Environmental Change Agents in hybrid and remote work environments: an investigation of how digital workplaces affect coalition building and sustainability culture diffusion (TREGASKIO_U26NBSCAST)

Organisations are central to achieving rapid emissions reductions, yet translating sustainability commitments into embedded workplace practices remains a significant implementation challenge. Customers, consumers, investors and regulators are increasingly scrutinising the environmental credentials of businesses through corporate sustainability frameworks. Businesses at the forefront of sustainable ways of working have the opportunity to drive economic value, but realising this requires effective change agents who can navigate competing institutional pressures and catalyse collective behaviour change.

This studentship will examine how individuals within organisations can be developed as effective sustainability change agents. The research will explore both the external pressures and internal motivational forces that shape pro-environmental attitudes and behaviours, and the practical strategies change agents use to secure stakeholder buy-in and connect internal activities to external standards. This may include exploring how digital tools, green apps or AI-enabled interventions can support or hinder these efforts.

This PhD offers an opportunity to understand how individuals drive sustainable ways of working in contemporary organisations and the implications this has for new ways of working.