An Assessment of the Environmental Performance of Selected Firms in the Kampala Industrial and Business Park (KIBP), Uganda

Abstract

The study sought assess the environmental management systems adopted by select firms within the KIBP, Namanve. By using the Qualitative Research Design, a cross-sectional survey was used to map and characterize the adoption of ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems (EMS) and to assess the factors influencing the adoption of ISO 14001 by selected factories within the Kampala Industrial and Business Park, Namanve. Out of the 12 responsive factories, field results indicated that 50% of the factories within the KIBP, Namanve were ISO 14001 certified which indicated commitment of factories to protecting the environment. The ISO 14001 was hinged on the five (5) traditional management requirements particularly focusing on the Environmental Policy statement to which factories have committed to and the environmental management practices put in place. Not all factories, however, had adopted the ISO 14001 mainly because of the costly process of certification. On the other hand, the factors that significantly influenced the adoption of the ISO 14001 EMS by the factories which were certified included low production costs, influence of the media and compliance to international standards. The efforts to decouple industrial development from the environment are still very minimal however, there are attempts being made by factories in KIBP, Namanve through their environmental management practices particularly using alternative technologies in the production processes adopted which include energy saving, recycling and re-use methods.