Are environmental attitude and sustainability influenced by organizational environmental policies? An investigation with public servants

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the influences of the axes of the Environmental Agenda in Public Administration (A3P) on environmental attitudes and the perception of sustainability among public servants of a Brazilian federal organization. In addition, it seeks to verify whether these influences are perceived differently by civil servants who work remotely. Design/methodology/approach The data collected from 414 public servants through a survey were analyzed using structural equations with partial least squares. Findings The disaggregation of the sustainable practices of the A3P reveals that actions of waste management, natural resources and public goods and quality of life influence both the environmental attitude and the perception of sustainability of individuals. Furthermore, it was observed that remote work is a factor that influences in the relationship between actions and these beliefs, altering the intensity of coefficients. Practical implications The research integrates the sustainable practices of the A3P embodied in specific axes; the beliefs of environmental attitude by which it symbolizes the human attitude and the environmental consequences resulting from it, and the perception of sustainability, conceived as a moral way of acting. Theoretically, the results contribute to linking organizational sustainable practices with individuals’ sustainable beliefs. Originality/value The research explores three relevant elements in a novel way: the relationships between organizational A3P practices and individuals’ attitudes and perceived sustainability, remote work and these in the field of public management.