Environmental Governance Disclosures and Stakeholder Perceptions in Cement Companies in Sokoto State

This study explores environmental governance disclosures and their relationship with stakeholder perceptions in cement companies operating in Sokoto State, Nigeria. The cement industry is among the most environmentally intensive manufacturing sectors, generating significant dust, carbon emissions, and groundwater concerns. In the North West geopolitical zone, communities near cement production facilities have raised persistent environmental complaints, making environmental governance disclosures a matter of both regulatory and community concern. The study is grounded in legitimacy theory, which posits that firms use environmental disclosures to manage their social licence to operate. A mixed-methods design is employed, combining content analysis of environmental disclosure sections in annual reports with a survey of 170 community stakeholders and employees. Disclosure quality is scored against Environmental Impact Assessment Act benchmarks. Data are analysed using descriptive statistics and analysis of variance. The study anticipates that higher disclosure scores will correlate positively with favourable stakeholder perceptions, particularly among community residents. Findings will guide cement company boards, the Federal Ministry of Environment, and the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency in developing mandatory environmental governance disclosure standards. This research contributes to the North West governance literature and fills a gap in sector-specific environmental governance studies in Nigeria. Keywords: environmental governance, disclosures, stakeholder perceptions, cement companies, Sokoto State.