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                                                                    EXHIBIT 99.1

                                                                 April 1, 1997

                      ADVANCED LIGHTING TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
                        1997 EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE PLAN

         SECTION 1.        PURPOSE.

                  The purpose of the Advanced Lighting Technologies, Inc. 1997
Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the "Plan") is to provide a method whereby
employees of Advanced Lighting Technologies, Inc., (together with any successor
thereto, the "Company") and its Subsidiaries (as defined below) will have an
opportunity to acquire a proprietary interest in the growth and performance of
the Company through the purchase of shares of Common Stock of the Company
("Stock"). It is the intention of the Company to have the Plan qualify as an
"employee stock purchase plan" under Section 423 of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986, as amended (the "Code"). The provisions of the Plan shall be construed so
as to extend and limit participation in a manner consistent with the
requirements of that section of the Code.

         SECTION 2.        DEFINITIONS.

                  2.01.    Committee.

                           "Committee" shall mean the Incentive Award Committee
of the Company's Board of Directors.

                  2.02.    Compensation.

                           "Compensation" shall mean all wages and earnings
included within the definition of wages in Section 3401(a) of the Code.

                  2.03.    Employee.

                           "Employee"  means any person who is  customarily  
employed on a full-time or part-time basis by the Company or any Subsidiary and
is regularly scheduled to work more than twenty (20) hours per week.

                  2.04.    Participant.

                           "Participant"  means any Employee who has satisfied 
the eligibility requirements and completed the authorization form in the manner
provided in Section 3.04 of this Plan.

                  2.05.    Purchase Date.

                           "Purchase Date" means the last business day of each 
calendar month.

                  2.06.    Subsidiary.

                           "Subsidiary"  means (i) any corporation in an 
unbroken chain of corporations, starting with the Company, where, at each link
of the chain, the corporation in the link above owns at least Fifty Percent
(50%) of the combined voting power of all the classes of stock in the
corporation below, and (ii) is designated as a participant in the Plan by the
Committee.

         SECTION 3.        ELIGIBILITY AND PARTICIPATION.

                  3.01.    Initial Eligibility.

                           Any Employee who shall have completed six (6) months
employment and shall be employed by the Company or any Subsidiary on the date
such Employee's participation for any Offering Period in the Plan is to


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become effective shall be eligible to participate in offerings under the Plan
which commences on or after such six (6) month period has concluded.

                  3.02.    Leave of Absence.

                           For  purposes of participation in the Plan, a person
on leave of absence shall be deemed to be an Employee for the first ninety (90)
days of such leave of absence and such Employee's employment shall be deemed to
have terminated at the close of business on the ninetieth day of such leave of
absence unless such Employee shall have returned to regular full-time or
part-time employment (as the case may be) prior to the close of business on such
ninetieth day. Termination by the Company or any Subsidiary of any Employee's
leave of absence, other than termination of such leave of absence on return to
full time or part time employment, shall terminate an Employee's employment for
all purposes of the Plan and shall terminate such Employee's participation in
the Plan and right to exercise any option.

                  3.03.    Restrictions on Participation.

                           Notwithstanding  any provisions of the Plan to the
contrary, no Employee shall be granted an option to participate in the Plan:

                           (a)      if,  immediately  after the grant, such 
Employee would own Stock, and/or hold outstanding options to purchase Stock,
possessing 5% or more of the total combined voting power or value of all classes
of Stock of the Company (for purposes of this paragraph, the rules of Section
424(d) of the Code shall apply in determining Stock ownership of any Employee);
or

                           (b)      which permits the Employee's rights to 
purchase Stock under all employee stock purchase plans of the Company to accrue
at a rate which exceeds $25,000 in fair market value of the Stock (determined at
the time such option is granted) for each calendar year in which such option is
outstanding.

                  3.04.    Commencement of Participation.

                           An eligible  Employee may become a  Participant  by 
completing an authorization for a payroll deduction on the form provided by the
Company and filing it with the office of the Treasurer of the Company prior to
the Commencement Date of the next succeeding Offering Period. Payroll deductions
for a Participant shall thereafter commence on the next succeeding Commencement
Date and shall end on the Termination Date of the Offering to which such
authorization is applicable unless sooner terminated by the Participant as
provided in Section 8. Notwithstanding the forgoing, an eligible Employee may
become a Participant at any time during the Offering Period beginning on April
15, 1997 and ending on June 30, 1997 by filing the authorization for payroll
deduction form with the Treasurer of the Company. In such event, payroll
deductions for such Participant shall commence on the next pay date.

         SECTION 4.        OFFERING.

                  4.01.    Offering.

                           The  Plan  will  be  implemented by  an  offering  
of 100,000 shares of Stock (the "Offering") beginning on April 15, 1997 and
continuing thereafter until all the shares of Stock have been purchased, but
terminating, in any event, on December 31, 2001. The Company may increase the
Offering from time to time in accordance with the procedures set forth in
Section 424 of the Code. As used in this Plan "Commencement Date" means the
first business day of each January and July until termination of the Plan
(except that the Commencement Date of the first Offering Period is April 15,
1997) and "Termination Date" means the last business day of each December and
June until termination of the Plan. Each period between a Commencement Date and
a Termination Date shall constitute a separate "Offering Period."

         SECTION 5.        PAYROLL DEDUCTIONS.

                  5.01.    Amount of Deduction.


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                           At the time an Employee  files an  authorization  
for payroll deduction, the Employee shall elect to have deductions made from the
Employee's pay on each payday during the time the Employee is a Participant at a
rate not to exceed ten percent (10%) of the Employee's compensation (the
"Payroll Deduction").

                  5.02.    Participant's Account.

                           All Payroll  Deductions  made for a Participant  
shall be credited to the Participant's account under the Plan. A Participant may
not make any separate cash payment into such account except when on leave of
absence and then only as provided in Section 5.04 of this Plan.

                  5.03.    Changes in Payroll Deductions.

                           A Participant may discontinue  his  participation  
in the Plan as provided in Section 8, but no other change can be made during an
Offering Period and, specifically, a Participant may not alter the amount of the
Participant's Payroll Deductions during an Offering Period.

                  5.04.    Leave of Absence.

                           If a Participant goes on a leave of absence,  such  
Participant shall have the right to elect: (a) to withdraw the balance in the
Participant's account pursuant to Section 7.02, (b) to discontinue contributions
to the Plan but remain a Participant in the Plan, or (c) remain a Participant in
the Plan during such leave of absence, authorizing deductions to be made from
payments by the Company or any Subsidiary to the Participant during such leave
of absence and undertaking to make cash payments to the Plan at the end of each
payroll period to the extent that amounts payable by the Company or any
Subsidiary to such Participant are insufficient to meet such Participant's
authorized Payroll Deduction.

         SECTION 6.        GRANTING OF OPTION.

                  6.01.    Number of Option Shares.

                           For each Offering Period,  a Participant  shall be 
deemed to have been granted an option to purchase the maximum whole number of
shares of Stock which may be purchased with each Participant's Payroll Deduction
on each Purchase Date during such Offering Period, at a price equal to
Eighty-Five Percent (85%) of the market value of the Stock on such Purchase Date
(the "Option Price").

                  6.02.    Determination of Option Price.

                           The Option Price as of each  Purchase  Date shall be
based upon the closing price of the Stock on each Purchase Date, or the nearest
prior business day on which trading occurred on the NASDAQ National Market
System.

         SECTION 7.        EXERCISE OF OPTION.

                  7.01.    Automatic Exercise.

                           Unless a Participant  gives written  notice to the 
Company as hereinafter provided, a Participant's option for the purchase of
Stock with Payroll Deductions made during any Offering Period will be deemed to
have been exercised on each applicable Purchase Date for the purchase of the
number of shares of Stock which the accumulated Payroll Deductions in the
Participant's account at that time will purchase at the applicable Option Price.

                  7.02.    Withdrawal of Account.

                           By written  notice to the  Treasurer of the Company 
not less than five (5) days prior to any Purchase Date, a Participant may elect
to withdraw all the Payroll Deductions in the Participant's account at such time
and terminate the Participant's participation in the then current Offering
Period.


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                  7.03.    Transferability of Option.

                           During a  Participant's  lifetime,  options held by a
Participant shall be exercisable only by that Participant.

                  7.04.    Delivery of Stock.

                           As promptly as  practicable  after each Purchase  
Date, the Company will deliver to each Participant (or hold in an account for
the Participant's benefit), as appropriate, the Stock purchased upon exercise of
the Participant's option. Promptly following written notice to the Treasurer of
the Company at any time, the Company will deliver to any Participant the Stock
held in an account for such Participant's benefit.

         SECTION 8.        WITHDRAWAL.

                  8.01.    In General.

                           As indicated in  Section 7.02,  a Participant may 
withdraw Payroll Deductions credited to a Participant's account under the Plan
at any time by giving written notice to the Treasurer of the Company. All of the
Participant's Payroll Deductions credited to the Participant's account will be
paid to him promptly after receipt of the Participant's notice of withdrawal,
and (a) no further Payroll Deductions will be made during such Offering Period
and (b) no further Stock shall be purchased during such Offering Period.

                  8.02.    Effect on Subsequent Participation.

                           A  Participant's  withdrawal  from any Offering 
Period will not have any effect upon the Participant's eligibility to
participate in any succeeding Offering Period or in any similar plan which may
hereafter be adopted by the Company.

                  8.03.    Termination of Employment.

                           Upon termination of the Participant's  employment for
any reason, including retirement (but excluding death while in the employ of the
Company or continuation of a leave of absence for a period beyond ninety days),
the Participant's Payroll Deductions will be returned, and any Stock held in an
account for the Participant's benefit will be delivered to the Participant or,
in the case of death subsequent to the termination of employment, to the person
or persons entitled thereto under Section 12.01.

                  8.04.    Termination of Employment Due to Death.

                           Upon termination of the Participant's  employment 
because of the Participant's death, the beneficiary (as defined in Section
12.01) shall have the right to elect, by written notice given to the Treasurer
of the Company prior to the earlier of the Termination Date or the expiration of
a period of sixty (60) days commencing with the date of the death of the
Participant, either:

                           (a)       to  withdraw all of the Payroll Deductions
credited to the Participant's account under the Plan, or

                           (b)       to  exercise  the  Participant's  option 
for the purchase of Stock on the Termination Date next following the date of the
Participant's death for the purchase of the number of shares of Stock which the
Payroll Deductions in the Participant's account at the date of the Participant's
death will purchase at the applicable Option Price, and any excess in such
account will be returned to said beneficiary, without interest.

                           In the event that no such  written  notice of  
election shall be duly received by the office of the Treasurer of the Company,
the beneficiary shall automatically be deemed to have elected, pursuant to
paragraph (b), to exercise the Participant's option.


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                           Following  the  expiration of such 60-day  period, 
any Stock held in an account for Participant's benefit will be delivered to said
beneficiary.

                  8.05.    Leave of Absence.

                           A  Participant  on  leave  of  absence  shall,  
subject to the election made by such Participant pursuant to Section 5.04,
continue to be a Participant in the Plan so long as such Participant is on
continuous leave of absence. A Participant who has been on leave of absence for
more than ninety days and who therefore is not an Employee for the purpose of
the Plan shall not be entitled to purchase Stock on any Purchase Date following
such ninetieth day. Notwithstanding any other provisions of the Plan, unless a
Participant on leave of absence returns to regular full-time or part-time
employment with the Company or any Subsidiary at the earlier of: (a) the
termination of such leave of absence or (b) three months from the ninetieth day
of such leave of absence, then such Participant's participation in the Plan
shall terminate on whichever of such dates first occurs.

         SECTION 9.        INTEREST.

                  9.01.    Payment of Interest.

                           No  interest  will be paid or allowed on any money 
paid into the Plan or credited to the account of any Participant.

         SECTION 10.  STOCK.

                  10.01.   Maximum Shares of Stock.

                           The maximum number of shares of Stock which shall be
issued under the Plan, subject to adjustment upon changes in capitalization of
the Company as provided in Section 12.04, shall be 100,000 shares of Stock. If
the total number of shares of Stock for which options are exercised on any
Termination Date in accordance with Section VI exceeds the maximum number of
shares of Stock for the applicable offering, the Company shall make a pro rata
allocation of the shares available for delivery and distribution in as nearly a
uniform manner as shall be practicable and as it shall determine to be
equitable, and the balance of Payroll Deductions credited to the account of each
Participant under the Plan shall be returned to the Participant as promptly as
possible.

                  10.02.   Participant's Interest in Option Stock.

                           The  Participant  will have no interest in Stock  
covered by an option until such option has been exercised.

                  10.03.   Registration of Stock.

                           Stock to be  delivered  to a  Participant  under the
Plan will be held by the Company in an account for the benefit of the
Participant, or, if the Participant so directs by written notice to the
Treasurer of the Company prior to the Termination Date applicable thereto, in
the name of the Participant and/or one such other person as may be designated by
the Participant, as joint tenants with rights of survivorship, to the extent
permitted by applicable law.

                  10.04.   Restrictions on Exercise.

                           The Board of Directors  may, in its  discretion,  
require as conditions to the exercise of any option that the shares of Stock
reserved for issuance upon the exercise of the option shall have been duly
listed, upon official notice of issuance, upon a stock exchange, and that
either:

                  (a)      a Registration  Statement under the Securities Act 
of 1933, as amended, with respect to the Stock shall be effective, or

                  (b)      the Participant shall have represented at the time of
purchase, in form and substance satisfactory to he Company, that it is the
Participant's intention to purchase the Stock for investment and not for resale
or distribution.


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         SECTION 11.  ADMINISTRATION.

                  11.01.   Appointment of Committee.

                           The Plan shall be  administered  by the Committee.  
No member of the Committee shall be eligible to purchase Stock under the Plan.

                  11.02.   Authority of Committee.

                           Subject to the express  provisions of the Plan and 
applicable law, the Committee shall have full power and authority in its
discretion to interpret and construe any and all provisions of the Plan, to
adopt rules and regulations for administering the Plan, and to make all other
determinations deemed necessary or advisable for administering the Plan. The
Committee's determination on the foregoing matters shall be conclusive.

         SECTION 12.  MISCELLANEOUS.

                  12.01.   Designation of Beneficiary.

                           A Participant  may file a written  designation  of a
beneficiary who is to receive any Stock and/or cash. Such designation of
beneficiary may be changed by the Participant any time by written notice to the
Treasurer of the Company. Upon the death of a Participant and upon receipt by
the Company of proof of identity and existence at the Participant's death of a
beneficiary validly designated by the Participant under the Plan, the Company
shall deliver such Stock and/or cash to such beneficiary. In the event of the
death of a Participant and in the absence of a beneficiary validly designated
under the Plan who is living at the time of such Participant's death, the
company shall deliver such Stock and/or cash to the executor or administrator of
the estate of the Participant, or if no such executor or administrator has been
appointed (to the knowledge of the Company), the Company, in its discretion, may
deliver such Stock and/or cash to the spouse or to any one or more dependents of
the Participant as the Company may designate. No beneficiary shall, prior to the
death of the Participant by whom the beneficiary has been designated, acquire
any interest in the Stock or cash credited to the Participant under the Plan.

                  12.02.   Transferability.

                           Neither  Payroll  Deductions  nor any rights with 
regard to the exercise of an option or to receive Stock under the Plan may be
assigned, transferred, pledged, or otherwise disposed of in any way by a
Participant other than by will or the laws of descent and distribution. Any such
attempted assignment, transfer, pledge or other disposition shall be without
effect, except that the Company may treat such act as an election to withdraw
funds in accordance with Section 7.02.

                  12.03.   Use of Funds.

                           All  Payroll  Deductions  received  or held by the
Company under this Plan shall be segregated in a separate account maintained by
the Company.

                  12.04.   Adjustment Upon Changes in Capitalization.

                  (a) In the event that the Committee shall determine that any
dividend or other distribution (whether in the form of cash, Stock, other
securities, or other property) recapitalization, Stock split, reverse Stock
split, reorganization, merger, consolidation, split-up, spin-off, combination,
repurchase, or exchange of Stock or other securities of the Company, issuance of
warrants or other rights to purchase Stock or other securities of the Company,
or other similar corporate transaction or event affects the Stock such that an
adjustment is determined by the Committee to be appropriate in order to prevent
dilution or enlargement of the benefits or potential benefits intended to be
made available under the Plan, the Committee may make appropriate and
proportionate adjustments in the number and/or kind of shares which are subject
to purchase under outstanding options and on the option exercise price or prices
applicable to such outstanding options. In addition, in any such event, the
number and/or kind of shares which may be offered in the Offering may also be
proportionately adjusted.


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                  (b) Upon the dissolution or liquidation of the Company, or
upon a reorganization, merger or consolidation of the Company with one or more
corporations as a result of which the Company is not the surviving corporation,
or upon a sale of substantially all of the property or Stock of the Company to
another corporation, the holder of each option then outstanding under the Plan
will thereafter be entitled to receive at the next Termination Date upon the
exercise of such option for each share of Stock as to which such option shall be
exercised, as nearly as reasonably may be determined, the cash, securities
and/or property which a holder of one share of the Common Stock was entitled to
receive upon and at the time of such transaction. The Board of Directors shall
take such steps in connection with such transactions as the Board shall deem
necessary to assure that the provisions of this Section 12.04 shall thereafter
be applicable, as nearly as reasonably may be determined, in relation to the
said cash, securities and/or property as to which such holder of such option
might thereafter be entitled to receive.

                  12.05.   Amendment and Termination.

                           The Board of Directors  shall have  complete  power
and authority to terminate or amend the Plan; provided, however, that the Board
of Directors shall not, without the approval of the shareholders of the Company
(i) increase the maximum number of shares of Stock which may be issued; (ii)
amend the requirements as to the class of Employees eligible to purchase Stock
under the Plan or permit the members of the Committee to purchase Stock under
the Plan. No termination, modification, or amendment of the Plan may, without
the consent of an Employee then having an option under the Plan to purchase
Stock, adversely affect the rights of such Employee under such option.

                  12.06.   Effective Date.

                           The Plan shall become effective as of February  1, 
1997, subject to approval by the holders of the majority of the Stock present
and represented at a special or annual meeting of the shareholders held on or
before December 31, 1997.

                  12.07.   No Employment Rights.

                           The Plan does not, directly or indirectly, create
any right for the benefit of any Employee or class of Employees to purchase any
shares of Stock under the Plan, or create in any Employee or class of Employees
any right with respect to continuation of employment by the Company or any
Subsidiary, and it shall not be deemed to interfere in any way with the
Company's or any Subsidiary's right to terminate, or otherwise modify, an
Employee's employment at any time.

                  12.08.   Effect of Plan.

                           The  provisions of the Plan shall,  in accordance
with its terms, be binding upon, and inure to the benefit of, all successors of
each Employee participating in the Plan, including, without limitation, such
Employee's estate and the executors, administrators or trustees thereof, heirs
and legatees, and any receiver, trustee in bankruptcy or representative of
creditors of such Employee.

                  12.09.   Governing Law.

                           The law of the State of Ohio will govern all matters
relating to this Plan except to the extent it is superseded by the laws of the
United States.