Green Social Work: Approaches and Principles

Green Social Work: Approaches and Principles | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Green Social Work: Approaches and Principles MANAS BAJPAI, ANAMIKA BAJPAI, USHA SHUKLA This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8087163/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Social Work as a profession has evolved with the increasing research in the field and thus its scope area has also increased. Social workers started focusing on problems and issues which are the result of advancement in the human civilization and society including environmental issues. Green social work deals with such issues. Social Workers thus apply different approaches and principles to achieve their objectives related to environment. Sustainability of the natural resources, environmental justice and human rights lays the foundation of working for environment. Green social work is not only limited to the conservation of forest but it is also concerns for ocean, space, animals and atmosphere. Green Social work Sustainable Development Social Inclusion Environmental Justice Human Rights Deforestation Ecological Balance Introduction Social Work/Social Workers play vital role in the development of a society by undertaking number of work based of different thematics .In early days when social work was at the nascent stage, role of church became prominent in western society then came the historical Elizabethan Poor Laws in 1601 that formed the foundation of responsibility of the state towards society and also played a major part in developing thinking of scholars and beginning of Charity Organization Society Movement and Settlement House Movement, all this played an important role in shaping the Social Work as a profession by the introduction of new methods of social work viz. Social Case Work, Social Group Work, Community Organization, Social Work Administration, Social Action and Social Work Research that developed social work as profession and individual started getting trained by institutions. Though social work has draws its roots from 16th century even then it is considered as a young profession in most of the parts of the world especially in developing countries like India, Pakistan, African Nations as its scope is getting widened day by day from earlier works on health and hygiene to mental awareness or from education to skill development . Andharia and Sengupta (1998) writing in the Indian Journal of Social Work (IJSW), have submitted eight categories under which social movements relating to the environment can be clubbed. Similarly the scope of social work expanded towards environment in well focused manner and a new branch or subset of the social work came in to scene that is termed as “Green Social Work”. The term Green Social Work was coined by Lena Dominelli Green and described it as new paradigm for the management of social problems as well as dealing with the negative consequences brought upon the environment by the industrial society of mass consumption (Dominelli, 2012 & 2018). In 2010 the Council on Social Work Education declared sustainability the number one social justice issue of the new century. Since then, the area of green social work has evolved and come into its own. Hence Green Social work can be defined as “an area of practice of social work which is based on environmental justice and improves human well-being as well as the health of the environment, wildlife, and plants that nourish and maintain all living things”. Social Worker dealing with the issues of environment could be termed as “Environmental Social Work”, “Green Social Worker” or as “Nature centric Social Workers” as they undertake the work that is directly helping and nourishing the environment including all humans, flora, fauna and physiological features like land, ocean, mountains etc. . After the CSWEs 2010 announcement, it became quite clear that social workers globally were eager to enter a realistic conversation about how climate change affects people, impoverished groups in particular, and that they were ready to take action. Social Workers started getting trained to work for environment, to ensure this, institutions started including environmental issues as part of their curriculum11. Hosting up of workshops related to environmental challenges, climate conservation came to in the scene, different types of scholarships and fellowships were introduced by both the private as well as public stakeholders. According to Powell and Rinkel (2017) Green social worker undertakes following duties: i. Supporting individual in affirmation of their social, environmental and human rights. ii. Enabling the citizen to protect their environment as well as enhancing their well being and achieving environmental justice. iii. Mobilizes individuals to be in various alliances and partnership to promote their well being as residents. iv. Empowering the marginalized individuals, groups and communities that are in commercial and institutional routines as decision making and policy making. Approaches of Green Social Work Green Social Work is mainly driven by three approaches pertaining to sustainable development, environmental justice and human rights thus we have three approaches to Green Social Work which are Sustainable Development Approach, Environmental Justice and Human Rights Based Approach. Sustainable Development Approach: United Nations defined Sustainable development as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. Green social workers therefore undertake works that are important to ensure the sustainable development and they direct their efforts towards building an inclusive, sustainable and resilient future for people and planet 5 . They also focuses on setting together the three significant core elements which are economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection as these elements are interrelated and all are important for the well-being of individuals and societies. More significantly, from the standpoint of sustainability, the field of green social work does so while accounting for the generational bonds that unite individuals within families, communities, and groups. Green Social worker generally provides the skill sets and resources needed to address intergenerational fairness challenges that are inherent in ecological approaches to sustainability. Environmental Justice Approach: Environmental Justice is defined as “the justice to environment as well as justice for the environment”. In current times industrialization is on its peak that generates a large amount of poisonous gases causing global warming and acid rains 7 , e-waste is also becoming a major problem for the human beings as it is contributing in increasing harmful radiations, problem of using plastic is also unavoidable, use of fertilizers and insecticides is not only producing adequate amount of food material and keeping crops pest free but it is also degrading the quality of soil and causing imbalance in biological cycle. Increase in construction of dams, building roads, deforestation, wars between nations and much more is causing damage to the environment 9 . Social Workers practicing green social work thus organize society to refrain from doing such things that are causing harm to the environment 4 . It thus promotes well being of both human beings and environment .When it comes to the environmental justice for human beings social workers engage, guide and help individuals to get equality in distribution of natural resources by the means of advocacy, workshops and awareness ,thus it can be said that “Interventions regarding environment justice are aimed at promotion of safe and clean environment through meaningful involvement of all in development of program ,policy and decisions impacting and involving environment (Jones ,2012) irrespective of their cast ,religion ,gender ,income and race (Environmental Protection Agency). Another aspect of environmental justice tells that GSW should work to provide justice to the environments such as working for the promotion of organic farming in order to save soil, working against over irrigation in order to save, against excessive use of natural resources thence in one line it can be described as “ paying desirable respect and value to the nature for what it gives us ”. Human Rights Approach: Environment is compilation of physical, chemical and biotic factors that acts upon an organism or an ecological community and ultimately determines its form and survival. A human being is dependent over natural environment for all its needs and requirements. In the year 1992, United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), informally known as the Earth Summit and Rio Declaration on environment and development declared “Environment rights as encompassed within previously established human rights” . Therefore Human rights approach guides the green social workers to ensure the basic requirements of the human being from the environment. Moreover green social worker focuses on human dignity as a major aspect of human rights, they also work with the indigenous people in preserving their habitat and culture 10 . The human rights approach thus guarantees the right to the fullest possible well-being for all people and all generations. In addition to supporting human rights green social workers also focused on health and hygiene of the people, clean environment, laws pertaining to climate change, corporate responsibility as well as on education. They mobilize communities to work for the protection of the environment for this purpose they collaborate with youth, professionals and institutions especially in the areas of low income and low literacy rate. Thus this approach can also be termed as an approach of protecting people’s right to healthy environment Principles of Green Social Work In the field of social work with the advancement in the knowledge and capacities of individuals along with the advent of new area of work as well as problems guiding principles keeps on changing keeping in mind the fact that the work done by the practitioners by implementing these should be beneficial for the targeted area /people. Green Social Work as is new work area of social work profession is developing its theories, principles, knowledge and skill set for the practitioners. Thus the following are to be considered as principles of the Green Social Work. Principle of Social Inclusion. Principle of Ecological Balance. Principle of Respect for Diversity. Principle of Freedom from Environmental Degradation. Principle of Protection of Human Rights. Principle of Sustainable Development. Principle of Environment Justice. According to Rinkel and Powers (2017), practitioners undertake the following duties (a) sup-porting individuals in the affirmation of their human, environmental and social rights, (b) enabling the citizenry to protect their environments as well as enhancing their wellbeing and achieving envi-ronmental justice, (c) mobilizing individuals to be in various alliances and partnerships to promote their well-being as residents and (d) empowering the marginalized individuals, groups and com-munities that are in commercial and institutional routines as decision/policymakers Principle of Social Inclusion: This principle states that Green Social Work should consider all members of a society as guardian of their surroundings as well as natural environment. It should take view points of all the members of the society on environmental issues regardless of their socio-economic conditions. Thus it should increase the terms of participation in the meaningful engagement of members of society especially for those who are downtrodden marginalized and badly affected. Principle of Ecological Balance: This principle states that Social worker practicing green social work should work as advocates of environment by working to maintain the balance between development projects of humans and the environment. They should work against such human activities which cause damage to the environment, deteriorating natural resources, increasing pollution level, affecting habitat of flora and fauna, increasing diseases and causing health problems. Principle of Respect for Diversity: This principle states that social workers should respect the diversity of the habitat, culture and environment while undertaking any project /task pertaining to green social work. This is necessary to achieve the pre defined objectives of the work by building a purposeful and trusted relationship with the community with which they are working. This keeps them motivated and honest towards the environment. Principle of Freedom from Environmental Degradation: This principle states that green social workers should undertake all those works which can prevent environment form degradation for this purpose they should coordinate with all including youth, school students, old-aged, governments and corporate entities. Green social workers should promote the use of natural things instead of indestructible human made artificial things. In modern times it can be done by the use of social media platforms, online campaigning, online petitions, oaths etc. 7 . Principle of protection of Human Rights: This principle states that Green Social Worker should work for the protection of human rights of an individual as well as the society. This principle also deals with the ensuring basics needs of human being from environment like availability of clean air, potable water and food supply. Social workers should also protect the environmental rights of tribes and marginalized people to prevent against crime and exploitation. Principle of Sustainable Development: This principle states that Green Social workers should do advocacy of those development works which are not only beneficial for the present generations but should also will be fruitful for the future generations. This type of development can also be termed as positive or exponential development 6 . Social workers should focus on preserving the nature and natural recourses for upcoming generation by the means of community organization and community involvement. Principle of Environment Justice: This principle states that Green Social Worker should work for establishing (environmental) justice for human beings as well for environment itself. In context to humans environment justice consist of equal distribution of natural resources, protection from environmental hazards etc., the context of justice to environment can easily be understood by a simple example as “Consider a multinational company is building a mega mall in an underdeveloped area and for that it is cutting down thousands of trees and the responsible government and authorities are not taking proper action then green social work practitioners should form pressure groups to made it necessary for that MNC as well as government to restore the greenery of that area” . In this way it is said to that justice with the environment has taken place. Conclusion Green social work is a new branch of social work in which a social worker get specialized training and knowledge of environment and environmental issues. Methods of social work such as community organization, social action and social welfare administration are more vital in area of work of green social work of community engagement and involvement plays a prominent role in environment conservation. Social workers uses different approaches to practice green social work and those are sustainable development approach, environmental justice approach and human rights approach. Principles of green social work draws its roots from social work practice but these are more environment centric and involve principle of social inclusion, ecological balance, respect for diversity, protection of human rights, freedom from environmental degradation, sustainable development and environment justice. Declarations Ethical Approval This study is a conceptual/theoretical paper that does not involve human participants, animals, or the collection of any primary empirical data. Therefore, approval from an Ethics Committee or Institutional Review Board was not required. Consent to Participate: Not applicable. Consent to Publish: Not applicable. Funding The author declares that no funding, financial support, or grant was received for conducting this research or preparing this manuscript. Author Contribution M.B. studied the related topics to green social work, searched for different sources. M.B. and A.B. prepared the manuscripts and U.S. helped in connecting A.B. and M.B. to different thinkers and also worked in narrowing down the content and in formulation of principles and aproaches. Data Availability No datasets were generated or analysed during the preparation of this article. All materials referred to are available through published sources. Hence, data availability is **not applicable** . References Papadimitriou ,Evripidis (2021) “ Defining Green Social Work ” Social Cohesion and Development . Kapro ,K. (2024) “ What is Green Social Work” , Environmental Justice, Social Work . Haorui Wu * and Meredith Greig (2022) “Adaptability, Interdisciplinarity, Engageability: Critical Reflections on Green Social Work Teaching and Training” , Healthcare (Basel) Dominelli, L. (2012) Green social work and environmental justice in an environmentally de- graded and unjust world. Durham: Durham University. Dominelli, L. (2012) Green social work and environmental justice in an environmentally de- graded and unjust world. Durham: Durham University. Prasad S.(2024),” Green social work practice with environment” , article, Sikkim express . Heather Downey, Evelien Spelten, Katie Holmes, Sean MacDermott, Prue Atkins(2023), “ A Green Social Work Study of Environmental and Social Justice in an Australian River Community”, Social Work Research , Volume 47. Bauer, J. (2011). Review of Arun Agrawal’s, Environmentality: Technologis of government and the making of subjects (2005). Carnegie council, Voice for ethics in international affairs. Retrieved on 6 March, 2011, from, http://www.carnegiecouncil.org/resources/journal/19_3/book_reviews/ 5272.html/:pf_printable. Bookchin, M. (1996). The concept of social ecology. In Merchant, C. (Ed.), Ecology: Key concepts in critical thought. New Delhi: Rawat Publications. Burchell, G., Gordon, C. and Miller, P. (Eds.) (1991). The Foucault Effect: Studies in Governmentality, Hemel Hempstead: Harvester Wheatsheaf. Commoner, B. (1971).The Closing Circle: Nature, Man and Technology. New York: Knopf. Darrier, E. (Ed.). (1999). Discourses of the Environment. London :Blackwell Debord, G. (1994). The Society of the Spectacle. New York: Zone Books. Drekmeier, C. (1962). Kingship and Community in Early India. Stanford University Press. Demeritt, D. (2001). The construction of global warming and the politics of science. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, Vol. 91, No.2, p. 307-337. Taylor and Francis. Dobson, A.(1990).Green Political Thought. London and New York: Routledge Andharia, J. and Sengupta, C. (1998). The Environmental Movement: Global Issues and the Indian Reality, Indian Journal of Social Work, vol. 59, 422-49. Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 21 Mar, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 01 Mar, 2026 Reviews received at journal 02 Jan, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 07 Dec, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 19 Nov, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 19 Nov, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 18 Nov, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 18 Nov, 2025 First submitted to journal 11 Nov, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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based of different thematics .In early days when social work was at the nascent stage, role of church became prominent in western society then came the historical Elizabethan Poor Laws in 1601 that formed the foundation of responsibility of the state towards society and also played a major part in developing thinking of scholars and beginning of Charity Organization Society Movement and Settlement House Movement, all this played an important role in shaping the Social Work as a profession by the introduction of new methods of social work viz. Social Case Work, Social Group Work, Community Organization, Social Work Administration, Social Action and Social Work Research that developed social work as profession and individual started getting trained by institutions.\nThough social work has draws its roots from 16th century even then it is considered as a young profession in most of the parts of the world especially in developing countries like India, Pakistan, African Nations as its scope is getting widened day by day from earlier works on health and hygiene to mental awareness or from education to skill development . Andharia and Sengupta (1998) writing in the Indian Journal of Social Work (IJSW), have submitted eight categories under which social movements relating to the environment can be clubbed. Similarly the scope of social work expanded towards environment in well focused manner and a new branch or subset of the social work came in to scene that is termed as “Green Social Work”. \nThe term Green Social Work was coined by Lena Dominelli Green and described it as new paradigm for the management of social problems as well as dealing with the negative consequences brought upon the environment by the industrial society of mass consumption (Dominelli, 2012 \u0026 2018).\nIn 2010 the Council on Social Work Education declared sustainability the number one social justice issue of the new century. Since then, the area of green social work has evolved and come into its own. Hence Green Social work can be defined as “an area of practice of social work which is based on environmental justice and improves human well-being as well as the health of the environment, wildlife, and plants that nourish and maintain all living things”. Social Worker dealing with the issues of environment could be termed as “Environmental Social Work”, “Green Social Worker” or as “Nature centric Social Workers” as they undertake the work that is directly helping and nourishing the environment including all humans, flora, fauna and physiological features like land, ocean, mountains etc. .\nAfter the CSWEs 2010 announcement, it became quite clear that social workers globally were eager to enter a realistic conversation about how climate change affects people, impoverished groups in particular, and that they were ready to take action. Social Workers started getting trained to work for environment, to ensure this, institutions started including environmental issues as part of their curriculum11. Hosting up of workshops related to environmental challenges, climate conservation came to in the scene, different types of scholarships and fellowships were introduced by both the private as well as public stakeholders. \nAccording to Powell and Rinkel (2017) Green social worker undertakes following duties:\ni.\tSupporting individual in affirmation of their social, environmental and human rights.\nii.\tEnabling the citizen to protect their environment as well as enhancing their well being and achieving environmental justice.\niii.\tMobilizes individuals to be in various alliances and partnership to promote their well being as residents.\niv.\tEmpowering the marginalized individuals, groups and communities that are in commercial and institutional routines as decision making and policy making. \n"},{"header":"Approaches of Green Social Work","content":"\u003cp\u003eGreen Social Work is mainly driven by three approaches pertaining to sustainable development, environmental justice and human rights thus we have three approaches to Green Social Work which are Sustainable Development Approach, Environmental Justice and Human Rights Based Approach.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSustainable Development Approach:\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUnited Nations defined Sustainable development as \u0026ldquo;development that meets the needs of the \u0026nbsp; present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs\u0026rdquo;. Green social workers therefore undertake works that are important to ensure the sustainable development and they direct their efforts towards building an inclusive, sustainable and resilient future for people and planet\u003csup\u003e5\u003c/sup\u003e. They also focuses on setting together the three \u0026nbsp; significant core elements which are economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection as these elements are interrelated and all are important \u0026nbsp;for the well-being of individuals and societies.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMore significantly, from the standpoint of sustainability, the field of green social work does so while accounting for the generational bonds that unite individuals within families, communities, and groups. Green Social worker generally provides the skill sets and resources needed to address intergenerational fairness challenges that are inherent in ecological approaches to sustainability.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEnvironmental Justice Approach:\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEnvironmental Justice is defined as \u0026ldquo;the justice to environment as well as justice for the environment\u0026rdquo;. In current times industrialization is on its peak that generates a large amount of poisonous gases causing global warming and acid rains\u003csup\u003e7\u003c/sup\u003e, e-waste is also becoming a major problem for the human beings as it is contributing in increasing harmful radiations, problem of using plastic is also unavoidable, use of fertilizers and insecticides is not only producing adequate amount of food material and keeping crops pest free but it is also degrading the quality of soil and causing imbalance in biological cycle. Increase in construction of dams, building roads, deforestation, wars between nations and much more is causing damage to the environment\u003csup\u003e9\u003c/sup\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSocial Workers practicing green social work thus organize society to refrain from doing such things that are causing harm to the environment\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003e. It thus promotes well being of both human beings and environment .When it comes to the environmental justice for human beings social workers engage, guide and help individuals to get equality in distribution of natural resources by the means of advocacy, workshops and awareness ,thus it can be said that \u0026ldquo;Interventions regarding environment justice are aimed at promotion of safe and clean environment through meaningful involvement of all in \u0026nbsp;development of program ,policy and decisions impacting and involving environment \u0026nbsp; (Jones ,2012) \u0026nbsp;irrespective of their cast ,religion ,gender ,income and race (Environmental Protection Agency).\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnother aspect of environmental justice tells that GSW should work to provide justice to the environments such as working for the promotion of organic farming in order to save soil, working against over irrigation in order to save, against excessive use of natural resources thence in one line it can be described as \u0026ldquo;\u003cem\u003epaying desirable respect and value to the nature for what it gives us\u003c/em\u003e\u0026rdquo;.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHuman Rights Approach:\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEnvironment is compilation of physical, chemical and biotic factors that acts upon an organism or an ecological community and ultimately determines its form and survival. A human being is dependent over natural environment for all its needs and requirements.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the year 1992, United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), informally known as the Earth Summit and Rio Declaration on environment and development declared \u0026ldquo;Environment rights as encompassed within previously established human rights\u0026rdquo; . Therefore Human rights approach guides the green social workers to ensure the basic requirements of the human being from the environment. Moreover green social worker focuses on human dignity as a major aspect of human rights, they also work with the indigenous people in preserving their habitat and culture\u003csup\u003e10\u003c/sup\u003e. The human rights approach thus guarantees the right to the fullest possible well-being for all people and all generations. \u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;In addition to supporting human rights green social workers also focused on health and hygiene of the people, clean environment, laws pertaining to climate change, corporate responsibility as well as on education. They mobilize communities to work for the protection of the environment for this purpose they collaborate with youth, professionals and institutions especially in the areas of low income and low literacy rate. Thus this approach can also be termed as an approach of protecting people\u0026rsquo;s right to healthy environment\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Principles of Green Social Work","content":"\u003cp\u003eIn the field of social work with the advancement in the knowledge and capacities of individuals along with the advent of new area of work as well as problems guiding principles keeps on changing keeping in mind the fact that the work done by the practitioners by implementing these should be beneficial for the targeted area /people. Green Social Work as is new work area of social work profession is developing its theories, principles, knowledge and skill set for the practitioners. Thus the following are to be considered as principles of the Green Social Work.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col style=\"list-style-type: lower-roman;\"\u003e\n \u003cli\u003ePrinciple of Social Inclusion.\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003ePrinciple of Ecological Balance.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003ePrinciple of Respect for Diversity.\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003ePrinciple of Freedom from Environmental Degradation.\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003ePrinciple of Protection of Human Rights.\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003ePrinciple of Sustainable Development.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003ePrinciple of Environment Justice.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAccording to Rinkel and Powers (2017), practitioners undertake the following duties (a) sup-porting individuals in the affirmation of their human, environmental and social rights, (b) enabling the citizenry to protect their environments as well as enhancing their wellbeing and achieving envi-ronmental justice, (c) mobilizing individuals to be in various alliances and partnerships to promote their well-being as residents and (d) empowering the marginalized individuals, groups and com-munities that are in commercial and institutional routines as decision/policymakers\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePrinciple of Social Inclusion:\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis principle states that Green Social Work should consider all members of a society as guardian of their surroundings as well as natural environment. It should take view points of all the members of the society on environmental issues regardless of their socio-economic conditions. Thus it should increase the terms of participation in the meaningful engagement of members of society especially for those who are downtrodden marginalized and badly affected.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePrinciple of Ecological Balance:\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis principle states that Social worker practicing green social work should work as advocates of environment by working to maintain the balance between development projects of humans and the environment. They should work against such human activities which cause damage to the environment, deteriorating natural resources, increasing pollution level, affecting habitat of flora and fauna, increasing diseases and causing health problems.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePrinciple of Respect for Diversity:\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis principle states that social workers should respect the diversity of the habitat, culture and environment while undertaking any project /task pertaining to green social work. This is necessary to achieve the pre defined objectives of the work by building a purposeful and trusted relationship with the community with which they are working. This keeps them motivated and honest towards the environment.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePrinciple of Freedom from Environmental Degradation:\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis principle states that green social workers should undertake all those works which can prevent environment form degradation for this purpose they should coordinate with all including youth, school students, old-aged, governments and corporate entities. Green social workers should promote the use of natural things instead of indestructible human made artificial things. In modern times it can be done by the use of social media platforms, online campaigning, online petitions, oaths etc.\u003csup\u003e7\u003c/sup\u003e .\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePrinciple of protection of Human Rights:\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis principle states that Green Social Worker should work for the protection of human rights of an individual as well as the society. This principle also deals with the ensuring basics needs of human being from environment like availability of clean air, potable water and food supply. Social workers should also protect the environmental rights of tribes and marginalized people to prevent against crime and exploitation.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePrinciple of Sustainable Development:\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis principle states that Green Social workers should do advocacy of those development works which are not only beneficial for the present generations but should also will be fruitful for the future generations. This type of development can also be termed as positive or exponential development\u003csup\u003e6\u003c/sup\u003e. Social workers should focus on preserving the nature and natural recourses for upcoming generation by the means of community organization and community involvement.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePrinciple of Environment Justice:\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis principle states that Green Social Worker should work for establishing (environmental) justice for human beings as well for environment itself. In context to humans environment justice consist of equal distribution of natural resources, protection from environmental hazards etc., the context of justice to environment can easily be understood by a simple example as \u0026ldquo;Consider a multinational company is building a mega mall in an underdeveloped area and for that it is cutting down thousands of trees and the responsible \u0026nbsp;government and authorities are not taking proper action then green social work practitioners should form pressure groups to made it necessary for that MNC as well as government to restore the greenery of that area\u0026rdquo; . In this way it is said to that justice with the environment has taken place.\u0026nbsp;\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Conclusion","content":"\u003cp\u003eGreen social work is a new branch of social work in which a social worker get specialized training and knowledge of environment and environmental issues. Methods of social work such as community organization, social action and social welfare administration are more vital in area of work of green social work of community engagement and involvement plays a prominent role in environment conservation. Social workers uses different approaches to practice green social work and those are sustainable development approach, environmental justice approach and human rights approach. Principles of green social work draws its roots from social work practice but these are more environment centric and involve principle of social inclusion, ecological balance, respect for diversity, protection of human rights, freedom from environmental degradation, sustainable development and environment justice.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003ch2\u003eEthical Approval\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis study is a conceptual/theoretical paper that does not involve human participants, animals, or the collection of any primary empirical data. Therefore, approval from an Ethics Committee or Institutional Review Board was not required.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eConsent to Participate:\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNot applicable.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eConsent to Publish:\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNot applicable.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eFunding\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe author declares that no funding, financial support, or grant was received for conducting this research or preparing this manuscript.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eAuthor Contribution\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eM.B. studied the related topics to green social work, searched for different sources. M.B. and A.B. prepared the manuscripts and U.S. helped in connecting A.B. and M.B. to different thinkers and also worked in narrowing down the content and in formulation of principles and aproaches.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eData Availability\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo datasets were generated or analysed during the preparation of this article. All materials referred to are available through published sources. Hence, data availability is **not applicable** .\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePapadimitriou ,Evripidis (2021) \u0026ldquo;\u003cem\u003eDefining Green Social Work\u003c/em\u003e\u0026rdquo; Social Cohesion and Development .\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eKapro ,K. (2024) \u0026ldquo;\u003cem\u003eWhat is Green Social Work\u0026rdquo; , \u003c/em\u003eEnvironmental Justice, Social Work .\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHaorui Wu\u003csup\u003e*\u003c/sup\u003e and Meredith Greig (2022) \u0026ldquo;Adaptability, Interdisciplinarity, Engageability: Critical Reflections on Green Social Work Teaching and Training\u0026rdquo; , Healthcare (Basel)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDominelli, L. (2012) Green social work and environmental justice in an environmentally de-\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003egraded and unjust world. Durham: Durham University. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDominelli, L. (2012) Green social work and environmental justice in an environmentally de-\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003egraded and unjust world. Durham: Durham University. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePrasad S.(2024),\u0026rdquo;\u003cem\u003eGreen social work practice with environment\u0026rdquo; \u003c/em\u003e, article, Sikkim express .\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHeather Downey, Evelien Spelten, Katie Holmes, Sean MacDermott, Prue Atkins(2023), \u0026ldquo;\u003cem\u003eA Green Social Work Study of Environmental and Social Justice in an Australian River Community\u0026rdquo;, Social Work Research\u003c/em\u003e, Volume 47.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBauer, J. (2011). Review of Arun Agrawal\u0026rsquo;s, Environmentality: Technologis of government and the making of subjects (2005). Carnegie council, Voice for ethics in international affairs. Retrieved on 6 March, 2011, from, http://www.carnegiecouncil.org/resources/journal/19_3/book_reviews/ 5272.html/:pf_printable. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBookchin, M. (1996). The concept of social ecology. In Merchant, C. (Ed.), Ecology: Key concepts in critical thought. New Delhi: Rawat Publications. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBurchell, G., Gordon, C. and Miller, P. (Eds.) (1991). The Foucault Effect: Studies in Governmentality, Hemel Hempstead: Harvester Wheatsheaf. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCommoner, B. (1971).The Closing Circle: Nature, Man and Technology. New York: Knopf. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDarrier, E. (Ed.). (1999). Discourses of the Environment. London :Blackwell \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDebord, G. (1994). The Society of the Spectacle. New York: Zone Books. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDrekmeier, C. (1962). Kingship and Community in Early India. Stanford University Press. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDemeritt, D. (2001). The construction of global warming and the politics of science. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, Vol. 91, No.2, p. 307-337. Taylor and Francis. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDobson, A.(1990).Green Political Thought. London and New York: Routledge\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAndharia, J. and Sengupta, C. (1998). The Environmental Movement: Global Issues and the Indian Reality, Indian Journal of Social Work, vol. 59, 422-49.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"journal-of-human-rights-and-social-work","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"jhrw","sideBox":"Learn more about [Journal of Human Rights and Social Work](http://link.springer.com/journal/41134)","snPcode":"41134","submissionUrl":"https://submission.springernature.com/new-submission/41134/3","title":"Journal of Human Rights and Social Work","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Green Social work, Sustainable Development, Social Inclusion, Environmental Justice, Human Rights, Deforestation, Ecological Balance","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8087163/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8087163/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eSocial Work as a profession has evolved with the increasing research in the field and thus its scope area has also increased. Social workers started focusing on problems and issues which are the result of advancement in the human civilization and society including environmental issues. Green social work deals with such issues. Social Workers thus apply different approaches and principles to achieve their objectives related to environment. Sustainability of the natural resources, environmental justice and human rights lays the foundation of working for environment. Green social work is not only limited to the conservation of forest but it is also concerns for ocean, space, animals and atmosphere.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Green Social Work: Approaches and Principles","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-11-27 16:16:07","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8087163/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-03-21T18:00:27+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"158644900902118819665163536953278489757","date":"2026-03-01T17:30:32+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-01-02T23:16:07+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"326152752759655931031865466256302501308","date":"2025-12-07T16:55:25+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"54627939038937495534272265428338185593","date":"2025-11-19T15:23:58+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2025-11-19T15:14:58+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-11-18T05:16:30+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2025-11-18T05:16:01+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Journal of Human Rights and Social Work","date":"2025-11-11T13:03:46+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"journal-of-human-rights-and-social-work","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"jhrw","sideBox":"Learn more about [Journal of Human Rights and Social Work](http://link.springer.com/journal/41134)","snPcode":"41134","submissionUrl":"https://submission.springernature.com/new-submission/41134/3","title":"Journal of Human Rights and Social Work","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"30e29b9c-0dc4-432e-9197-11759107817d","owner":[],"postedDate":"November 27th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-11-27T16:16:07+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-11-27 16:16:07","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8087163","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8087163","identity":"rs-8087163","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}