Combatting Environmental Crisis: Green Orientation in the Sri Lanka Navy

Abstract

The military’s ongoing efforts to protect the environment are clearly visible. The aim of this study is to bridge an empirical gap, i.e., there is no mediating effect of employee engagement on the relationship between green orientation and employee job performance in the Sri Lanka military context. Employee engagement is the employee’s head, heart and hand involvement in their job as well as their organization. Employee job performance is a main consequence of employee engagement. Because of this consequence, employee engagement has grabbed attention in both the business context and the military context. This quantitative study was achieved through objectives, namely, to identify the impact of green orientation on employee engagement, to identify the impact of employee engagement on employee job performance, and to identify the mediating effect of employee engagement on the relationship between green orientation and employee job performance. The unit of analysis is individual, i.e., officers in the Sri Lanka Navy. The sample size is 243. A cross-sectional study was done in a non-contrived environment with minimum researcher interference. Findings of this study suggest the direct relationship of green orientation and employee engagement, as well as the mediation effect of employee engagement on this relationship.

1. Introduction

It is obvious that both the corporate and military contexts are becoming more eco-friendly, and hope to become enlightened about that. Since the turn of the millennium, academic interest in eco-friendliness and topics related to going green has grown. In (Aslan and Isik 2017), the authors state that the military uses fossil fuels as its primary energy source, just as other industries. Further, (Aslan and Isik 2017) state that fossil fuels have the same drawbacks on the battlefield as they do elsewhere. Green energy use is therefore very important for the military industry. To be able to address issues of a military-environmental character, (Smit 2018) emphasizes that military practitioners must be knowledgeable in a range of environment-related areas. According to (Iddagoda et al. 2021), “national security”, “Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR)” and “diplomatic relations” are the conventional roles of the Army, Navy and Air Force. The military should obviously go beyond these conventional tasks and practice environmental responsibility as well. Employee engagement is the level of involvement an employee has to both their organization and their job. According to (The Transfer of Military Culture to Private Sector Organizations n.d.), the military has a strong sense of responsibility and is devoted to its goal or cause with loyalty, obedience, attention, diligence and discipline. According to (Milkovich and Boudreau 1991), an employee’s job performance is a gauge of how well they accomplish a task. According to (Prentice and Thaichon 2019), employee job performance can increase organizational effectiveness directly by implementing a technological process or indirectly by providing it with the goods or services it needs.

In (Magagula 2020), the author states that the major duties of military troops center on preserving a country’s or state’s sovereignty, assisting in the upkeep of law and order and so assuring internal peace, and protecting its inhabitants and all of its resources. The view of the researchers of this study is that “protecting its inhabitants and all of its resources” means protecting the environment as well. The Blue–Green Project of the Sri Lanka Navy, which is also known as “Neela Haritha sangramaya”, is the initiative that has been taken by the Sri Lanka Navy since the year 2019. The concept of this initiative is to protect and preserve the environment that is not only limited to maritime. It is to protect maritime, coastal waters, beaches and the inland environment. At the inception of this initiative, the Naval Dockyard, Trincomalee was chosen as the pilot area and, subsequently, it was extended to southern, northwestern and southeastern Naval areas. Over 9000 naval and civilian employees live in the Trincomalee Naval Dockyard, which covers 850 acres of greenery and is encircled by the clear waters of the ocean. The facility attracts many local and foreign visitors. Numerous initiatives, such as mangrove planting, turtle conservation, tree planting, beach cleaning, public awareness campaigns, coral replanting and conservation, energy conservation, solar power projects, water conservation, biogas projects, wastewater management, recycling of plastic and polythene, conservation of wild animals, rainwater harvesting projects, sewage treatment projects, paper recycling projects and creating paper-free office spaces, are being undertaken.

The Smart City idea has been brought to the Naval Dockyard in the meantime to improve the quality and performance of urban services including electricity, transportation and utilities to lower resource consumption, wastage and total costs. As a result, it is planned to implement eco-friendly and useful programs, including the use of smart cards for the entry and exit of people and vehicles at the main gate, solar-powered street lamps, solar vehicles, digital boards for instructions and announcements, the use of the internet for monthly reports and the use of bicycles for internal short-distance commuting.

As (Haddock-Millar et al. 2016) note, it is important to take into account each employee’s responsibility and position in order to successfully align and incorporate green activities into the organizational goals. His study is limited to the civilian context. (Smit 2018) conducted a study to determine attitude of environmental issues between geography students and non-geography students in the South African Military Academy (Stellenbosch University). Two research gaps on the mediating influence of employee engagement in the Sri Lankan military context have been identified by (Iddagoda et al. 2022). No theoretical and empirical evidence on employee engagement as a mediating variable for organizational culture and job performance is found in the Sri Lankan military and it may be that the international military contexts is the first identified research gap by (Iddagoda et al. 2022). The researchers of the study identified another research gap that there is no mediating effect of employee engagement on the relationship between green orientation and employee job performance in the Sri Lankan military context. This is an empirical research gap that is going to be bridged in the Sri Lanka Navy. The research objectives are to identify the impact of green orientation on employee engagement; to identify the impact of employee engagement on employee job performance; and to identify the mediating effect of employee engagement on the relationship between green orientation and employee job performance.

2. Literature Review

2.1. Green Orientation

Eco-friendliness is what is meant by “green”. “Orientation” is a primary consciousness or underlying ideology that affects how organizations perform their internal and external activities, claim (Shaharudin et al. 2015). Green orientation can be defined as transforming the individual’s primary consciousness and activities in an ecologically friendly manner to achieve environmentally friendly goals (Iddagoda et al. 2022, p. 297). This serves as the working definition of this study. The majority of the energy used for military operations comes from fossil fuels, as is the case in other industries. However, that fossil fuels have negative environmental impacts and raise concerns about the state of the global environment is the view of Aşkan and Isik in 2017. These downsides of fossil fuels apply to battlefields as well. Additionally, the military cases of Aslan and Isik in 2017 show that the delivery of fossil fuels results in additional safety and logistical issues. A study by (Panda 2021) claims that unless the organization has an urgent need for them, most employees detest anti-green concepts. According to Panda in 2021, employee “green behaviors” were complementary to other behaviours (self-efficacy) rather than being distinct from other employees’ authenticity or “true me”, in other words, the “real me”. According to (Iddagoda et al. 2022), green orientation is a combination of green attitude and green behaviour. The employee should participate in green activities when it comes to green behaviour. These actions fit into the “four green roles”, which Opatha and Arulrajah proposed in 2014. According to (Opatha and Arulrajah 2014), employee green roles are preservationist, conservationist, non-polluter and maker.

The primary naval base of the Sri Lanka Navy is the Trincomalee Dockyard, which is bordered by the sea on 850 acres of “green” natural forest. On the eastern coast of Sri Lanka, it is situated in a natural harbour. In the year 2019, Navy Dockyard in Trincomalee declared as a Domain of Green and Blue. Because of this, the Naval Dockyard has started to protect the marine ecosystem and ecology both on the dockyard grounds and in the adjacent sea area. The goal of a “preservationist” is to preserve the natural world in its current state and to guard it against damage, deterioration and adverse change. No matter their format, all trashed papers are sent to the recycling facility at the Sri Lanka Naval Dockyard, Trincomalee, and the produced file covers, menu cards, and invitation cards are all commonplace. An employee must also fulfil the role of a “conservationist”. Reusing daily goods rather than throwing them away is one approach to be a “conservationist”. Evidently, it is also important to use natural resources responsibly so that future generations can benefit. The Sri Lanka Navy is a significant player in beach cleaning, working in partnership with other governmental, non-governmental and private sector organizations to recycle plastic bottles to create the priciest sportswear with the assistance of MAS Holdings Private Limited. Another action the “green employee” takes is to become a “non-polluter”. This emphasizes how crucial it is to stop or lessen environmental pollution, as well as water, air and atmospheric pollution. Non-pollutant regulations have been put in place as a pilot project at the Navy’s Eastern Command in Navy Cantonment Trincomalee. Electric vehicles are used in the Dockyard workshop to transfer equipment and replacement parts. Bicycles are used for all worker transportation on the 450-hectare property as a precaution. Renting a bicycle and leaving it in the park at their destination while they do their daily activities is permitted in bicycle parks, which are places set aside for this purpose. Making parks and other public spaces with plants, trees and grass falls under the category of “Maker”, which entails tending gardens and natural areas. The Sri Lanka Navy’s tree-planting campaign, “Green Base –One Plant for One Sailor”, is among the best examples in this regard. Through the “Green Base- One Plant for One Sailor” initiative, the Northern Naval Command’s naval locations have provided all navy personnel with exposure to sustainable tree plantation operations while promoting environmental protection and a green environment.

2.2. Employee Engagement

In 1990, the concept of employee engagement initially appeared, and Kahn was the first researcher to write an essay on it (Keppetipola and Iddagoda 2021; Andrew and Sofian 2012). In the study, (Kahn 1990) defines employee engagement as harnessing organization members’ selves to their work roles; in engagement, people employ and express themselves physically, cognitively and emotionally during role performances. Later, (Iddagoda et al. 2016) defined employee engagement as the extent to which an employee gets involved in the job and the organization cognitively, emotionally and behaviourally (p. 93). This is the working definition of this study. Employees are crucial stakeholders for organizational success and effectiveness, according to Kang and Sung in 2019 (Kang and Sung 2019). For projects to be completed and business goals and objectives to be met, teamwork is essential. Both (Ologbo and Sofian 2013) and (Bevan et al. 1997) discovered that an engaged employee has the ability to operate in a team. Teams are critical in the military passion for one’s work can reawaken and re-establish a person’s connection to what is truly important in life. According to (Meng et al. 2013), engaged employees are passionate about their job and have a solid connection to their companies. Engaged employees are loyal to their organization (Richman 2006; Salanova et al. 2005). The key consequences are employee job performance (Anitha 2014) and organizational financial performance (Richman 2006).

2.3. Employee Job Performance

According to (Silvera et al. 2001), an organization’s success or failure is dependent on how well its employees perform their jobs. According to (Schat and Frone 2011), the primary contribution of individuals to organizational effectiveness is through their work as employees, and this is the key reason why people work for companies. There are many forms of employee job performance such task performance, citizenship performance and counterproductive performance (Schat and Frone 2011; Stewart and Brown 2008). Employee job performance is the employee contributions to tasks and jobs to create a positive work environment while eliminating negative or harmful actions (Iddagoda et al. 2021). This is the working definition of this study.

Hypothesis Development

Figure 1 illustrates nomological network of this study. Input, process and output are the three components in the general systems theory. (Wright and Snell 1991) state that skills and abilities are treated as inputs from the environment under the general systems theory. Green orientation is a combination of green attitude and green behaviour is the view of (Iddagoda et al. 2022). Therefore, having eco-friendly activities is a skill. In other words, green orientation is become an input. According to (Iddagoda et al. 2016) employee engagement is a combination of attitude and behaviour. In a behaviour there are actions. Consequently, employee engagement become a process. In (Anitha 2014), the author mentions that employee job performance is a consequence of employee engagement. In other words, employee outcomes and organizational outcomes are what are fuelling the growth of employee engagement (Saks 2006; Saks and Gruman 2014). The explanations for that are given by (Saks and Gruman 2014). Employee engagement has been found to be favourably associated to employment attitudes—for instance, job satisfaction, employee job performance and health and wellness outcomes, and negatively connected to intentions to leave the organization. Therefore, employee job performance becomes the output. These findings lead to the hypotheses below.

H1: 

Green orientation has an impact on employee engagement.

H2: 

Employee engagement has an impact on employee job performance.

H3: 

There is a mediating effect of employee engagement on the relationship between green orientation and employee job performance.

3. Materials and Methods

In order to achieve the objectives, a quantitative study was done. In (Sekaran and Bougie 2003), the authors presented six components of research design. The purpose of the study, type of investigation, extent of researcher interference with the study, unit of analysis, time horizon of study and the study setting are the six components of the research design. In this study, the purpose of the study is hypothesis testing, the type of investigation is correlational, the extent of researcher interference with the study is minimum interference, the unit of analysis is individual, i.e., officers in the Sri Lanka Navy. The study was done in a non-contrived study setting. Due to the busy time schedules of the respondents the study, the time horizon of the study is cross-sectional.

The conceptualization and operationalization of several variables have been fully described in published works. Instrument or the questionnaire for employee engagement was developed by Iddagoda et al. in 2016, green orientation by Iddagoda et al. in 2022 and employee job performance by Iddagoda et al. in 2021 (Iddagoda et al. 2016, 2021, 2022). Refer to Appendix A.

Data were gathered through a self-directed questionnaire. A five-point Likert scale was the measurement scale. The sampling technique is non-probability convenience sampling. Due to security reasons, researchers are unable to reveal the population of the study. The sample size is 243. The sampling rule, recommended by Roscoe (1975) as cited in Sekaran and Bougie (2003), was followed when determining the sample size; it should be larger than 30 and less than 500.

The proposed model and hypotheses were evaluated using structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). There are two approaches to using SEM; the first is covariance-based techniques (CB-SEM), and the second is variance-based partial least squares (PLS-SEM) (Hair et al. 2012). PLS-SEM is currently thought to be one of the best new alternatives to CB-SEM (Henseler et al. 2009). Many fields of social science, including organizational management (Sosik et al. 2009), human resource management (Ringle et al. 2018) and entrepreneurship (e.g., Esfandiar et al. 2019; Hernández-Perlines et al. 2016) have applied PLS. In addition, PLS is important to examine complex relationships. This study is under management discipline and mediation relationships will be tested. Accordingly, we used a partial least squares modelling approach using SMART PLS 4.0 software to examine the model.

4. Results

4.1. Descriptive Analysis

Table 1. Descriptive Analysis.

	Mean	Standard Deviation	Minimum	Maximum
GO	4.068	0.411	3.000	5.000
EE	3.909	0.465	2.420	5.000
EJP	4.179	0.456	3.000	5.000

illustrates the descriptive analysis of GO, EE and EJP constructs. Descriptive statistics for GO, EE and EJP reveal an overall mean score of around four and a standard deviation of less than 0.5. This shows the average perception among military officials of employee engagement, green orientation and employee job performance. EJP has the highest mean value, and EE has the lowest mean value.

4.2. Correlation Analysis

Table 2. Results of Correlation.

	GO	EE	EJP
GO	1
EE	0.450 **	1
EJP	0.448 **	0.634 **	1

** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

illustrates the Pearson correlation coefficients of EE, GO and EJP constructs. Accordingly, GO and employee job performance were found to be moderately positive and statistically significant (r = 0.448, p < 0.01) and employee engagement and job performance were found to be positive and statistically significant (r = 0.634, p < 0.01). This shows that an increase in green orientation and employee engagement would lead to higher job performance. In addition, green orientation and employee engagement were found to be positive and statistically significant (r = 0.450, p < 0.01). This shows that an increase in green orientation would lead to higher employee engagement.

4.3. Partial Least Squares Modelling

The analysis was divided into two stages, evaluating the outer (measurement) and inner (structural) models (Hair et al. 2019). The inner model, also known as the structural model, identifies the relationships between the independent and dependent latent variables, whereas the outer model identifies the relationships between the latent variables and their observed indicators (Sarstedt et al. 2014).

4.4. Measurement Model

The measurement model is first evaluated to confirm the outer model’s reliability and validity (constructs and their dimensions). All indicators (24 items) were included initially to test the measurement model. In their study, (Hair et al. 2019) highlighted that factor loadings within the range of 0.4 and 0.7 should be removed if the reliability and validity can be improved. Accordingly, we have removed 14 questions. The final questionnaire that ensures reliability and validity is illustrated in

Table 3. Validity and Reliability of Questionnaire.

	Factor Loading	Composite Reliability (CR)	Average Variance Extracted (AVE)	Variance Inflation Factor (VIF)
EE12	0.704	0.845	0.523	1.387
EE5	0.727			1.512
EE6	0.735			1.547
EE7	0.693			1.363
EE9	0.755			1.473
EJP1	0.796	0.883	0.56	1.97
EJP2	0.718			1.665
EJP3	0.793			1.997
EJP4	0.84			2.335
EJP5	0.639			1.477
EJP6	0.682			1.602
GO11	0.702	0.804	0.508	1.218
GO4	0.615			1.161
GO6	0.709			1.422
GO7	0.812			1.536

.

All constructs ensure reliability as Cronbach’s alpha and composite reliability is greater than 0.7. In addition, convergent validity is ensured because all constructs’ average variances extracted are greater than 0.7.

Next, discriminant validity is ensured using Fornell and Larcker criterion and HTMT ratio. This is according to the Fornell–Larcker criterion, “the square root of AVE for each construct should be greater than its highest correlation with the other constructs”, and the Heterotrait–Monotrait (HTMT) criterion, “Values are less than 0.85 threshold”, respectively (Henseler et al. 2015). The cross-loading results backed up the findings. As a result, discriminant validity was established.

Table 4. Discriminant Validity—Fornell–Larcker Criterion.

	EE	EJP	GO
EE	0.723
EJP	0.688	0.748
GO	0.487	0.517	0.713
HTMT Ratio
	EE	EJP
EE
EJP	0.847
GO	0.66	0.677

Note: The diagonal in bold is the square root of average variance extracted (AVE).

depicts the ensures the discriminant validity of this study.

4.5. Structural Model

First, the structural model was evaluated using the variance inflation factor to assess the existence of multicollinearity. In the context of partial least squares structural equations modeling, variance inflation factor values of five and higher indicate a potential collinearity problem (Hair et al. 2019). In this study, the variance inflation factor values of less than five for all constructs suggest that multicollinearity was non-existent (See

Table 5. Structural Model Results.

	Predictive Ability		F Squared		Variance Inflation Factor
Panel A	R2	Q2	EE	EJP	EE	EJP
GO			0.31	0.09	1	1.31
EE	0.237	0.22		0.516		1.31
EJP	0.517	0.253
Panel B
Path Coefficients	β	t-statistic	p Value	95%Confidence Interval		Support
H1: GO -> EJP	0.239	4.6	0	0.139	0.34	Yes
H2a: GO -> EE	0.487	8.662	0	0.376	0.598	Yes
H2b: EE -> EJP	0.572	4.6	0	0.467	0.679	Yes

(Hair et al. 2019)).

Estimating path coefficients was the next stage. The Bootstrap resampling approach was used to quantify the relevance of direct paths and estimate standard errors (Hair et al. 2011). The coefficient of determination (R² value) for the direct effect of green orientation on job performance was 0.517, while the coefficient of determination for the indirect effect of green orientation on job performance mediated by employee engagement was 0.237. Since the R² values were above the 0.10 threshold, the model’s in-sample predictive power was supported (Falk and Miller 1992). Furthermore, effect sizes determine how much a predicting (exogenous) variable contributes to the R² value of an endogenous variable. Job performance and employee engagement were predicted by employee engagement and green orientation, while green orientation predicted employee engagement. Employee engagement had a strong effect on job performance, green orientation had a medium effect on employee engagement, while green orientation had a negligible effect on job performance. When testing a model’s predictive power or relevance outside of the sample, the next step is to look at the Model’s Stone–Geisser Q² value (Geisser 2017; Stone 1974). Any endogenous latent variable in the structural model with Q² values greater than zero indicate that the path model helps predict the dependent construct. As our predictions of employee engagement and job performance have Q² values > 0 (see Table 5, Panel A), the exogenous constructs under consideration have predictive relevance for the endogenous construct. Figure 2 depicts the structural model.

Results of Hypotheses Tests

Results of Hypotheses tests are shown in Figure 2 and Table 5, Panel B. Figure 2 shows path coefficients on the arrows linking green orientation, employee engagement and job performance, while Table 5, Panel B, provides detailed results. Hypothesis 1 stated that green orientation was expected to predict job performance. Hypothesis 1 is supported with green orientation significantly increasing job performance (β = 0.239, t = 4.6, p > 0.05). Hypothesis 2a conjectured that green orientation increase employee engagement. Hypothesis 2a was fully supported, as green orientation increased employee engagement (β = 0.487, t = 8.622, p < 0.001). Hypothesis 2b expected employee engagement to increase job performance. Hypothesis 2b was fully supported as employee engagement improved job performance (β = 0.572, t = 4.6, p < 0.001).

4.6. Results of Mediation

Hypothesis 2 is supported, suggesting the mediation of the green orientation–job performance relationship by employee engagement. Further support for Hypothesis 2 is provided by Table 5. The results show a significant total effect of green orientation on job performance (β = 0.517, t = 10.514, p < 0.001). With the introduction of the mediator into the model, the direct effect was a positive significant relationship (β = 0.239, t = 4.6, p > 0.001). In addition, the specific indirect effect with the inclusion of the mediator into the analysis was found significant (β = 0.278, t = 6.581, p < 0.001). As a result, the findings suggest that employee engagement plays a partial mediator role in the relationship between green orientation and job performance.

Table 6. Results of Mediation.

	Total Effect		Direct Effect		Indirect Effect		Percentile Bootstrap 95% CI
	Coefficient	t-Value	Coefficient	t-Value	Coefficient	t-Value	Lower	Upper	Mediation
GO -> EE -> EJP	0.517	10.514	0.239	4.6	0.278	6.581	0.206	0.369	Yes

illustrates the results of mediation.

5. Discussion

In the military setting, sacrifice, loyalty, voluntary membership in the organization and voluntary participation in activities are all visible. The military could not complete the task without these attitudes and behaviours because they are so strong. The Navy is an essential part of any island nation’s security. Sri Lanka is made up of a territorial water column that extends 12 nautical miles into the area surrounding it and has a 1400 km long coastal line. In (AON 2012), engagement is defined in terms of three dimensions, “Say”, “Stay” and “Strive”. An employee who favours the firm when interacting with society is said to have the trait “say”. In 2022, Woodruff highlighted one trait as “providing favourable word-of-mouth endorsement of the military”. Employee engagement has a high retention rate, which is associated with retention and means “stay”, according to Kang and Sung in 2019. According to AON (2012), “striving” means that the worker goes above and beyond the call of duty to achieve the goals of the company. Military units, especially “frontline soldiers”, are prepared for any unexpected combat situations. The Parama Weera Vibhushanaya (Supreme Heroism Medal) is Sri Lanka’s highest military award, comparable to the British Victoria Cross (which was the highest decoration in the Ceylon Army until 1972) or the United States’ Medal of Honour (Sri Lanka Army 2022). When a unit commander recommends it, this medal is given for exceptionally brave conduct performed when a soldier is on active duty in the face of the enemy, regardless of his own safety or life, to protect the lives of his comrades or advance the operational goal of his force. Lieutenant commander Wijethunge is one of only two navy recipients of the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya, the other being Chief Petty Officer K. G. Shantha. Now there is a trend that the military context worldwide pays more attention to environmental protection. Holmberg and Alvinius in 2019, are also of the similar view.

The view of (Holmberg and Alvinius 2019), military organizations during times of peace concentrate on education and training at long-term military compounds or bases, where officers dwell on-site, aboard ships, or in camps.The importance of protecting the environment has been identified and well-discussed in every forum. In Kyoto and Rio, protocols the government has committed as a state party. The institutional mechanism is the most important aspect of the implementation of initiatives. When it comes to a poor state like Sri Lanka, the implementation needs a lot of effort in financial and physical resources. Being a military arm which expands around the country, especially the coastal belt, the Sri Lanka Navy has a very significant reach for assisting the national cause of the implementation of Blue–Green initiatives around the beaches, coastal belt, lagoons and adjacent land masses which are considered as most sensitive and vulnerable areas. With the access and the large workforce, the Navy can help substantially with implementation. Apart from that people with various skills such as boat handling, diving and various technical competencies, Navy sailors and officers are more capable of such Blue–Green projects.

The view of Gigauri et al. in 2022 is that there are many challenges and predicaments that emerging economies face to accomplish the sustainable resolutions (Gigauri et al. 2022). The research study investigated the relationship between green orientation and employee job performance and examined the mediating effect of employee engagement. The theoretical contributions grounded in general system theory are as follows. This study expanded the research on green orientation by explaining the mediating mechanisms. Results of the study supported that green-oriented military employees will feel more engaged with their organization as well as their job, and they will create actions to improving their job performance.

6. Conclusions

The Sri Lanka Navy has identified three major environmental threats to the nation’s marine and coastal resources: overfishing and unsustainable resource extraction, which directly threatens the biomass and ecological balance of the marine environment, and pollution from land- and sea-based sources, which weakens the ability of marine plants and animals to survive while causing direct damage to specialized ecosystems like mangroves, coral reefs and sea grasses.

The Sri Lanka Navy, with its distinct character, resources and capabilities, has chosen to take on a specific initiative with the purpose of creating a sustainable environment because it is the right organization to solve such concerns. Other than the Naval Dockyard, Trincomalee, the other Naval commands also contribute to this wise cause. A different initiative of the navy’s Blue–Green Project “Neela Haritha Sangramaya”, a forward-thinking idea, was carried out at the Northern Naval Command in the same year, 2019, and it was successful. Beach cleanup and mangrove plantation operations were completed as part of this event. As a result, the Northern Naval Command’s coastlines at Sambilithurei, Sillalei, Delft, Vettalakerni and the beach region from Kankesanthurei to Thalsewana were cleaned as part of this program. New mangrove plants were subsequently planted nearby. During a tree-planting effort in 2021, naval forces planted about 1200 plants, including mangroves, along the Panama Lagoon and the surrounding surroundings. These are the evidence of the green orientation of the Sri Lanka Navy. Green orientation is a combination of attitude and behaviour. That there is no mediating effect of employee engagement on the relationship between green orientation and employee job performance in the Sri Lankan military context is the identified research gap. This is an empirical gap and was bridged with two research objectives under a quantitative study.

Empirical findings proved that the green orientation and employee engagement has a positive significant effect on employee job performance. The direct green orientation affects employee job performance, and mediating the effect through employee engagement can significantly affect employee job performance. The results of this study provide recommendations for military management in increasing high employee engagement; green orientation needs to be encouraged to be and can be improve employee job performance. Moreover, this study adds contribution to general system theory as well as practical implications.

Limitations of the study include its status as a cross-sectional study because of the business of the respondents of the study. Therefore, future research recommendations include a nomological network that can be tested in the Sri Lanka Army, the Sri Lanka Air Force or in other military context in another country and using a longitudinal study.