Bou , Kwame B. e al.
A icle
P o i as a p edic o a iable o en i onmen al sus ainabili y p ac ices
(ESPs) o manu ac u ing companies o achie ing g een manu ac u ing
in con empo a y Ghana
Cogen Economics & Finance
P o ided in Coope a ion wi h:
Taylo & F ancis G oup
Sugges ed Ci a ion: Bou , Kwame B. e al. (2024) : P o i as a p edic o a iable o en i onmen al
sus ainabili y p ac ices (ESPs) o manu ac u ing companies o achie ing g een manu ac u ing in
con empo a y Ghana, Cogen Economics & Finance, ISSN 2332-2039, Taylo & F ancis, Abingdon,
Vol. 12, Iss. 1, pp. 1-12,
h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/23322039.2024.2364362
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P ofi as a p edic o a iable o en i onmen al
sus ainabili y p ac ices (ESPs) o manu ac u ing
companies o achie ing g een manu ac u ing in
con empo a y Ghana
Kwame B. Bou , Kwaku Adu, An hony Amoah, B aimah Kassum, Collins
Gameli Hodoli & Pa ience A. K. Awua-Boa eng
To ci e his a icle: Kwame B. Bou , Kwaku Adu, An hony Amoah, B aimah Kassum, Collins
Gameli Hodoli & Pa ience A. K. Awua-Boa eng (2024) P ofi as a p edic o a iable o
en i onmen al sus ainabili y p ac ices (ESPs) o manu ac u ing companies o achie ing g een
manu ac u ing in con empo a y Ghana, Cogen Economics & Finance, 12:1, 2364362, DOI:
10.1080/23322039.2024.2364362
To link o his a icle: h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/23322039.2024.2364362
© 2024 The Au ho (s). Published by In o ma
UK Limi ed, ading as Taylo & F ancis
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DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS | RESEARCH ARTICLE
P o i as a p edic o a iable o en i onmen al sus ainabili y p ac ices
(ESPs) o manu ac u ing companies o achie ing g een
manu ac u ing in con empo a y Ghana
Kwame B. Bou
a
, Kwaku Adu
b
, An hony Amoah
c
, B aimah Kassum
a
,
Collins Gameli Hodoli
a
and Pa ience A. K. Awua-Boa eng
d
a
Depa men o Gene al S udies, Uni e si y o En i onmen and Sus ainable De elopmen , Somanya, Ghana;
b
Depa men
o Applied Economics, Uni e si y o En i onmen and Sus ainable De elopmen , Somanya, Ghana;
c
School o Sus ainable
De elopmen , Uni e si y o En i onmen and Sus ainable De elopmen , Somanya, Ghana;
d
Depa men o Gene al S udies,
Uni e si y o En i onmen and Sus ainable De elopmen , Somanya, Ghana
ABSTRACT
The complex ela ionship be ween p o i ma gins and en i onmen al sus ainabili y p ac-
ices (ESPs) in Ghana’s manu ac u ing indus y is examined in his s udy. U ilizing in o -
ma ion ga he ed om six manu ac u ing i ms, he s udy uses eg ession analysis o
examine how di e en ESPs a ec p o i ma gins. The hypo he ical s a emen s we e
es ed using analysis o a iance (ANOVA). ANOVA was used o asce ain he a iabili y
be ween he dependen and independen a iables. The esul om he model sum-
ma y showed a signi ican ela ionship be ween he MCs’p o i ma gins and hei ESPs.
The esul s show ha al hough ce ain ESPs, like using con en ional pollu ion p o ec ion
echniques, may only sligh ly aise p o i ma gins, o he s, like pu ing mode n pollu ion
con ol echnology in o p ac ice, may d as ically lowe p o i abili y. Fu he mo e, he
s udy emphasizes how was e managemen and en i onmen al egula ions ha e a a o -
able impac on p o i ma gins, indica ing ha businesses ha ha e s ong en i onmen-
al s a egies ypically ha e be e inancial esul s. Howe e , he s udy also e eals he
possible downsides o p og ams like eco-awa ds and en i onmen al socializa ion, which
ha e expenses bu li le e u n on in es men . O e all, he s udy highligh s he in ica e
ela ionship be ween economic pe o mance and en i onmen al sus ainabili y in
Ghanaian manu ac u ing, p o iding use ul in o ma ion o indus y s akeholde s and
policymake s who wan o suppo sus ainable de elopmen p ac ices wi hou sac i ic-
ing p o i abili y. By p o iding empi ical e idence o he connec ion be ween ESPs and
p o i ma gins, he s udy ad ances academic knowledge and imp o es co po a e eco-
nomics and en i onmen al managemen knowledge. The design o incen i e p og ams
and egula o y amewo ks o suppo sus ainable beha io s can be in o med by ind-
ings, ha balance en i onmen al esponsibili y and inancial easibili y.
ARTICLE HISTORY
Recei ed 30 No embe 2023
Re ised 17 May 2024
Accep ed 29 May 2024
KEYWORDS
En i onmen al sus ainabili y
p ac ices; ci cula economy;
non-g een; g een
manu ac u ing; en i onmen-
al injus ice; eadmill o
p oduc ion; g een
consciousness
REVIEWING EDITOR
P o esso , Goodness, Aye,
Uni e si y o Ag icul u e,
Maku di Benue S a e,
Benue, Nige sia
SUBJECT
Sus ainable de elopmen ;
en i onmen & he
de eloping wo ld;
en i onmen al economics;
indus y & indus ial s udies
1. In oduc ion
To achie e be e alue addi ion and con ibu e o a na ion’s socioeconomic p ospe i y, manu ac u ed
i ems mus unde go mo e e ining om hei basic componen s. In he e ia y sec o , p oduced goods
a e ma ke ed o encou age socioeconomic p og ess. This sys em equi es he indus ial sec o o
au oma ically collec aw ma e ials om he p ima y sec o and ans o m hem in o comple ed goods
o ul ill human needs. No wi hs anding hese ad an ages, i is no ed ha ex ended mechanical manu-
ac u ing is exace ba ing global ene gy consump ion, was ewa e p oduc ion, was e, and esidue p ob-
lems (Lee e al., 2022). Simply pu , he indus ial p ocess deg ades he en i onmen by emo ing aw
ma e ials om i and p oducing ubbish ha con amina es he same. This conclusion also makes i igh
CONTACT Kwame B. Bou [email p o ec ed] Depa men o Gene al S udies, Uni e si y o En i onmen and Sus ainable
De elopmen , Somanya, Ghana
ß2024 The Au ho (s). Published by In o ma UK Limi ed, ading as Taylo & F ancis G oup
This is an Open Access a icle dis ibu ed unde he e ms o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion License (h p://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by/4.0/), which
pe mi s un es ic ed use, dis ibu ion, and ep oduc ion in any medium, p o ided he o iginal wo k is p ope ly ci ed. The e ms on which his a icle has been
published allow he pos ing o he Accep ed Manusc ip in a eposi o y by he au ho (s) o wi h hei consen .
COGENT ECONOMICS & FINANCE
2024, VOL. 12, NO. 1, 2364362
h ps://doi.o g/10.1080/23322039.2024.2364362
he ac ha he en i onmen o mode n manu ac u ing companies (MCs) is less secu e (Chandio e al.,
2022). Wi h he dawn o he Indus ial Re olu ion, en i onmen al de e io a ion and pollu ion inc eased
a an ala ming a e. Indus ializa ion, h ough ad anced manu ac u ing, was iewed as a sine qua non
o de elopmen , and as a esul , manu ac u ing ope a ions we e launched wi hou ega d o long- e m
implica ions o he en i onmen (Akuoko & Bou , 2013;LeQu
e
e e al., 2016). This esul ed in massi e
physical damage o ou en i onmen and i s de as a ing e ec s. As a esul , he mode n wo ld is said o
be bese wi h nume ous p oblems, including po e y, clima e change, unemploymen , poo heal h, hun-
ge , and ood insecu i y (Adu e al., 2023; Bou e al., 2023; D aghici, 2019). In la e 2021, a g oup o cli-
ma e expe s wa ned he wo ld, pa icula ly poo na ions, abou he ac s and consequences o clima e
change (D aghici, 2019). Due o un es ained indus ial ac i i ies, cocoa p oduc ion in Ghana and I o y
Coas aces ex inc ion by 2050 due o en i onmen al issues in A ica (Adu e al., 2023; Ba ima e al.,
2016). By 2080, a ise o 5–8% is p edic ed in he p opo ion o d y and semi-a id egions in A ica
(Ba ima e al., 2016; Bou e al., 2019). Aside om wo sening some na ions’p esen wa e s ess le els,
clima e change will also aise he likelihood o wa e s ess o o he s who now enjoy i .
I ’s also ue ha he socie y we li e in now demands ha some hings be changed, mos no ably
he way we c ea e hings, ha is, mo ing om non-g een o g een p oduc ion. G een manu ac u ing,
also known as en i onmen al awa eness manu ac u ing, is a con empo a y manu ac u ing app oach ha
akes in o accoun he u iliza ion o aw ma e ials and he impac on he en i onmen h oughou he
p oduc ion p ocess. The long- e m g ow h o human socie y is p omo ed, as is he use o he ci cula
economy model in he con empo a y indus ial sec o (Bjø nbe e al., 2021; Kuma e al., 2019). The
B und land Commission’s 1987 manda e o examine he sus ainable in eg a ion o economic ac i i y and
en i onmen al well-being ga e ise o he "ci cula economy" (CE) no ion. To enhance ecological unc-
ionali y and human well-being, as well as o con ibu e mo e o sus ainable business models, CE places
a s ong emphasis on p ocess edesign and ma e ial ecycling (Adu e al., 2024; Kuma e al., 2019).
Clima e change, ai , wa e , and soil pollu ion, biodi e si y loss, and esou ce deple ion a e a ew o he
en i onmen al challenges o he wen y- i s cen u y. Acco ding o Lundbe g e al. (2019), add essing
ecological p oblems equi es changing a wide ange o human beha io s, om he indi idual ci izen-
ac o o co po a ions and go e nmen s.
E e y inhabi an o Ghana has been eeling he e ec s o clima e change, acco ding o Mes i (2013),
which can be seen in e en s like loods, d ough s, and a ise in he equency o high maximum empe -
a u es. Mo eo e , Ghana’sCO
2
emissions ose sha ply be ween 1990 and 2007, ising om 3927.80 k o
abou 9801.20 k . Me hane emissions ha e also gone up om abou 7237.60 k in 1990 o 8989.50 k in
he p esen . The na ion’s emissions o pa icula e ma e (PM10) ha e inc eased, ising om a ound 34.5
mic og ams pe cubic me e in 1991 o app oxima ely 42.1 in 2001 (Mes i, 2013). Ghana’s o al g een-
house gas emissions o he yea 2019 we e 58.56 M CO2e, o million onnes o ca bon dioxide equi a-
len , which is 16% mo e han wha i was in 2016 (Seini, 2022). The na ion’s wa e ways ha e also been
con amina ed due o inadequa e was e disposal p ac ices and discha ges om indus ies and ag icul u e.
T agically, he Wo ld Bank (2020) wa ned ha en i onmen ally unsound p ac ices migh hampe Ghana’s
economic expansion. The body o esea ch indica es ha indus ial companies need o answe o he
ho i ic damage hey a e causing o he en i onmen (Bou e al., 2019). This is because p oducing
goods was seen as a means o ad ancemen wi hou gi ing he e ec s on he en i onmen any
hough . The co po a e clima e has become mo e compe i i e due o he omnip esen needs o clien s.
I has been shown ha se e al manu ac u ing companies elease bo h o ganic and ino ganic was e in o
he en i onmen , especially in o ai and wa e bodies. These subs ances include acids, highly poisonous
mine als like a senic o me cu y, and haza dous o ganic compounds. Se ious epe cussions om such
en i onmen al injus ice migh include he un i ness o he wa e o esiden ial use and e en ag icul u e.
Pollu an s ha e he po en ial o pene a e he ood chain and ha m animals’and humans’heal h (Ca e ,
2018; Songso e, 2004). These e ec s on heal h a e a he wo isome.
Pa adoxically, o hese MCs o egis e o inco po a e as economic o ganiza ions, hey mus submi
hei en i onmen al sus ainabili y plans and s a egies o he EPA (Bou e al., 2019). Wha hen wen
w ong? Wha s ands in he way o hese MCs keeping hei wo d o he EPA and he na ion a la ge? Is
he e an issue wi h he connec ion be ween p o i and ESPs?
2 K. B.BOUR ET AL.
None o he empi ical s udies ha ha e been used o suppo he exis ing li e a u e’s claims ega d-
ing pollu ion and en i onmen al de e io a ion ha e looked a he ela ionships be ween p o i and ESPs.
Fo example, Kuma e al. (2019) looked a sus ainable business models and how o op imize human
well-being and ecological unc ioning. The ocus o he s udies by Bou e al. (2019); Bjø nbe e al.
(2021); Kuma e al. (2019) and Kwakwa e al. (2022) was on en i onmen al de e io a ion, pollu ion, and
he consequences o economic ac i i y on he en i onmen and human heal h. The e o e, a he han
concen a ing on he dynamics o pollu e beha io , much o his esea ch in he ield o en i onmen al
sus ainabili y has concen a ed on chemicals o pollu an s (Bou e al., 2019; Songso e, 2004).
Consequen ly, he ollowing we e es ablished as he main goals o his s udy o close he p e iously
desc ibed gap: (1) To asce ain he eason behind MCs’ ailu e o each hei ES goals. (2) To o ecas i
he e would be a decline o ise in p o i ega ding ESPs. (3) To o e sugges ions o co po a e go e n-
ance and policy de elopmen .
This s udy deals wi h he policy-le el issue o s iking a balance be ween en i onmen al sus ainabili y
and economic iabili y in Ghana’s indus ial sec o . In pa icula , i looks a how manu ac u ing o ganiza-
ions’adop ion and use o En i onmen al Sus ainabili y P ac ices (ESPs) a e in luenced by p o i as a p e-
dic o a iable. By examining his link, he esea ch hopes o shed ligh on how we may achie e g een
manu ac u ing in he mode n day, whe e sus ainable p ac ices mus be encou aged wi hou sac i icing
he indus y’s po en ial o make money.
These p o ided he impe us o he conduc o his s udy, which hus, adds a social science iewpoin
o he ongoing deba e on en i onmen al sus ainabili y (ES) and manu ac u ing in e ms o iden i ying
p o i mo i e as a de e minan o ESPs o MCs in Ghana. By doing so, ha gap in he li e a u e is illed.
The s udy’s indings a e mo e b oadly applicable o en i onmen al sus ainabili y objec i es and policies,
no only o Ghana bu also o o he de eloping na ions wi h compa able indus ial sec o s dealing
wi h compa able issues, he esul ing policies may be mo e b oadly applicable. Howe e , his pape is
p esen ed in logical, sequen ial sec ions o enhance he eade ’s app ecia ion o he impo ance o he
pape . Sec ion ‘In oduc ion’discusses he in oduc ion, ‘Li e a u e Re iews’, li e a u e e iews, hypo he-
ses, and concep ual amewo k, while Sec ions ‘Me hods’and ‘Discussion and esul s’p esen he me h-
ods and he discussion o esul s, espec i ely. Sec ion ‘Conclusion’, on he o he hand, p esen s he
pape ’s limi a ions and policy implica ions.
Li e a u e e iew
The heo e ical basis o he a icle
The main heo y on which his pape es s is Ha din (1968) agedy o he commons heo y, which posi s
ha use s o common p ope ies such as he en i onmen canno be le o decide how o use hem
and ha hei use o such p ope y has o be con olled o a oid o e -exploi a ion o i . Ha din sough
o d aw he a en ion o humani y o he basic p oblem ha , he e is a i be ween he sho - e m wel-
a e o indi iduals and he long- e m wel a e o socie y and he en i onmen . Ha din’s ideas a e con-
sciously o unconsciously embodied in he eadmill o p oduc ion heo y by Schnaibe g (2012) which
posi s ha he e is an inhe en need o an economic sys em (capi alis ) o con inually yield p o i by
c ea ing consume demand o new p oduc s h ough ad e ising, e en i his means s e ching he eco-
sys em beyond i s physical limi s o g ow h o ca ying capaci y. This explains why en i onmen al
assaul s a e p ominen in manu ac u ing loca ions a ound he wo ld, and he g owing wo y abou he
e e -inc easing en i onmen al de e io a ion caused by indus ial ac i i y (Khan e al., 2022,2023).
As a consequence, many esea che s ac i ely pa icipa e in inding answe s o his p oblem by in lu-
encing public policy discussions wi h hei esea ch indings (B ulle & Robe s, 2017). O he s a e analyz-
ing mo emen s in a o o he sha ing economy and deg ow h, which indica e ha his o y may be
abou o change. Tha is, a widesp ead coun e mo emen agains ma ke -cen ic neo-libe alism may be
o hcoming as Ka l Polanyi had p edic ed in he 1944s in The G ea T ans o ma ion (B echin & Lee,
2023; S ua e al., 2023). Simila o he iews o o he esea che s, Polanyi belie ed ha he economy
should be s uc u ed o bes se e social wel a e and en i onmen al conse a ion no he o he way
a ound.
COGENT ECONOMICS & FINANCE 3
Al e na i e models a e conc e e, achie able, and eminen ly doable. E en while c ea ing al e na i es
o he eadmill is likely o be a easie han de ea ing i . T eadmill heo y gi es global ci izens and ac i-
is s he psychological com o o knowing ha he neolibe al pa adigm is no longe he only game in
own (Cu an, 2017).
Challenges o main aining e ec i e ESPs in he MCs
In suppo o hese heo ies, esea ch has e ealed ha , unlike he ex ac i e indus y, he manu ac u ing
indus y has a wo old in luence o impac on he en i onmen : The inpu impac – ecei ing aw ma e ials
om he ex ac i e and ag icul u al sec o s–and he ou pu impac –gene a ing was e and disposing o
ash as pollu ion (Adu e al., 2020;2022; Bou e al., 2019). En i onmen al social scien is s a e hus chal-
lenged by hese p essing conce ns including global clima e change o c ea e awa eness o s akeholde
engagemen leading o secu ing solu ions o socioen i onmen al p oblems (Penning on e al., 2021). The
need o lea n mo e abou he obs acles manu ac u ing o ganiza ions ha e in adhe ing o en i onmen al
sus ainabili y s anda ds while p omo ing imp o ed socioeconomic de elopmen is a esea ch ocus o
now. Though he e is enough scien i ic e idence ha MCs ha e some measu es in place o en i onmen-
al sus ainabili y (Agyabeng-Mensah e al., 2021; Che a i e al., 2017), li e a u e seems o sugges ha
MCs mus imp o e hei ESPs; ha is, p ac ical s eps o con ol p oduc ion p ocesses a he p oduc ion
si es mus be aken. Bu his has no been easy coming. Acco ding o Bowen and A agon-Co ea (2014),
se e al assessmen s show ‘g eenwashing’, which deno es ha many businesses b eak nume ous laws in
addi ion o no adhe ing o hei s a ed s anda ds. Fo ins ance, i he leade ship o he company is p o i -
cen e ed hen he up ake o p o i -sapping ESPs and s a egies will be comp omised o he sake o maxi-
mizing p o i . One o he exci ing indings o a su ey conduc ed by Collins and Kum al (2020) was ha
many companies we e no expe iencing in e nal o ex e nal p essu e o adop e ec i e en i onmen al
sus ainabili y p ac ices. Ano he disco e y o ha s udy was ha he main d i e s o he adop ion o sus-
ainabili y p ac ices we e pe sonal alues, belie s, and commi men s o managemen . Agyabeng-Mensah
e al. (2021) ci ed he p o i maximiza ion ocus o companies as one o he ac o s ha in luence he
implemen a ion o en i onmen al sus ainabili y p ac ices o companies. In hei iew, he laissez- ai e he-
o y o capi alism equi es decision-make s o maximize he long- un p o i o businesses. The indings o
Agyabeng-Mensah e al. (2021) show ha inancial pe o mance is signi ican ly impac ed by g een human
capi al. Howe e , social pe o mance and g een compe i i eness a e no signi ican ly impac ed by g een
human capi al. Addi ionally, social pe o mance, inancial pe o mance, and g een compe i i eness a e all
ma kedly enhanced by g een logis ics echniques.
P edic o s o up ake o ESPs by MCs
The link be ween g een human capi al and inancial, social, and compe i i e pe o mance is media ed
by g een logis ical echniques. G een human capi al he e o e plays a ole in he e ec i e use o g een
logis ics echniques, which s eng hens g een compe i i eness and imp o es social and inancial ou -
comes. Fu he s udies demons a e ha Lean, Six Sigma, and g een echniques imp o e an o ganiza-
ion’s economic, social, and en i onmen al sus ainabili y pe o mance (Che a i e al., 2017). None heless,
i appea s om hei da a ha o ganiza ions ha e encoun e ed di icul ies in eg a ing and implemen ing
hem (Agyabeng-Mensah e al., 2021; Che a i e al., 2017). As e idenced by hei indings, he o ganiza-
ions we e able o minimize ene gy and mass s eam cos s by 7–12% and cu esou ce usage om 20–
40% on a e age hanks o he combina ion o Lean Six Sigma and G een. Howe e , he ac o ies should
g adually in eg a e he G een and Lean Six Sigma amewo k, i s e alua ing hei s eng hs and weak-
nesses, es ablishing p io i ies, and se ing a ge s o e ec i e adop ion.
These a e ollowed by se e al ‘whys’abou he di icul ies MCs ace in hei pu sui o en i onmen al
sus ainabili y ha ha e no ecei ed enough a en ion om s udies. Acco ding o Bou e al. (2019), MCs
as a legal equi emen submi hei en i onmen al p o ec ion plan (EPP) o policy be o e being inco po-
a ed. I would seem easonable ha e e y manu ac u ing business will adhe e o en i onmen al sus ain-
abili y s anda ds in ligh o his obliga ion. Pa adoxically, businesses ha claimed o use ESPs a wo k
ailed he es when i came o hei implemen a ion (Bedu-Addo, 2022; Boa emaa Da ko-Mensah &
4 K. B.BOUR ET AL.
Oke eke, 2013; Ng e al., 2022). The e is a social u h lacking, and scien i ic s udy is despe a ely needed
o ill i in. The e is a dea h o scien i ic esea ch on he obs acles o Ghanaian MCs’en i onmen al sus-
ainabili y p ac ices, e en hough se e al s udies ha e been conduc ed on how businesses adhe e o he
coun y’s en i onmen al sus ainabili y egula ions (Moses e al., 2014). O he s udies ha e shown ha
ESPs ha e boos ed co po a e de elopmen , compe i i eness, and employmen bo h di ec ly and indi -
ec ly (Raymen e al., 2009). As pe he au ho s’ indings, he Eu opean Commission (EU) has p ojec ed
ha he EU’s eco-inno a i e p oduc and echnology po olio in he a eas o sus ainable cons uc ion,
enewable ene gy, bio-based p oduc s, and ecycling could po en ially gene a e o e 2.4 million new
jobs by 2020, wi h a o al comme cial alue om e92 billion in 2006 o e259 billion in 2020, leading o
he c ea ion o mo e han 2.4 million new jobs.
No ma e he si ua ion, he p edic i e alidi y o he ela ionship be ween MCs’p o i ma gin and
ESPs is s ill unde -explo ed. The e o e, his s udy sough o close his gap in he li e a u e by examining
p o i -ESPs dynamics as o ‘why’mos MCs all behind in implemen ing en i onmen al sus ainabili y
s a egies. Mo e signi ican ly, he majo i y o he s udies on en i onmen al sus ainabili y o de e io a ion
ha e ocused on chemicals o pollu an s, he ela ionship be ween g een manu ac u ing and he inan-
cial posi ion o MCs, and a ew on socioeconomic implica ions o ESPs o MCs (Agyabeng-Mensah e al.,
2021; Bou e al., 2019; Jum’a e al., 2021). None o li le is known abou how much p o i is gained o
los when ce ain ESPs a e emba ked on by he MCs. Figu e 1 gi es a concep ual amewo k o p o i as
a p edic o a iable o en i onmen al sus ainabili y p ac ices.
Consequen ial o his e iew a e he hypo heses ha :
H1: The e is a signi ican ela ionship be ween ESPs and he economic pe o mance o he MCs.
H2: The e is a signi ican ela ionship be ween ESPs and he p o i ma gins o he MCs
H3: The e is a signi ican di e ence among ESPs as ega ds p o i ma gins o he MCs
Me hods
The s udy’s app oach was cen e ed on examining how en i onmen al sus ainabili y p ac ices (ESPs)
a ec ed he expansion o Ghanaian manu ac u ing companies.
1
The s udy ocused on manu ac u ing
i ms, pa icula ly hose ha he EPA assessed as ha ing low en i onmen al sus ainabili y in 2012. These
businesses we e selec ed based on hei main indus ies, which include he p ocessing o wood, chemi-
cals, ag o-business, ood and mea p ocessing, oil p ocessing, and d inks and be e ages. Using Mose
and Kal on’s sample size calcula ion echnique, he sample size o 600 esponden s om six chosen busi-
nesses was calcula ed, assuming a 60% ag eemen a e on he associa ion be ween ESPs and co po a e
p o i and aiming o a ma gin o e o o 0.02. The classi ica ion was made a he sugges ion o he
EPA’s public ela ions o ice in Kumasi. The companies analyzed we e selec ed om a lis o 14 (g aded
ed) companies lis ed wi h he EPA-Ghana o en i onmen al e alua ion in 2012 (Please see Table 1
adop ed om Bou e al. (2019)
2
). I is wo h no ing ha in o med consen o pa icipa ion in he s udy
Figu e 1. Concep ual amewo k o p o i as a p edic o a iable o en i onmen al sus ainabili y p ac ices.
COGENT ECONOMICS & FINANCE 5
has been ob ained om he indi iduals and co po a e ins i u ions conce ned. This s udy ecei ed
app o al om he Resea ch E hics Commi ee o he Depa men o Sociology and Social Wo k, Kwame
Nk umah Uni e si y o Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
The p opo ion o each s a um (each company) o he s udy popula ion ha made up he sample
can be ound in Table 2. The esea ch used a wo-s age app oach o p opo ional s a i ied sampling
and clus e sampling echniques o achie e ep esen a ion h oughou he a ious indus ial sec o s. A
ca e ul e alua ion o he li e a u e, su eys, key in o man in e iews, and, in ce ain si ua ions, di ec
obse a ions we e all used in he da a-ga he ing p ocess. Reliabili y es ing, da a edi ing, coding, and
s a is ical analysis using SPSS so wa e we e all pa o he da a analysis p ocess. In e en ial s a is ics like
linea eg ession we e he main emphasis o o ecas he ela ionship be ween ESPs and co po a e p o i
ma gins. The esea ch sough o shed ligh on he ela ionship be ween Ghanaian manu ac u ing en e -
p ises’ inancial success and en i onmen al sus ainabili y measu es.
Demog aphics o he esponden s
Table 3 depic s he socio-demog aphics o he (4 non- esponse) esponden s o he s udy, comp ising
26% managemen , 54% senio s a , and 20% junio s a (see Table 3 o he de ails). O he demo-
g aphic da a displayed in Table 5 include sex, le el o educa ion, and yea s o se ice wi h he company.
Discussion and esul
ESPs o MCs
Table 4 is a desc ip i e s a is ical able depic ing he a ious ESPs ound o be ope a ional in he MCs,
e en hough some o hem we e ound o be in equen . By using he mean anking me hod, i is eal-
ized ha he companies engage in eigh ESPs, o which h ee a e majo and p edominan . They include
he ins alla ion o acili ies o educe pollu ion, such as bio-diges e s o ea men o liquid was e and
kilns ueled by sawdus o d ying wood (M¼4.5587, S¼2.10440). This is ollowed by adi ional p ac i-
ces such as using chimneys, dus bins, and clean-up, wi h an M¼4.0973 and S¼0.95825. The use o
ume- ee machine y, such as LPG-powe ed ehicles, and ene gy conse a ion p ac ices a e also consid-
e ed majo p ac ices, wi h a mean o 4.0218 and a s anda d de ia ion o 2.15793.
The emaining i e clus e s o p ac ices ha e ela i ely low means. Fo ins ance, en i onmen al and
was e managemen policies on euse and ecycling (M¼3.9849, S¼2.00624), inspec ion and moni o ing
o eleases in o he en i onmen by ex e nal (EPA and ISO) and in e nal s uc u es especially en i on-
men al depa men (M¼3.6980, SD ¼0.96287), en i onmen al audi ing and disclosu e o en i onmen al
Table 1. Lis o selec ed companies o he s udy.
Type o manu ac u ing o ganiza ion Name o he o ganiza ion S a s eng h
Wood p ocessing BLLC 300
Animal eeds p ocessing AC L d 186
Chemical p oduc ion AEP L d 224
Food p ocessing KA 159
Oil p ocessing JOM 187
D inks and be e ages CBC Gh. L d 360
To al 1416
Sou ce: Adop ed om Bou e al., 2019.
Table 2. Sample size o each o he selec ed companies.
Companies Ni N/n
ni ¼Ni. n
N
BLLC 300 1416/600 127
AC 186 1416/600 79
AEP 224 1416/600 95
KA 159 1416/600 67
CBC 360 1416/600 153
JOM 187 1416/600 79
Sou ce: Au ho s’Cons uc , 2022.
6 K. B.BOUR ET AL.
pe o mance (M¼3.3742, S¼2.10544) as well as en i onmen al socializa ion and eco-awa d (M¼1.8003,
S¼1.54226), all ha e ela i ely low means indica ing ha hey we e o low p io i y a eas o he compa-
nies. I is obse ed ha en i onmen al socializa ion and eco-awa ds ecei ed he leas a en ion as ESP
in hose companies. This aligns wi h he indings o Ch is mann (2000), Che a i e al. (2017), and
Agyabeng-Mensah e al. (2021) ha when en i onmen al issues became pa o public opinion in he
la e 1980s, indus ies esponded p ima ily by cleaning up hei ope a ions h ough pollu ion p e en ion
and e ining hei p oduc s.
P o i -ESPs’ ela ionship
The eg ession analysis ou come indica es a ela ionship be ween ESPs and he p o i he MC makes.
Table 5 shows he impac o a pa icula ESP on he p o i o he MC.
Table 3. Socio-demog aphic cha ac e is ics o he esponden s.
Age (yea s)
Age (yea s)
Managemen s a Senio s a Junio s a
F eq % F eq % F eq %
20–29 24 155 3
30–39 43 142 7
40–49 25 16 93
50–59 64 8 16
To al 156 26 321 54 119 20
Gende
Male 133 85.0 241 75.0 83 70.0
Female 23 15.0 80 25.0 36 30
To al 156 100.0 321 100.0 119 100.0
Quali ica ion
MPhil/MSc/MA 23 14.7 3 2.8 ––
Uni e si y Dip/Deg ee 120 76.5 46 42.6 12 2.6
ACCA/ICSA/CA (Gh)/ICA/CIM 2 5.9 10 9.3 4 4.6
HND 1 2.9 21 19.4 17 20.3
‘A’Le el/RSA III ––10 9.3 3 3.5
SSS/‘O’Le el ––14 13.0 21 24.4
Tech./Voca ional Educa ion ––4 3 25 29.7
No o mal educa ion ––––35 42.1
To al 156 100.0 321 100.0 119 100.0
Yea s o se ice in he company
Unde 1 yea 9 8.0 82 18.0
1–5 4 11.8 23 21.0 222 49.0
6–10 14 41.2 32 30.0 91 20.0
11 þ16 47.0 44 41.0 59 13.0
To al 156 100.0 321 100.0 119 100.0
Sou ce: Au ho ’s su ey, 2022.
Table 4. The desc ip i e s a is ics o he ESPs.
NMean S d. de S d. e o
En i onmen al and was e managemen policy on euse and ecycling 596 3.9849 2.00624 0.08218
En i onmen al audi ing and disclosu e o en i onmen al pe o mance 596 3.3742 2.10544 0.08624
The use o ume- ee machine y such as LPG-powe ed and ene gy-
conse a ion p ac ices
596 4.0218 2.15793 0.08839
Emphasizing en i onmen al equi emen s o supplie s 596 2.1628 1.17767 0.04824
En i onmen al socializa ion and eco-awa d 596 1.8003 1.54226 0.06317
Moni o ing o eleases in o he en i onmen by ex e nal (EPA, ISO) and
in e nal s uc u es, especially he en i onmen al depa men
596 3.6980 0.96287 0.03944
Ins alla ion o acili ies o educe pollu ion, such as bio-diges e s o
ea men o liquid was e and kilns uel by sawn dus d ying wood
596 4.5587 2.10440 0.08620
T adi ional p ac ices such as using chimneys, placing dus bins, pos e s, and
clean-up exe cises.
596 4.0973 0.95825 0.03925
Sou ce: au ho ’s cons uc , 2022.
COGENT ECONOMICS & FINANCE 7
