Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-1-2008
Abstract
Addressing a paucity of research about industrial adoption of environmentally benign technologies in Africa and, more generally, in tropical developing countries, we examined the Nigerian pulp and paper industry as a case study. Qualitative interviews with twenty upper echelon executives representing five Nigerian firms challenge conventional expectations that energy intensive industries in developing markets operate amid highly pollution-intensive conditions, within weak or non-existent formal environmental regulatory frameworks, and with limited institutional capacity. Our findings suggest a strong positive relationship between cleaner technology use and corporate financial performance of African industrial firms. Our study also suggests the adoption of classical 'win-win' integrated preventive environmental strategy, eco-efficiency and green productivity which improves industrial efficiency and profitability. Nigerian pulp and paper firms are shown to have moved beyond end-of-pipe technologies and cleaner technologies and adopted industrial ecology and "zero emission" principles with appropriate reuse of the remaining waste streams turning the production system into a sustainable industrial ecosystem.
Keywords
paper industry--developing countries, environmentally benign technologies, environmental policy, eco-innovation, financial performance, pulp and paper
Rights
© The Author(s). Kelvin Smith Library provides access for non-commercial, personal, or research use only. All other use, including but not limited to commercial or scholarly reproductions, redistribution, publication or transmission, whether by electronic means or otherwise, without prior written permission is strictly prohibited.
Department/Center
Design & Innovation
Recommended Citation
Adelegan, Joseph Akinkugbe, "Environmentally Benign Technologies and Financial Performance: Evidence From the Pulp and Paper Industry in Nigeria" (2008). Student Scholarship. 204.
https://commons.case.edu/studentworks/204