Assessing the nature of corporate environmental responsibility in Zimbabwe’s gold mining sector

Abstract

Orientation: In Zimbabwe, mining is a significant economic sector but has adverse environmental impacts.

Purpose: This article assesses environmental responsibility practiced by gold mining companies differentiated by ownership structure and assesses the ownership system that leads in environmental, social and governance practices.

Motivation for the study: The adverse environmental impacts inherent in gold mining need assessments to gauge the integrity of the environmental stewardship using the structure–conduct–performance paradigm as an assessment framework.

Design, methodology, approach: The mode of assessment is to establish, through the structure–conduct–performance paradigm, whether these governance systems affect the companies’ environmental performance, and if so, to what extent. The article uses a multiple case study design with a population of 35 large-scale gold mining companies that are members of both the Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe and the Mine Industry Pension Fund, and 23 participated. The article uses a mixed methods approach using a questionnaire and structured interviews to collect quantitative and qualitative data, respectively. The study employed Kruskal–Wallis rank test, to rank the differences in governance structures’ performances.

Findings: The results show that gold mining companies in Zimbabwe exercise environmental stewardship. Mining companies listed on foreign exchanges and local private limited companies exhibit more responsibility than other ownership types.

Practical implications: Government policy to compel soil restoration and overburden management can improve these practices.

Contribution/originality/value of the study: This study contributes to the burgeoning literature on corporate environmental responsibility by illuminating the possible role played by ownership structure in environmental responsibility.