Issue-Based Environmental Sustainability Factors in Nigeria’s Oil and Gas Industry: The Perspectives of Academics

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.This study develops a framework that enables identification of sustainability factors from industry-specific environmental issues, and it proposes that these factors in turn can influence corporate environmental performance (CEP) of firms in such industry. It also validates the factor identification aspect of the framework. The paper starts with reviewing relevant literature extensively and then developing issue-based environmental sustainability framework to highlight the structural relationship of industry-specific sustainability factors with CEP. By involving 131 participants from academics in Niger Delta, the paper employs exploratory factor analysis techniques to reduce industry-specific sustainability factors from several environmental and socio-economic issues in Nigerian oil and gas industry. Environmental risk originates from business environmental issues and it triggers community reaction which impacts negatively on corporate image. The nature of firm’s strategic responsiveness to these factors determines corporate environmental performance. The study draws from the perspectives of the academics on environmental issues in Niger Delta to validate the factor identification aspect of the framework. The views of other stakeholders are not included, and hence, it should be applied with caution. Useful in identifying and managing industry-specific environmental issues, and thus achieve some sustainable development objective. While most previous studies have focused on generic CEP drivers, this study proposes sustainability factors that can originate from industry-specific environmental issues as crucial drivers of CEP in such industry. It provides an empirical evidence of such credible sustainability factors emerging from Nigerian O&G industry’s environmental issues