Sustainable human resource management and social and environmental responsibility: An agenda for debate

Abstract

This paper discusses five propositions that aim to reinterpret roles in contemporary Human Resource Management (HRM) as pro-business, inclusive, focused on the long-term sustainability of organizations and individuals, and beyond the immediate interests of shareholders. The propositions place relations between people at the center of HRM. Doing so requires an ethical and plural analysis of the field as it evolves and commits to new priorities and phenomena in the area. In fact, HRM has not yet clarified its role in sustainable management, and it is still at the margins of socio-environmental responsibility strategies. The debate allows for an approach that goes beyond how companies perpetuate social and environmental issues in the world of work and in the society.