Analysis of Environmental Initiatives on Business Perform ance Sustainability at the Lake Naivasha Ecosystem, Kenya

Abstract

Increasing degradation of the natural environment i s one of the main threats to human survival in the long term. Business enterprises’ environmental commitment has, therefore, become an important variable in most of today’s competitive business environment. Activitie s of most enterprises are the main causes of enviro nmental degradation which in turn impact on their performan ce. This study therefore looks at the specific busi ness environmental initiatives and how they impact on th eir performance. The overall objective of the study was to establish the impact of environmental initiatives o n business performance sustainability around Lake N aivasha. In order to achieve this objective, the research wa s guided by various specific objectives which inclu ded examining forms of environmental degradation, exami ning environmental initiatives put in place to miti gate on degradation, and examining effects of environmental initiatives of various business operations on soci al capital. Both primary and secondary data were collected for the purposes of the study. Primary data was collect ed through various instruments including questionnaire s administered to individual respondents, focus gro up discussions, in depth interviews and observation sc hedules. Secondary data was obtained from previous study reports, articles, professional journals, various b usinesses’ monitoring records, annual sales reports and any other relevant literature that the researcher came across in the course of the study. The collected data was interpreted and analysed using discriminant analysis. The Scien tific Package for Social Studies (SPSS) was used fo r the analysis. The study design was descriptive survey i n order to pick behaviours which needed to be mitig ated for purposes of enterprise performance sustainability. Purposive random sampling was used from the target population which comprised of farming, hospitality and fishing sectors. For purposes of establishing t he views of the stakeholders, the officials of various organisa tions that have interests on the Lake Naivasha ecos ystem were incorporated into a focus group and their views wer e sought through group discussions. The key finding s of the study were that; the main forms of environmental de gradation are nutrients discharge to the lake, wate r abstraction, cutting of trees, overgrazing and gree n house gases effects. The implication of the findi ngs is that unless businesses concerned address environmental i ssues their performance sustainability may not be a ssured going forward. The study recommends that an evaluat ive criteria defining the impacts that are acceptab le to the society be determined, policy bundles that are curr ently in place be reviewed to achieve diverse socie tal objectives, strategic decisions made by organisatio ns operating in the area be assessed in light of th e actors involved and investment in better information monit oring and enforcement of rules and regulations be undertaken. Lastly, since specific organisational s ustainability outcomes seem to consistently fail to meet broad societal expectation, the articulation of stakehold er interests need to be considered by involving all actors in the environmental governance process. Keywords: Environmental initiative on Business Performance Su stainability, Lake Naivasha, Kenya