Advancing SDGs through environmental sustainability performance: The role of employee sustainable consumption behaviors in Malaysia’s energy sector

The purpose of this study is to empirically examine the conceptual model for environmental sustainability performance (ESP) among the connections between workplace spirituality (WPS), pro-environmental culture (PEC), and the mediating role of sustainable consumption behaviors (SCB) of employees working in the Malaysian energy industry. The rising energy usage and greenhouse gas emissions of Malaysia are the main problems this study attempts to solve. In order to conceptualize the sustainable consumption phenomenon of office employees in the Malaysian energy sector, this study integrated the value-belief-norm theory of environmentalism, attitude-behavior-context theory, and stakeholder theory in alignment with the focus of SDG-12 (responsible consumption and production) and SDG-13 (Climate Action). Snowball and convenience sampling methods were used to gather primary data from self-administered survey questionnaires. Using SmartPLS-4 software, 230 respondents from the Malaysian energy sector were statistically examined with the proposed model. The statistical test, which includes constructs validity and reliability, quadratic effect, explanatory analysis, PLS-Predict, and path analysis for direct and indirect relationships, was used to examine the data using PLS-SEM approaches for measurement and structure assessment models. The direct and indirect results showed that the variables had a significant and positive association with one another. Sustainable consumption behaviors and company policies and practices, however, do not significantly correlate. Furthermore, the mediating findings demonstrated that the relationship between company policy and practices and environmental sustainability performance is not mediated by sustainable consumption practices. The study's managerial and practical implications can be used as a guide and as building blocks by managers, practitioners, and policymakers to create training, coaching, and mentorship programs for sustainable consumption behaviors and to put environmental policies into place while considering the contributions of each employee on an individual-level. The study made an empirical, theoretical, and practical contribution to the present body of knowledge. Most significantly, our study filled the existing empirical evidence regarding sustainable consumption behavior among office workers. Prior studies examined consumption patterns in households or among consumers. The originality of this study is rooted in its examination of sustainable consumption challenges in light of the Malaysian energy sector sustainability agenda.