Assessment Of Factors Affecting Adoption Of Environmental Management Systems (Iso 14001). A Case Study Of Parastatals Under The Ministry Of Environment And Forestry, Kenya

Abstract

The rising need for both private and public institutions to enhance environmental conservation has led to development of various environmental related management tools such as EMS based on the ISO 14001 standard. The main objective of this study was to assess the factors affecting adoption of ISO 14001-EMS in the public sector with particular respect to 5 parastatals within the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (MoE&F). The study used a mixed research methodology to draw 102 responses from a purposive sample of 132 individuals from which primary data were collected by use of a semi-structured questionnaire. The study captured secondary data from ISO database, parastatal records and publications from related studies. The study applied both Environmental impact theory and Institutional theory. With a 77.3% response rate, the study found out that 3 agencies were certified to either ISO 14001-EMS or ISO 9001-QMS while 2 were not yet certified but were in the process of seeking certification particularly for ISO 9001. A principal factor analysis was conducted to test hypothesis. Key factors that influenced adoption were: Resources adequacy, leadership commitment and perceived implementation benefits while the most significant perception attributes were: experience/skills gained from longer duration of implementation, staff involvement, staff training, awareness and perceived additional workload. Consequently, the researcher rejected the two hypotheses on the conclusion that there was enough evidence projecting how various factors and perception attributes influenced individual agency decisions to adopt varying ISO systems management decisions. In conclusion, political influence was found to be very insignificant at the implementation stage but it was the key driver at the inception stage. As a result, lack of clear guidance on the final expected output greatly influenced adoption of ISO 9001-QMS to boost internal performance at the expense of the agencies environmentally related core mandates. The study recommended further research on why firms do not consider self-declaration option or independent third-party certifications which are less hypotheses, how the new normal (Post- COVID-19) will impact EMS uptake as well what aspects determine EMS adoption in other government ministries.