The Green Learning Loop: Reframing L&D As A Systemic Driver Of Organisational Sustainability

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-2026

School

Leadership

Abstract

Many organisations focus on environmental goals but struggle to integrate them into their organisational routines. Drawing on systems thinking, organisational learning, and cultural embedding theory, we present the Green Learning Loop (GLL). GLL explains how learning, culture, and HR systems interact to create a self-reinforcing sustainability cycle. The model positions L&D professionals as catalysts of generative learning that shapes green behaviours. Through this loop, sustainability becomes embedded in how people think, decide, and act at work. This perspective aligns with HRDI’s focus on HRD mechanisms for sustained change by offering a systems model that links learning design to green mindsets, green culture, HR system alignment, and sustainability outcomes through feedback over time. It calls on HRD scholars and practitioners to view learning as a continuous feedback system for building sustainable and adaptive organisations and proposes three model-derived propositions to guide future research and practice.

Publication Title

Human Resource Development International

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