Pro-Ecological Initiatives and Profitability of Manufacturing Enterprises

Abstract

The principal aim of the research was to present and evaluate the approach of manufacturing enterprises to various types of pro-ecological initiatives and to identify their impact on corporate financial performance (revenue, profit). The article discusses the issue of integrating environmental initiatives into economic activities of manufacturing enterprises in Poland and tries to answer whether managers of these enterprises make environmental decisions and what impact these decisions may have on the operation of the entities they manage. Quantitative studies were carried out on a sample of 385 manufacturing enterprises pursuing a variety of economic activities in Poland (50% were small, 39% medium-sized and 11% large companies). The hypothesis of the research was partially positively verified and it does not exhaust the research gap in the area. The key results from the studies indicated active (35%) and neutral (62%) attitudes of the companies surveyed to environmental issues as well as the pursuit of environmental initiatives by 77% of large, 82% medium-sized and only 39% of small enterprises. It shows that the future development of today’s enterprises can be achieved in many ways, but pro-ecological initiatives should not be ignored in this process. On the basis of the results obtained it was found, that in most companies pro-ecological initiatives undertaken did not contribute to a net profit growth (in about 50-60% of the entities surveyed depending on the group), however, one third of the entities recorded a profit growth. At the same time, a prevailing, relatively low revenue growth (0 to 5%) due to the environmental initiatives implemented pointed to the existence of an ecological revenue gap that can be exploited by manufacturing enterprises. The originality and value of the study are given by the fact, that it identifies specific types of pro-ecological initiatives implemented in the surveyed companies, which can serve as models to follow for other entities.