Barriers to environmental sustainability practices of multinational mining companies in Ghana: an institutional complexity perspective

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/CG-06-2021-0229
• Published date: 22 September 2021
• Date: 22 September 2021
• Pages: 364-384
• Subject Matter: Strategy,Corporate governance
• Author: Prince Amoah,Gabriel Eweje

Barriers to environmental sustainability

practices of multinational mining

companies in Ghana: an institutional

complexity perspective

Prince Amoah and Gabriel Eweje

Abstract

Purpose –This paper aims to examinethe barriers to the environmental sustainabilitypractices of large-

scale mining companiesthroughout a mine lifecycle, analysedin the context of the plural and competing

logicsand tensionsin the broader institutional environment.

Design/methodology/approach –The paper used a qualitativemethodology based on multiple cases

involving multinationalmining companies, regulators and other major stakeholdergroups, as it offers an

opportunity for analytical generalisations where the empirical results are compared to previously

establishedtheories

.

Findings –The empirical results indicate that the environmental sustainability barriers are embedded

within gaps in Ghana’s natural resources governance framework. The gaps arise out of contradictory

interestsand values, which hinder the directionand practices of large-scale miningcompanies.

Research limitations/implications –The findings may only apply to the context of this study and is

inadequate as the basis for assessingthe effectiveness or otherwise of specific initiatives of large-scale

miningfirms in Ghana.

Practical implications –This paper has implications on how large-scale mining companies and their

stakeholders define their values and goals, and engage in a dynamic process to accommodate the

multiple and competinglogics by implementing effective structures at the organisationaland institutional

levels.

Originality/value –This paper contributesto the sustainability and institutional complexityperspective

by showing that plural logics are often contradictory, but may also be complementary in situations of

complicit commonality, hindering sustainable outcomes. The authors argue that this is one of the few

studies that have examined the barriers to environmental sustainability explicated in the context of

institutionalcomplexity.

Keywords Ghana, Environmental sustainability, Institutional complexity, Mining, Sustainability barriers

Paper type Research paper

Introduction

The mining industry presents critical environmental concerns, especially in developing

countries (Hilson, 2012;UNDP and UN Environment, 2018). The concerns include the loss

of environmental service capacity due to waste rocks, tailings and acid mine drainage

associated with mining operations (Owen and Kemp, 2015;K.So

¨derholm et al.,2015).

These risks are major issues in resource-rich developing countries leading to the transfer of

development challenges across current and future generations (Amoah et al., 2020). To

mitigate the adverse social and environmental impacts associated with their activities,

large-scale mining companies have embraced sustainability and corporate social

Prince Amoah and

Gabriel Eweje are both

based at the School of

Management, Massey

Business School, Massey

University, Auckland

Campus, New Zealand.

Received 19 June 2021

Revised 26 August 2021

Accepted 3 September 2021

PAGE 364 jCORPORATE GOVERNANCE jVOL. 22 NO. 2 2022, pp. 364-384, ©Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1472-0701 DOI 10.1108/CG-06-2021-0229

responsibility (CSR) practices to enhance the sustainable development of their host

communities (Amoah and Eweje, 2020;Amos, 2018;E-Vahdati et al., 2019). Similarly, the

contributions of multinational mining companies to the severe sustainability risks and

environmental costs in local communities demand that they implement sustainable

practices and meet the expectations of stakeholder groups (Amos, 2018;Barkemeyer et al.,

2015;Shahbaz and Sajjad, 2021). Thus, implementing sustainability initiatives as a way to

address social, environmental and health challenges (Ahi and Searcy, 2015;Fuisz-

Kehrbach, 2015) is perhaps more critical for companies in the mining sector due to the

inherent finitude of mineral resources (Hilson, 2012;Owen and Kemp, 2015). In Ghana,

there is an increasingly trend in the disclosure of sustainability performance outcomes by

large-scale companiesas evidence of corporate responsibility (Arthur et al., 2017;Oforiand

Hinson, 2007). However, large-scale mining companies in Ghana have not adequately

mitigated their environmental and social impacts, and therefore, continuously present huge

costs to local communities after mines are decommissioned (Amoah and Eweje, 2020;

Essah and Andrews, 2016).

Even though there are different opinions about what constitutes sustainability in solid

minerals extraction, Gordon et al. (2006) observe that a synthesis of different views on

sustainability converge on a common issue which is an ongoing availability of resources

and a productive environment that supports healthy communities at mining sites. In

addition, Mudd (2010) suggests that the sum of all individual “mines over time and space

and their respective resources, impacts and benefits should be considered in ascribing

sustainability to mining”(p. 99). In light of this, mining companies are expected by

governments, local communities and other stakeholders to operate within environmentally

sustainable limits and generate net positivebenefits to society (Kemp et al., 2016).

Despite the growing interest in sustainability research and the plethora of studies on

sustainable issues in the mining sector, there is still a dearth of knowledge about

responsible environmental practices in the developing world (Sajjad et al.,2018).

Additionally, the available studies on how institutional factors affect the sustainability

practices of companies presentmixed results (Wang et al., 2018). Against this background,

this paper examines the barriers to the sustainability practices of multinational mining

companies in a country where “sustainable mining practice often contravenes what the

notion is in principle” (Essah and Andrews, 2016, p. 83). Thus, the purpose of this paper

was to explore the barriers to the adoption of sustainability practices in the mining sector,

focusing on the identities, guiding logics, change processes and liabilities, analysed in the

context of the broader institutional landscape. Accordingly, this paper explores the

following questions:

Q1. What are the institutional barriers to the sustainability practices of multinational

mining companiesin Ghana?

Q2. How do institutionalfactors hinder sustainability practices?

We focused on Ghana as the empirical domain because the country is the 9th largest gold

producer globally and the second-largest in Africa after South Africa (Armah et al.,2016).

Importantly, the 2019 production data shows that Ghana has overtaken South Africa as the

biggest producer of Gold on the African continent. However, despite the availability of

mining regulations and policy, studies have documented the challenges to implementing

responsible environmentalinitiatives in Ghana (Elbra, 2017;Tuokuu et al.,2018). Similarly, a

recent paper indicates gaps in the sustainability implementation in Ghana during the mine

closure phase, as a result of limitations in the institutional requirements and the internal risk

management systems of mining companies (Amoah and Eweje, 2021). Yet, there is a

dearth of studies, which examines the barriers to sustainability practices of large-scale

mining companies within the context of the weak and non-enabling institutional context of

Ghana.

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