ENVIRONMENTAL ACCOUNTING AND CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AS CATALYSTS FOR SUSTAINABLE NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS

Environmental accounting and CSR are increasingly adopted in Nigeria but remain underexplored and largely ineffective due to weak regulation, poor coordination, and limited empirical assessment of their impact on sustainable development. This study examines the roles of environmental accounting and CSR expenditure in promoting sustainable development in Nigeria, using GDP growth, education index, and health expenditure as key indicators. Adopting quantitative research design, the study utilizes secondary data from the Central Bank of Nigeria, National Bureau of Statistics, and World Bank covering the period 2000 to 2022. The study employed descriptive and inferential statistics. Specifically, correlation analysis, multiple linear regression, vector autoregression (VAR), Granger causality tests, and impulse response functions were employed to explore both static and dynamic relationships among the variables. Findings reveal that environmental factors significantly affect educational investment (e.g., CO₂ emissions: β = -205.7, p < .001), while CSR variables did not directly predict development outcomes. VAR analysis highlighted the positive lagged effects of CSR expenditure and renewable energy on GDP growth, further supported by Granger causality tests (χ² = 13.51 and 22.71, p < .001). Impulse response analysis showed renewable energy induces a strong yet volatile growth impact, while CSR drives more stable, long-term gains. The study concludes that CSR and environmental sustainability drive Nigeria’s long-term economic growth despite limited short-term impact. In line with the findings, the study recommends that coordinated policies, investments in renewable energy, improved CSR integration, and data-driven planning to promote sustainable development in Nigeria.