Influence of Green Supply Chain Practices on Performance of Energy and Petroleum State Corporations in Kenya

Abstract

Adopting green supply chain in business operations has become an important strategic issue that organizations are today dealing with. This is in order to meet legal obligations, enhance sustainability, improve image and attract green funding. Adopting green supply chain means greening functions. Among the key functions in any business is supply chain management. Through supply chain, raw materials, parts and technologies are brought in to a firm. This realization has jolted businesses to work towards reducing their impacts on the environment by adopting green in their supply chain processes. In addition, power production and distribution is among the highest contributors to environmental degradation through carbon emissions and depletion of forest cover. Although research has been done on several aspects of firm performance, there is a gap on how adoption of green supply chain practices affects organizational performance of state corporations in Kenya. This is the gap that this study aimed to fill. This study used a descriptive design to describe the phenomena of how green supply chain practices affect performance. Thus, the main purpose of the study was to determine the influence of green supply chain practices on performance of the energy and petroleum state corporations in Kenya. The specific objective were to assess influence of green raw materials on performance of energy and petroleum state corporations in Kenya, establish use of green manufacturing technologies on performance of energy and petroleum state corporations in Kenya, determine influence of green distribution on performance of energy and petroleum state corporations in Kenya, ascertain influence of green disposal on performance of energy and petroleum state corporations in Kenya, establish whether regulatory framework moderate the relationships between the green supply chain practices and performance of energy and petroleum state corporations in Kenya. The study adapted a survey research design. It targeted all the 10 energy related state corporations in Kenya. Two hundred and fifty five employees manning the procurement departments in the said corporations were sampled from the 761 total. The sampled employees were stratified according to cadres to ensure proper representation. Primary data was collected using self administered questionnaires filled by the sampled employees. Further, there was one questionnaire to each Finance Manager in each state corporation and 1 questionnaire to a stakeholders and another one to the environment officer to help collaborate the information collected from the procurement officers. Additional secondary data was sourced from material such as annual reports and policy documents publicly available. Quantitative data was then coded and analysed as per the study objectives using SPSS. Content analysis was done on qualitative data to derive meaning. Data was then presented in figures, tables and charts and discussed as per the objectives. Results indicated that green supply chain practices; considering the use of green raw material, considering the use of green manufacturing technology, considering green distribution, considering products capacity for green use, and considering green disposal are significantly related to performance of energy and petroleum state corporations in Kenya. The relation is inverse meaning a rise in the practices lowers performance. The study also established that regulations and policy frameworks on environmental conservation moderates the relationship between green supply chain practices and performance of energy and petroleum state corporations in Kenya. Based on these findings, it is recommended that the government develops green supply chain policy and guidelines that will motivate energy and petroleum state corporations to adopt green supply chain practices.