Title : Who gets the green and who bears the waste? Corporate social responsibility, ecological modernization, and unequal environmental exchange in Nigeria
Abstract:
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has increasingly become a prominent mechanism through which corporations communicate and demonstrate their commitment to environmental sustainability. However, the environmental benefits associated with corporate greening may not be distributed equally across societies. This study examines the relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility, ecological modernization, and unequal environmental exchange in Nigeria. Drawing on Ecological Modernization Theory and the concept of Unequal Environmental Exchange, the study interrogates whether corporate sustainability practices contribute to genuine environmental improvement or reproduce unequal distributions of environmental benefits and burdens. It particularly considers how corporations operating in Nigeria deploy CSR initiatives, environmental technologies, sustainability programs, and stakeholder engagement to address environmental challenges while communities located near resource extraction and industrial activities continue to experience ecological degradation and associated social costs. The study conceptualizes CSR as a potential mechanism for ecological transformation while recognizing that corporate environmental practices are embedded within broader economic and power relations that may shift environmental burdens toward marginalized communities. Using Nigeria as a critical case, the study explores the tension between the promise of corporate-led environmental modernization and the persistence of environmental inequalities. It argues that corporate greening should not be evaluated solely by the visibility of sustainability initiatives or environmental investments but also by examining who receives environmental benefits, who bears environmental costs, and whose voices influence environmental decision-making. The study contributes to CSR and environmental communication scholarship by connecting corporate sustainability practices with broader questions of environmental justice, power, and unequal ecological exchange in the Global South.
