Environmental sustainability and procurement law compliance in Ghana’s university goods procurement

PurposeThis study aims to assess the compliance level of procurement officers (POs) with Ghana’s Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663) as amended (PPA2003/2016) as an environmental sustainability policy.Design/methodology/approachUsing purposive sampling, 19 POs from 11 public universities in Ghana participated in this exploratory study. The interviewees were selected based on the fact that they spearheaded every procurement process in their respective institutions. The selected universities were both traditional Ghanaian universities and technical universities that have been operating during the different eras of the procurement regimes. Content analysis was used to derive patterns of responses from an interview guide. The compliance level was assessed by collecting POs’ opinions on their adherence to PPA2003/2016 and the environmental sustainability provisions, with responses verified against office documents. Interviewees and their institutions were assured of anonymity to create an environment of trust and openness to enhance data quality and credibility.FindingsMost of the POs thought that they complied with the law, but the implementation was not adequate. They follow the PPA2003/2016 because it is mandatory, and they do not want to face sanctions for breaking the law. Breaking the law would not only damage their integrity but also harm the reputation of their respective institutions.Practical implicationsThis study emphasizes the need to develop sustainable procurement regulation with clear environmental sustainability guidelines to ensure compliance and implementation. It highlights the shortcomings in the Public Procurement Amendment Act, 2016 (Act 914) and affirms the coerciveness of legislation to ensure compliance with laws. Findings on policy implementations give feedback to the policymakers for renewal and also ensure practitioners’ commitment to reinforce legislative protocols for enhancing best practices in public procurement as legislation ambiguity and inadequacy are a barrier to achieving environmental sustainability. The study also highlights the lack of qualitative studies on environmental sustainability in the procurement of goods in higher educational institutions in Sub-Saharan countries.Social implicationsThe findings would nudge policymakers, supervisors and implementers to develop strategies that ensure implementation and compliance with the law to contribute to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 12.Originality/valueThis study provides pristine knowledge on POs’ compliance with the Ghana Public Procurement Law in promoting environmental sustainability in goods procurement in Ghana’s public universities since 2003.