Going Green: Greenness and Greening by African Businesses

The current study attempts to answer the questions on the status, practices and extent of greening by businesses in Africa through reviewing the existing corpus of scientific works on green entrepreneurship. The aim of the study is to expose the need for going green, common practices by companies going green and to derive policy implications. Findings reveal that businesses have come to understand that successful management of the environment would be advantageous to them and thus can make voluntarily commitments towards the effort to counter the threats to society presented by environmental challenges. However, some business may have a desire to commit to go green but lack of legal obligations may result in reluctance. Additionally, creative green entrepreneurial and greenwashing were identified as common practices among African international businesses. Creative green business involves using strategies based on innovative and creative abilities. Thus, businesses are using innovative entrepreneurship which is just the coordinated use of talents and other resources (both human and technical) to address socioeconomic issues through ethical goods and services that give owners a feeling of fulfillment and financial benefits. On the other hand, some dishonest businesses utilize hyperbolic terms like “bio,” “eco,” “organic,” and “green” sustainability to mislead gullible customers into thinking that these businesses are mindful of the environmental issues in their company operations, a practice called greenwashing. The use of misleading green messaging for market acceptance shows that businesses are now conscious that their customers care about the biodiversity and the environment. Despite these marketing ploys, customers generally tend to find reputable environmentally friendly brands that they select to support in the long run. In the light of the findings of this study, countries should evaluate whether voluntary action or legal requirement can be more effective in taking African international businesses on board regarding environmental sustainability. Indeed, some businesses have come to understand that successful management of climate change would be advantageous to them and can make voluntarily commitments towards the effort to counter the threat in light of these evident measures. However, in such circumstances, a goodwilled business, such as an African MNC, would be prepared to contribute to aiding in the fight against climate change. However, the firm will be unable to uphold its moral commitment in the lack of a compelling legislation that would make trade-offs. In such cases, enhancing the policy frameworks to encourage businesses becomes crucial.