ENVIRONMENTAL COST MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND CORPORATE ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE OF LISTED INDUSTRIAL GOODS FIRMS IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The study investigates the effect of environmental cost management system on corporate economic performance of listed industrial goods firms in Nigeria. The study employed longitudinal research design. Data were extracted from audited annual reports of industrial goods firms from the period of 2015 to 2024 using content analysis. The population which also is the sample size are the 13 listed industrial firms on the Nigerian Exchange Group as of December 31, 2024 using purposive sampling technique. Data were analysed with the aid of descriptive statistics, Spearman’s correlation, and linear regression analysis. The findings show that carbon footprint reduction cost has positive and significant effect while waste minimization cost, and pollution control cost were positive but insignificant effect on the return on asset which is the measure of corporate economic performance of the listed industrial goods firms in Nigeria. The study concludes that the measure of environmental cost management system has positive and significant effect on corporate economic performance of listed industrial goods firms in Nigeria. From the result of the study, it was therefore recommended that companies should invest in carbon reduction initiatives and communicate its value to investors. Also, firms have to explore technology driven waste minimization and pollution control techniques in order to meet environmental objectives, reduce costs, and enhance operational efficiencies.

Keywords: carbon footprint reduction cost, corporate economic performance, environmental cost management system, pollution control cost, waste minimization cost