Impact of Environmental Initiatives on Environmental Performances: Evidence from the UK Manufacturing Sector

Understanding the relationship between sustainability initiatives undertaken by firms and their environmental performance is not straightforward. Extant research on such relationship often shows inconclusive or contradictory results. Firms also differ in their attitude, motivation, and capability to adopt a proactive environmental initiative. This study uses a content analysis approach in a multi-industry setting to study how UK-based manufacturing firms adopt environmental initiatives (strategic and tactical) to improve their environmental performance (pollution prevention, pollution control, and supply chain coordination). The findings suggest UK manufacturers tend to focus more on short-term pollution control rather than fundamental pollution prevention measures of performance. This research discusses the potential impact of such reactive strategies on UK manufacturers’ quest for leadership.