Vol.:(0123456789) Discover Sustainability (2021) 2:27 | https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-021-00037-8 1 3 Discover Sustainability Review The consumer goods sector and the sustainability agenda in Ghana: a review of sustainability commitments Mohammed Abubakari 1  · Bessy Thuranira 1 Received: 28 March 2021 / Accepted: 26 May 2021 © The Author(s) 2021 OPEN Abstract Corporate entities are expected to show a great commitment to the sustainability agenda in response to the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)-12—‘Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns’ by 2030. This study, therefore, analyses the sustainability commitments of two major consumer goods companies in Ghana; Unilever Ghana Limited, and PZ Cussons Ghana Limited. It uses the traditional qualitative literature review approach to identify and evaluate the varying commitments of the two entities through an analytic lens of the Sustainable Business Model (SBM) archetypes. The fndings indicate that of the eight archetypes, Unilever Ghana Limited is committed to four of the archetypes—1, 3, 6, and 8—whereas PZ Cussons Ghana Limited’s commitments align with fve of the archetypes—1, 2, 5, 6, and 8. This indicates a defning step in their sustainability commitments moving forward, however, the translation of the commit- ments of the two companies into actualities calls for a concerted efort involving the State, civil society, the academic community, and the entities themselves. Keywords Consumer goods sector · Corporate entities · Sustainable business model archetypes · Sustainability · Ghana 1 Setting the agenda: sustainability and the expected role of corporate entities Sustainability has become a topical issue on the global desk for the past few decades [1–3], and it has successfully perme- ated into the contemporary business arena [4, 5]. This is as a result of the detrimental consequences of climate change on the environment and socio-economic conditions [6], as well as the continuous threat it poses to global sustainability moving into the future [7]. It is widely acknowledged that society plays an instrumental role in contributing to climate change [8]. Hence, the United Nations (UN) has called on governments worldwide to ‘leave no one behind’ in terms of commitments and practices towards a sustainable world—a world that provides for the need of its present population and makes room for the future population to provide for themselves [9], through balanced reconciliation of the goals of ecological integrity, economic progress, and social well-being [10]. Corporate entities are expected to play instrumental roles in achieving the SDGs [11]. This has led to the persistent amplifcation and critical push for concepts and terms including corporate governance [12], corporate citizenship [13], environmental accounting and sustainability reporting [14], eco-entrepreneurship [15, 16], corporate social responsibility (CSR) [17], and sustainable business models (SBM) [18, 19] in modern business commitments and practices. The central proposition is that ‘business as usual’ will not help in the sustainability agenda [18], rather corporate entities must shift from their traditional emphasis on proft to sustainability commitments and practices in their operations. * Mohammed Abubakari, abubakarim63@gmail.com | 1 TU Dortmund University, Dortmund, Germany.