PurposeAwareness of environmental and environmental ethical behaviours are increasing day by day in the hospitality sector. Concepts are examined more and more from the “green” point of view. This study aims to reveal the impact of green transformational leadership on green creativity and the mediating effects of green organizational citizenship behaviours in the relationship between green transformational leadership and green creativity in the context of hospitality.Design/methodology/approachThis study was designed according to the quantitative approach. Hotel employees in Istanbul, Turkey (N = 201) provided data later analysed in three stages. First, JAMOVI software outputs provided descriptive statistics. Second, confirmatory factor analyses ensured the validity of the research. Third, SmartPLS was used to test the hypotheses of the study.FindingsThe results revealed that green transformational leadership positively affects employees' green creativity and green organizational citizenship behaviours. Moreover, green organizational citizenship behaviours partially mediate the relationship between green transformational leadership and green creativity.Originality/valueTo the best of our knowledge, no research examines the mediating effect of green organizational citizenship behaviours in the relationship between green transformational leadership and green creativity. This research will contribute to the relevant literature by filling this gap. This study is original in its attempt to reveal the nature of green organizational behaviours of hospitality employees. It contributes to the literature on green transformational leadership, green creativity and green organizational citizenship behaviours.