Abstract
This study explores the correlation between environmental performance and employment outcomes in the manufacturing industry in Kenya. Specifically, the study seeks to achieve three primary goals: first, to examine the impact of eco-efficiency on various types of employment outcomes; second, to examine the effect of adopting an Environmental Management System (EMS) on employment outcomes; and lastly, to compare the impact of using either a commitmentbased approach (proactive firms) or a compliance-based approach (reactive firms) on different types of employment outcomes. The study uses a 2-year panel data of Kenya's manufacturing firms from the Regional Programme Enterprise Development (RPED). Analysis is done using a pooled panel regression model that utilizes eco-efficiency scores as explanatory variables and employment outcomes as the dependent variable. The study findings indicate that by improving eco-efficiency in resource allocation, there is a potential gain in employment outcomes – though this gain varies depending on the type of employment outcome being considered. Moreover, proactive firms were found to perform better than reactive firms in employment outcomes, implying that adopting a commitment-based approach towards environmental management is more beneficial for manufacturing firms in terms of bolstering their employment outcomes.
