Green human resource practices in Qatar's oil and gas sector

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) exists as a six-country economic and political alliance (Atalay, 2017). The six countries part of that alliance are Oman, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Qatar. What started in May 1981, became a means of achieving unity among the countries based on common goals and similar cultural and political identities entrenched in Islamic beliefs (Atalay, 2017). The GCC plays a part in the way environmental policy plays out in its member countries. Qatar has invested financial interest in the oil and gas sector and therefore research in this area requires an understanding of the direction in which Qatar wishes to take their environmental policies and therefore green HRM practices in accordance with the GCC common goals. One of the common goals for the six GCC countries is renewable energy uptake (Atalay, 2017). Civil society’s influence on Qatar’s governance over its natural gas sector is growing (Wright, 2017). The main civil-society actors behind this influence are academics, NGOs, think-tanks, and companies involved in joint ventures (Wright, 2017). Because trade unions and political parties are illegal in Qatar, it has been through social media that the government has demonstrated a response to societal concerns on managed and allocated resources. Access to statistics, government and non-governmental reports led to a burgeoning of greater civil awareness on petroleum revenue expenditure (Wright, 2017). This perhaps is what has prompted some change regarding the environment and adoption of green practices in Qatari business in the gas and oil sector. The change has led to the latest research suggesting Qatar could serve as an example of how to improve environmental quality and not sacrifice economic growth. Charfeddine, Yousef Al-Malk, & Al Korbi (2018), examined the countries economic growth from 1970 to 2014. They saw that economic growth came at the price of the environment (Charfeddine, Yousef Al-Malk, & Al Korbi, 2018). However, the possibility of striking a balance between environmental quality and economic growth is possible thanks to recent interest in fuel alternatives and sourcing (Charfeddine, Yousef Al-Malk, & Al Korbi, 2018). Qatari policymakers may aim to apply green practices within the gas and oil sector while pursuing what has led to the economic success of the country in the last few decades. Part of the potential rework involves adherence to the global standard that is ISO 14001 certification. The Arab world accounts for a minor segment of certified organizations (Waxin, Knuteson, & Bartholomew, 2017). According to a qualitative study performed on understanding the motivations behind adherence, researchers discovered several differences between private and public organizations. Compliance with regulations and standards, and increasing environmental performance were the main drivers for ISO 14001 certification in both private and public organizations. Commitment to sustainability was more important for public organizations. Cost reduction, competitors, leadership commitment and customers’ demands were shared drivers, but more stressed by private organizations (Waxin, Knuteson, & Bartholomew, 2017, p. 563). Overall, the same challenges existed for both public and private organizations within the Arab world because of the overall lack of qualified human resources, lack of regulations, high expenses, and lack of management support (Waxin, Knuteson, & Bartholomew, 2017). Interestingly one study identified that environmental outperformance bore no impact on fiscal performance for chemical companies. In fact, it reduced financial risks in gas and oil companies (Gonenc & Scholtens, 2017). Whereas financial outperformance had a negative impact on environmental performance. Regarding stakeholder perspective, the researchers stated good environmental performance from a finance perspective, is beneficial (Gonenc & Scholtens, 2017). References Atalay, Y. (2017). Understanding Input and Output Legitimacy of Environmental Policymaking in The Gulf Cooperation Council States. Environmental Policy and Governance, 28(1), 39-50. doi:10.1002/eet.1794 Charfeddine, L., Yousef Al-Malk, A., & Al Korbi, K. (2018). Is it possible to improve environmental quality without reducing economic growth: Evidence from the Qatar economy. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 82, 25-39. doi:10.1016/j.rser.2017.09.001 Gonenc, H., & Scholtens, B. (2017). Environmental and Financial Performance of Fossil Fuel Firms: A Closer Inspection of their Interaction. Ecological Economics, 132, 307-328. doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2016.10.004 Waxin, M., Knuteson, S. L., & Bartholomew, A. (2017). Drivers and challenges for implementing ISO 14001 environmental management systems in an emerging Gulf Arab country. Environmental Management, 190, 563-573. doi:10.1007/s00267-017-0958-5 Wright, S. (2017). Qatar: The Context of a Hydrocarbon-Funded Social Contract. Public Brainpower, 247-259. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-60627-9_14