CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY COMPLIANCE IN NIGERIA: CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS

Abstract

Maintaining a balance in all spheres is key to development and growth. The world is a global village and Nigeria as a country is a member of the global force. Recently there has been a global push toward economic growth which includes choices, widens opportunities, and makes all other development efforts easier to achieve. Successful and responsible entrepreneurial engagement is one of the most important drivers of economic growth. This is possible with the existence of companies as they are the instruments for the creation and distribution of most of a society’s wealth, innovations, trade, and also raise living standards. Therefore, promoting globalization characterized by corporate responsibility and sustainability, is an important task. Obligations arising from companies when they negatively affect their environment are enormous. Thus, companies disclose and report aspects of their performance, which can pose risks to their operations and future obligations. Adopting a doctrinal research method, this work considers the various laws and instruments which provide for sustainability compliance of companies in Nigeria, the attendant challenges, and its prospects. The discovery is that both global and national sustainability standards are mere prescriptions as the prevalent regulations and principles are usually platforms for dialogue, not regulatory, enforceable, and punishable. The expectation, therefore, is for companies to show commitment towards sustainability, responsibility, accountability, transparency, sustainable markets, and governance in line with the proffered recommendations.