Are Environmental Vanguard Firms More Proactive Towards Environmental Conservation? An Empirical Study of Power Sector Firms in India

Article history Received: 12 June 2019 Accepted: 15 August 2019 Published Online: 30 October 2019 Environmental protection is a crucial issue for environmentalists and researchers. Almost every stakeholder in the industrial production process of a product is concerned about the detrimental effects on the environment due to emissions. Though environmental regulations are in place, some firms across diverse industrial sectors are considered as the environmental vanguard, i.e., leaders in environmental protection. Does being environmental vanguard result in environmental proactivity? This paper, through an empirical study of Indian power sector firms, studies the environmental proactivity of the firms who are known to be leaders in the adoption of environmental protection norms. A questionnaire-based survey method is used to analyse the responses statistically. The study uses 280 responses for the analysis of the data. Eight hypotheses are proposed and tested statistically through Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The statistical analysis reveals that the firms who are environmental vanguard are more proactive towards environmental protection. The findings of the study can be useful for the policymakers and environmental managers in the formulation of policies which can be considered as a benchmark for the firms for the protection of the environment.