Role of Individual Environmental Consciousness in Industrial Decarbonization Transition

Abstract

Decarbonization leads to significant transition processes in industrial companies with the aim of achieving sustainable production. The consequences are far-reaching and can affect, among other things, the workplace and the activities of the employees. The readiness for change among employees is seen as a central success factor for the success of the transition to sustainable production. However, it has been unclear to what extent the environmental consciousness of individual employees influences how open employees are to this transition. A total of 427 employees from a company in the steel industry, currently undergoing a transition aimed at sustainable production, were surveyed. It was found that affective environmental consciousness influences the stages of the Transtheoretical Model in which employees find themselves regarding the company’s transition. The results emphasize, among other things, the importance of encouraging individual environmental consciousness in decarbonization transitions for the successful management of these transitions.