Exploring Best Practices for Environmental Sustainability: A case of Zambia’s Ministry of Green Economy and Environment and Zambia Environmental Management Agency

Abstract

This study examined the environmental sustainability practices of two key institutions in Zambia—the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment (MGEE) and the Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA)—with the aim of assessing current approaches, challenges, and opportunities for strengthening sustainability management. Guided by a mixed-methods sequential explanatory design, the research first collected and analyzed quantitative data from 42 respondents using SPSS, followed by qualitative data from three key informants, which were analyzed through thematic analysis to provide a deeper explanation of the quantitative findings. The quantitative results revealed that 97.1% of MGEE respondents and 87.5% of ZEMA respondents confirmed that their organizations have sustainability policies, with near-universal adoption of sustainability practices across both institutions. However, a significant disparity emerged in environmental management systems certification, with 91.2% of MGEE respondents confirming externally certified frameworks compared to only 50.0% at ZEMA. Thematic focus areas differed markedly, with ZEMA concentrating on climate education (50%) and waste management (50%), while MGEE focused predominantly on climate education (85%). Financial constraints emerged as the dominant challenge, affecting 59% of MGEE and 63% of ZEMA respondents, followed by operational efficiency limitations affecting 35-38% of respondents. Qualitative findings further clarified implementation gaps, highlighting inadequate financial resources, low staffing levels, insufficient monitoring equipment, and outdated policy frameworks dating from 1997 and 2009 as major barriers to effective sustainability implementation. The study concludes that while Zambia has made significant progress through policy reforms and institutional structures that promote environmental sustainability, operational challenges continue to limit full implementation. The study recommends accelerating policy modernization, enhancing staff involvement in sustainability planning, strengthening financial and technical capacity, developing strategic public-private partnerships, expanding community engagement programs, and leveraging external pressure strategically to advance sustainability commitments.