Abstract:
Globalization has made people deviate from the natural environment day by
day, and it has also increased global warming with consequences for both the
living and non-living environment. To address this issue, organizations have
undertaken different kinds of environmental planning. Green Environmental
Planning (GEP) is one of them. The very first green factories are owned by
the massive garment producers in Sri Lanka. However, their success was
challenged by many limitations in various ways. This study investigates the
effectiveness of GEP and challenges of GEP in Sri Lankan apparel companies.
This research was conducted through both qualitative and quantitative
research methods. Five main components of GEP were examined in this study
as the independent variables while the dependent variable was the
effectiveness of GEP. The sample was based on two companies by using
stratified random sampling method. One hundred and twenty employees were
selected from the total population of each company. The primary data was
collected through a questionnaire and face-to-face interviews and the
secondary data were also used. All variables of GEP are highly correlated with
the dependent variable of Effectiveness of Green Environmental Planning
while temperature controlling is the strongest predictor of the dependent
variable. The main challenges of improving GEP are technological
weaknesses, lack of awareness of employees, conventional mindsets towards
traditional buildings, less governmental contribution, less inter-sectorial
coordination among related sectors and lack of professionals in the field. Recommendations were proposed towards a more effective green
environmental planning in Sri Lankan apparel companies.
