Abstract: With the implementation of waste classification regulation in China, how to motivate employees' voluntary pro-environmental behaviors, i.e., citizenship behavior for environment protection, at workplace has become an important practical issue that enterprises are facing, this issue even has implications for China's eco-civilization construction. Given that leaders play a crucial role in shaping employees' behaviors, this study examines the relationship between pro-environment transformational leadership and employee's citizenship behavior for environment protection; it also explores the mediating role of pro-environmental ability, pro-environmental intrinsic motivation and pro-environmental opportunity by introducing the ability-motivation-opportunity theory. Based on the survey data of 171 leader-employee matching from the manufacturing industry, the results of structural equation modeling analysis shows that pro-environmental transformational leadership can promote employees' citizenship behavior for environment protection through employee's pro-environmental ability, pro-environmental intrinsic motivation and pro-environmental opportunity. Moreover, the mediating effect of pro-environmental opportunity is stronger than that of pro-environmental ability and pro-environmental intrinsic motivation. The above conclusion can help the academic circle to understand the mechanism underlying the effect of pro-environment transformational leadership on employees' citizenship behavior for environment protection and provide enlightenment for enterprises in the manufacturing industry to motivate employees' voluntary pro-environmental behaviors.

Key words: pro-environment transformational leadership, citizenship behavior for environment protection, environment protection ability, intrinsic motivation for environment protection, opportunity for environment protection