‐environmental behaviors. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 34(2), 176-194.

Environmentally-Specific Transformational Leadership

The 7-item measure was adapted from the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire developed by Avolio & Bass (1995). Items are rated on 4-point scale (0: “Not at all” to 5: “Frequently if not always”).

Org/HR Support

Supervisory Support

The 38-item measure was adapted from Ramus (2001). Items such as, “My immediate supervisor makes sure that employees develop sustainability skills.”, are rated on 5-point scale (1: “Strongly Disagree” to 5: “Strongly Agree”).

Source: Ramus, C. A. (2001). Organizational support for employees: Encouraging creative ideas for environmental sustainability. California management review, 43(3), 85-105.

Sustainability Training

The 3-item measure was adapted from Pellegrini et al (2018). Items such as, “Every employee in my organization receives personal skills training that enhances his/her ability to deliver high‐quality customer experience related to green products and sustainability initiatives.”, are rated on 5-point scale (1: “Strongly Disagree” to 5: “Strongly Agree”).

Source: Pellegrini, C., Rizzi, F., & Frey, M. (2018). The role of sustainable human resource practices in influencing employee behavior for corporate sustainability. Business Strategy and the Environment, 27(8), 1221-1232.

Affective Commitment to Sustainability

The 3-item measure was adapted from Pellegrini et al (2018). Items such as, “I believe in the value of sustain- ability management for the organization.”, are rated on 5-point scale (1: “Strongly Disagree” to 5: “Strongly Agree”).

Personal Perception

Personal Environmental Beliefs

The 5-item measure was adapted from the original New Ecological Paradigm (Dunlap et al., 1992). Items such as, “The so-called ‘ecological crisis’ facing humankind has been greatly exaggerated”, are rated on 5-point scale (1: “Strongly Disagree” to 5: “Strongly Agree”).

Source: Andersson, L., Shivarajan, S., & Blau, G. (2005). Enacting ecological sustainability in the MNC: A test of an adapted value-belief-norm framework. Journal of Business Ethics, 59, 295-305.

New Ecological Paradigm

The 15-item measure was adapted from Dunlap et al., 2000. Items such as, “We are approaching the limit of the number of people the Earth can support.”, are rated on 5-point scale (1: “Strongly Disagree” to 5: “Strongly Agree”).

Source: Dunlap, R. E., Van Liere, K. D., Mertig, A. G., & Jones, R. E. (2000). Measuring endorsement of the New Ecological Paradigm: A revised NEP scale. Journal of Social Issues, 56(3), 425–442.

Harmonious Passion for the Environment

The 10-item measure was adapted from Robertson & Barling (2013). Items such as, “I enjoy practicing environmentally friendly behaviors”, are rated on 5-point scale (1: “Strongly Disagree” to 5: “Strongly Agree”).

Implicit Cognitive Theory Incremental View of Self

The 5-item measure was adapted from Dweck (2000). Items such as, “I can substantially modify my sustainability-related behaviors.”, are rated on 5-point scale (1: “Strongly Disagree” to 5: “Strongly Agree”).

Source: Schutte, N. S., & Bhullar, N. (2017). Approaching environmental sustainability: Perceptions of self-efficacy and changeability. The Journal of Psychology, 151(3), 321-333.

Self-Efficacy for Environmentally sustainable Behavior

The 10-item measure was adapted from Bandura (2006). Items about participants’ self-efficacy for behaviors relating to environmental sustainability, are rated on 100-point scale (0: “not confident at all” to 5: “very confident”).

Source: Schutte, N. S., & Bhullar, N. (2017). Approaching environmental sustainability: Perceptions of self-efficacy and changeability. The Journal of Psychology, 151(3), 321-333

Climate Change Perception

The 13-item measure was adapted from Van Valkengoed et al (2021). The scale has 5 dimensions: reality, causes, valence of consequences, spatial distance, and temporal distance. Items such as, “I can substantially modify my sustainability-related behaviors.”, are rated on 7-point scale (0: “Strongly Disagree” to 5: “Strongly Agree”).

Source: Van Valkengoed, A. M., Steg, L., & Perlaviciute, G. (2021). Development and validation of a climate change perceptions scale. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 76, 101652.

Perceived Expert consensus

The 2-item measure was adapted from Imundo and Rapp (2022). Items such as, “There is a clear consensus in the scientific community as to whether or not global warming is occurring”, are rated on 7-point scale (1: “Strongly Disagree” to 7: “Strongly Agree”).

Source: Imundo, M. N., & Rapp, D. N. (2022). When fairness is flawed: Effects of false balance reporting and weight-of-evidence statements on beliefs and perceptions of climate change. Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 11(2), 258.

Global Warming Beliefs

The 8-item measure was adapted from Imundo and Rapp (2022). Items such as, “I am concerned about global warming”, are rated on 7-point scale (1: “Strongly Disagree” to 7: “Strongly Agree”).

Behavioral Intentions

The 2-item measure was adapted from Imundo and Rapp (2022). Items such as, “I am concerned about global warming”, are rated on 7-point scale (1: “Unlikely/Undecided” to 7: “Likely/Decided”).

Source: Odou, P., & Schill, M. (2020). How anticipated emotions shape behavioral intentions to fight climate change. Journal of Business Research, 121, 243-253.

Environmental Attitudes Inventory

The 72-item measure was adapted from Milfont et al (2010). There are two dimensions measured in this scale: Preservation and Utilization. Items such as, “I do not believe that the environment has been severely abused by humans.”, are rated on 7-point scale (1: “Strongly Disagree” to 7: “Strongly Agree”).

Source: Milfont, T. L., Duckitt, J., & Wagner, C. (2010). A cross‐cultural test of the value–attitude–behavior hierarchy. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 40(11), 2791-2813.

Green Attitude- Preservation

The 15-item measure was adapted from Milfont and Duckitt (2006). Items such as, “I really like going on trips to the countryside, for example to forests or fields.”, are rated on 7-point scale (1: “Strongly Disagree” to 7: “Strongly Agree”).

Source: Milfont, T. L., Duckitt, J., & Cameron, L. D. (2006). A cross-cultural study of environmental motive concerns and their implications for proenvironmental behavior. Environment and Behavior, 38(6), 745–767. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013916505285933

Green Subjective Norms

The 8-item measure was adapted from Mancha and Yoder (2015). Items such as, “Most people who are important to me think I should protect the environment.”, are rated on 7-point scale (1: “Strongly Disagree” to 7: “Strongly Agree”).

Source: Mancha, R. M., & Yoder, C. Y. (2015). Cultural antecedents of green behavioral intent: An environmental theory of planned behavior. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 43, 145-154.

Green Perceived Behavioral Control

The 10-item measure was adapted from Mancha and Yoder (2015). Items such as, “I find it easy to be friendly with the environment.”, are rated on 4-point scale (1: “not at all” to 4: “exactly true”).

Source: Mancha, R. M., & Yoder, C. Y. (2015). Cultural antecedents of green behavioral intent: An environmental theory of planned behavior. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 43, 145-154.

Green Behavioral Intentions

The 3-item measure was adapted from Mancha and Yoder (2015). Items such as, “I intend to engage in environmentally friendly behavior in the forthcoming month.”, are rated on 7-point scale (1: “Extremely Unlikely” to 7: “Extremely Likely”).

Source: Mancha, R. M., & Yoder, C. Y. (2015). Cultural antecedents of green behavioral intent: An environmental theory of planned behavior. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 43, 145-154.

Self-Reported Behaviors

In-Role and Extra-Role Sustainable Behavior

The 8-item measure was adapted from Bettencourt and Brown (1997). There were 5 in-role sustainable behavior items and 3 items measuring extra-role sustainable behavior. Items such as, “I fulfill responsibilities to customers as specified in my job description in relation to green products and sustainability initiatives.”, are rated on 5-point scale (1: “Strongly Disagree” to 5: “Strongly Agree”).

Sustainability Support Behavior

The 30-item measure was adapted from Ramus and Steger (2000). The scale represent six types of sustainability support behaviors: environmental innovation, environmental competence building, environmental communication, environmental information dissemination, environmental rewards/recognition and environmental management goals/responsibilities. Items such as, “I refuse to commit resources and employee time for training and education in environmental issues.”, are rated on 5-point scale (1: “Strongly Disagree” to 5: “Strongly Agree”).

Employee Goal Behavior (EGB) & Goal Commitment

The EGB was in context of the Eco Card program, which had 3 categories: green, silver, and gold (Davis et al., 2020). The participation in the program was measured on 4 levels: 0- “not participating in the program”, 1- “working toward green status “, 2- “achieved green status”, and 3- “achieved silver status and working toward gold status”.

Goal commitment is a 2-item scale that was adapted from Latham et al (1982). Items such as, “Completing different [eco card] levels (green, silver, gold) is a goal I have.“, are rated on a 5-point scale (1: “not at all” to 5: “a great deal”).

Source: Davis, M. C., Unsworth, K. L., Russell, S. V., & Galvan, J. J. (2020). Can green behaviors really be increased for all employees? Trade‐offs for “deep greens” in a goal‐oriented green human resource management intervention. Business Strategy and the Environment, 29(2), 335-346.

The 3-item measure was adapted from Williams and Anderson (1991). Items such as, “Today I adequately completed assigned duties in environmentally-friendly ways.”, are rated on 5-point scale (1: “Never” to 5: “Always”).

Source: Bissing‐Olson, M. J., Iyer, A., Fielding, K. S., & Zacher, H. (2013). Relationships between daily affect and pro‐environmental behavior at work: The moderating role of pro‐environmental attitude. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 34(2), 156-175.

Daily Proactive Pro-Environmental Behavior

The 3-item measure was adapted from Frese et al (1997). Items such as, “Today, I took a chance to get actively involved in environmental protection at work”, are rated on 5-point scale (1: “Never” to 5: “Always”).

Workplace Pro-Environmental Behaviors

The 14-item measure was adapted from Ramus and Steger (2000), TUC Green Workplaces ( 2007), and Garling et al (2003). Items such as, “I print double-sided whenever possible.”, are rated on 5-point scale (1: “Never” to 5: “Always”).

Organizational Environmental Citizenship Behavior (Robertson & Barling, 2017)

The 13-item measure was adapted from Robertson and Barling (2017) . Items such as, “At work, I recycle whenever possible.”, are rated on 5-point scale (1: “Never” to 5: “Always”).

Source: Robertson, J. L., & Barling, J. (2017). Toward a new measure of organizational environmental citizenship behavior. Journal of Business Research, 75, 57-66.

Organizational Level Environmental Measures

Internal Sustainability Orientation

Green Psychological Climate

Corporate Environmental Strategy

Internal Environmental Orientation

Environmental Development

Organizational Citizenship Behavior for the Environment

Green HRM

Environmental Innovation Practices

C4C Scale and C4C Global

Leadership

Leader’s Environmental’s Descriptive Norms

Environmentally-Specific Transformational Leadership

Org/HR Support

Supervisory Support

Sustainability Training

Affective Commitment to Sustainability

Personal Perception

Personal Environmental Beliefs

New Ecological Paradigm

Harmonious Passion for the Environment

Implicit Cognitive Theory Incremental View of Self

Self-Efficacy for Environmentally sustainable Behavior

Climate Change Perception

Perceived Expert consensus

Global Warming Beliefs

Behavioral Intentions

Environmental Attitudes Inventory

Green Attitude- Preservation

Green Subjective Norms

Green Perceived Behavioral Control

Green Behavioral Intentions

Self-Reported Behaviors

In-Role and Extra-Role Sustainable Behavior

Sustainability Support Behavior

Employee Goal Behavior (EGB) & Goal Commitment

Daily Task-Related Pro-Environmental Behavior

Daily Proactive Pro-Environmental Behavior

Workplace Pro-Environmental Behaviors

Organizational Environmental Citizenship Behavior (Robertson & Barling, 2017)