Challenges in Implementing Environmental Sustainability Practices in Ghana’s Downstream Petroleum Sector: A Mixed-Method Study

Abstract The environmental impact associated with the petroleum industry is pervasive and expansive. Anthropological climate change and pollution are some of the impacts associated with the petroleum industry. Petroleum regulators and businesses have implemented environmental sustainability practices to minimise these cataclysmic impacts. This thesis investigates the challenges facing implementing environmental sustainability practices in Ghana's downstream petroleum sector. Pragmatism philosophy and convergent parallel research design were chosen. A total sample size of 171 was estimated for the quantitative part of the study. Also, a total sample size of 10 was selected for the qualitative study. The study participants were selected by probability and non-probability sampling techniques: stratified random, simple random, and purposive samplings. The quantitative data was collected via a questionnaire, and the qualitative data through an interview guide. IBM SPSS program version 26 was used to analyse the quantitative data. The quantitative data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics, including Pearson correlation and simple linear regression analysis. The qualitative interview data was based on thematic analyses. An interdisciplinary framework guided the research process by drawing insights from ecological modernisation and corporate social responsibility theories for data analyses. The significant findings from both data sets are high cost of implementation; lack of technical personnel or expertise; lack of proper understanding of environmental sustainability; lack of leadership commitment and employee engagement; inadequate infrastructure; lack of proper coordination; and lack of uniformity and standards in some key areas. The study's findings revealed that qualitative data corroborated the quantitative data analysis. The linear regression analysis results revealed a positive effect of the challenges confronting environmental sustainability practices on implementing environmental sustainability practices in the downstream petroleum sector in Ghana (β=0.162, SE=0.039,t=4.16,p<0.05). It is worth stating that the findings of this study that there is a need to continue strengthening the government's environmental sustainability policies and ensuring that those policies are strictly followed by the downstream petroleum sector businesses while integrating the involvement of all stakeholders. Keywords: Petroleum, downstream, sustainability, pragmatism, climate change, interdisciplinarity