Abstract
BACKGROUND: Civil servants encounter many psychological challenges in implementing pro-environmental behavior (PEB). However, previous research on the determinants of PEB has largely overlooked the combined impact of multiple psychological resources. Additionally, they described PEB as a behavior that individual’s own to protect the environment (PEB-self), not including the behavior to push others to do these (PEB-other). METHOD: First, this study developed a new PEB scale consisting of PEB-self and PEB-other. Second, based on the conservation of resources theory, a three-wave survey was conducted on 1503 Chinese civil servants to explore the psychological mechanisms of PEB formation. RESULT: The results indicate that spirituality exerts a positive influence on PEB through the mediating role of public service motivation. Notably, this influence extends beyond self-directed actions to foster spillover effects, whereby civil servants are motivated to persuade others to engage in PEB. Psychological capital significantly moderates this mediating relationship. Specifically, civil servants with higher levels of psychological capital are more likely to participate in PEB, particularly in activities aimed at promoting environmental protection. CONCLUSION: This study supports the proposition that integrating multiple psychological resources effectively fosters PEB and expands understanding of PEB within the public sector. It proposes practical strategies to cultivate PEB among civil servants through tiered interventions that enhance these psychological resources via training and workshops, thereby contributing to improved environmental performance in public organizations. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40359-025-03459-5.