Assessing the impact of academic programs on student intentions toward selecting an environmentally sustainable workplace
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The ecosystem has been negatively impacted by the growth of population, an increase of industrial enterprise and an improper use of resources. As humans are the main catalyst of this global change, we have entered the Anthropocene epoch. Worldwide discussions contribute to an overall awareness that corporations need business strategies that incorporate environmentally sustainable initiatives. This poses many challenges as the majority of change initiatives fail. Creating this change requires leadership that is educated about environmental sustainability. Higher education institutions play a role in moving society toward environmental sustainability by integrating this education within the curricula and university culture. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of academic programs on student intentions toward the selection of an environmentally sustainable workplace. The theory of planned behavior was used to determine, among students, the relationship between attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control toward environmentally sustainable behavior and the intention to select an environmentally sustainable workplace. A survey was distributed to students attending a public university in the southeastern United States enrolled in three different degree programs. While the results statistically showed no significance between the groups, the research models did show that attitudes and subjective norm lead toward the students intentions to select an environmentally sustainable workplace, while their college major program is not a significant path to intention. Finally, there are thoughts on future research and ideas for future integration within higher education.