Effect of eco-design practices on the performance of manufacturing firms in Mombasa county, Kenya

Abstract

Eco-design is a new approach to products design; it has emerged as a key approach for manufacturing firms seeking to become environmentally sustainable and globally competitive. The purpose of this study was to establish the effect of adoption of Eco-design practices on organizational performance of manufacturing firms in Mombasa County, Kenya. A cross sectional survey research design was adopted for this study. It targeted a population a population of manufacturing firms in Mombasa County listed by Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM, 2014). A sample of 65 firms was taken and data was collected using questionnaires. The results obtained indicated that Eco-design practices adoption was at the planning/ implementation stage as most of the manufacturing firms had considered adoption. The study also established that the major challenges of adopting Eco-design practices are Unsuccessful integration of Eco-design, Lack of knowhow in managing changes in design procedures, and Lack of technical knowledge about Eco-design. Lastly the findings show that Eco-design practices have positive influence on organization performance with greatest impact being on environmental impact reduction and financial performance. The study recommends that manufacturing firms should get enough training and empowerment on how to implement Eco-design practices so as to ensure success, reduce fear of failure and encourage environmental sustainability. They should also act fast and implement Ecodesign practices since there are potential benefits after implementation such as improvement in environmental impact reduction and financial performance. Lastly the researcher recommends that since government rules and legislations and organization capabilities are the major drivers of adoption of Eco-design practices they should review their policies and allocate more resources to ensure effective adoption and implementation of Eco-design practices. This is because the bedrock of economic and social development in Kenya is the environment; hence environment sustainability should be given first priority.