Eco-efficiency and organizational practices: an exploratory study of manufacturing firms

As the pressure increases on organizations to improve their eco-efficiency, the identification of organizational practices that can support this improvement has become a major concern for managers and researchers. The aim of this exploratory study is to identify the association between organizational practices (ie managerial and operational) and eco-efficiency in manufacturing organizations. Combining survey and public data from a sample of Canadian manufacturing industries, the results suggest for managerial practices that environmental strategic planning, environmental administrative mechanisms, and incentives are associated with two eco-efficiency ratios—namely, the material intensity ratio and the environmental productivity ratio—while environmental performance indicators are associated with the material intensity ratio. Furthermore, the results suggest that three environmental operational practices—namely, product redesign, reduction, and alliances—are positively associated with the material intensity ratio. This study contributes to the sustainability and eco-efficiency literatures by exploring the role and contributions of organizational practices that support environmental and economic performance.