Introduction: Sustainable behaviours in the workplace are critical for organisational resilience and global environmental goals. Higher Education Institution (HEI) employees can act as change-makers, embedding sustainability in research, education, and operations. Promoting these behaviours across transnational institutions, marked by professional, cultural, and organisational diversity, is challenging. Understanding how individual and organisational factors; environmental commitment, perceived behavioural control, environmentally specific leadership, and green culture - interact is key for sustainable practices in HEIs. These discretionary pro-environmental actions are commonly conceptualised as Organisational Citizenship Behaviours for the Environment (OCBEs).


Purpose: This mixed-method study examined the factors predicting sustainable behaviours in a transnational institution. It examined variation in attitudes and practices across locations and cultures.
Method: Three focus groups (n = 18) were conducted at UK and UAE Higher Education campuses, to explore perceptions, barriers, and solutions. An online survey (N=150; Mage=42.7, SD =9.7) assessed OCBE, environmental commitment, perceived behavioural control, environmentally specific transformational leadership, and green organisational climate.


Results:
Thematic analysis showed that staff engaged in a range of sustainable behaviours, that were constrained by infrastructural barriers, organisational practices, and localised cultural norms. Perceptual differences emerged across locations, particularly in definitions of sustainability and the value of individual versus collective actions.
Building on these insights, PLS-SEM analyses revealed that Environmental Commitment strongly predicted OCBE (β =0.464, p<.001). Perceived Behavioural Control also predicted OCBE (β = 0.278, p<.001) and moderated the commitment-OCBE link. Environmentally specific transformational leadership influenced OCBE indirectly via commitment, whereas green organisational climate did not significantly predict OCBE.


Conclusions: Findings show that while staff are motivated, contextual barriers and cultural differences constrain action. Environmental commitment is central to OCBE and can be fostered through transformational leadership, supportive green culture, and enhancing employees' sense of control. A multi-level approach addressing both individual motivation and structural constraints is essential for enabling sustainable behaviours across diverse HEI contexts.