Implementing environmental regulations in Pakistan remains an ideological thought with little or no enforcement. In this context, an organization’s sincerity towards corporate social responsibility initiatives is proven when it operates responsibly without regulatory pressures. Aimed at advancing the discourse on social identity and self-determination theories, this paper examines the influencing mechanism of multilevel responsible leadership on employees’ voluntary green behavior from a vertical perspective through leader identification and autonomous motivation for the environment. The sample included 357 employees working in 97 teams from pharmaceutical, cement manufacturing, and textile sector companies. Multi-source data were collected in two phases and analyzed with multilevel structural equation modeling through MPlus 8.3 software. The results support the hypothesized direct and mediating mechanisms of responsible leadership in shaping employees’ voluntary green behavior. Theoretical and managerial implications, limitations, and future research suggestions are discussed.

在巴基斯坦实施环境法规仍然是一种意识形态想法，很少或根本没有执行。在这种情况下，当一个组织在没有监管压力的情况下负责任地运营时，它对企业社会责任倡议的诚意就得到了证明。本文旨在推进关于社会认同和自我决定理论的话语，通过领导者认同和对环境的自主激励，从纵向视角考察多层次责任领导对员工自愿绿色行为的影响机制。样本包括来自制药、水泥制造和纺织行业公司的 97 个团队中的 357 名员工。分两阶段收集多源数据，并通过MPlus 8.3软件进行多层次结构方程建模分析。结果支持假设的负责任领导在塑造员工自愿绿色行为方面的直接和中介机制。讨论了理论和管理意义、局限性和未来的研究建议。